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Key Points Natalie and Stephanie Negrotti discuss their Amazing Race journey and alliance strategies. Team communication challenges and alliance decisions influenced their elimination from the race. Both sisters express pride in each other's strengths and value their strengthened bond. Pack your bags, because The Amazing Race is back! Every week, Parade’s Mike Bloom will bring you interviews with the team of Big Brother alumni and their loved ones most recently eliminated from the race. For Natalie Negrotti, The Amazing Race was meant to be. The former Jets cheerleader had actually initially applied for the show nearly a decade ago, only for her to make her way to reality TV through Big Brother. After a brief run on The Challenge and years away from unscripted television, she would make her return on the show she had always wanted to do. And what’s more, she got to do it alongside her sister, Stephanie Negrotti. 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 The excitement of getting to race together immediately jutted up against their reaction when they saw the competition. With a cast predominantly of newer racers, Natalie had fewer connections than anyone in the cast. But nothing forges bonds more than sleepless nights in train stations. After their progress to Prague was halted with railway drama, Natalie and Stephanie formed an immediate bond with Jag and Jas Bains and Joseph and Adam Abdin. The three pairs of siblings were forged in fatigue, as their risky choice helped them surge to the front of the pack. As a result, the “Trainwreck alliance” was formed. The dominant group proceeded to run in a pack, helping share directions to stay out in the lead. And it culminated in a major way in the third leg when Jag and Jas quite literally stepped aside at the Pit Stop to give them a first-place finish the day before Natalie’s birthday. But, as is the case with any reality show, while alliances can help, it is ultimately an individual game. Stephanie was particularly frustrated with traveling together, especially when Natalie made her backtrack to wait for Joseph and Adam to catch up. And it was those very guys who surged ahead of them the very next leg, as they edged the sisters out for the last ticket in the first flight to Romania. So Natalie and Stephanie spent the entire day in an unfamiliar position: The back of the pack. And without that herd mentality, the two were feeling as wayward as sheep jumping out of a pen. Between navigational issues and newfound infighting, the two found themselves in deep doo-doo while creating manure bricks. And so Natalie and Stephanie were taken out in one of the most shocking eliminations of the season. Now, out of the race, Natalie and Stephanie talk with Parade about Natalie’s long history with the show, the pros and cons of the Trainwreck alliance, and a pitch to Kyland Young and Taylor Hale at the starting line that we didn’t see. Related: Everything to Know About The Amazing Race 38 Natalie, it’s been almost a decade since we last saw you on a CBS reality show. So what was your reaction when you were asked to do this season of The Amazing Race? And was Stephanie always going to be your partner? Natalie Negrotti: Yes, Steph was always going to be my partner. My other option was my mom, but my mom and I would have murdered each other. But it was so interesting, because I was originally supposed to be on The Amazing Race, not Big Brother. So my two girlfriends did The Amazing Race, Krista and Tiffany. We were Jets cheerleaders together. So I was looking for a new job. I was working at a nonprofit, and I was ready for something new. And I love my job. I was like, “I’m ready for something, a new transition to another chapter.” And my teammates, Krista and Tiffany, submitted me for The Amazing Race. Then they put me on Big Brother, which was perfect, because I was a good fit for it. Anyways, after Big Brother, I was like, “Jesse [Tannenbaum], I would love to do The Amazing Race with my sister or my mom.” He’s like, “Right now is not the right time.” Nine years later, Jesse calls me. He’s like, “I want you and your sister or you and your mom for The Amazing Race. Would you still want to do it?” And I said, “Absolutely! Let me call my mom and my sister.” My sister was a hard sell, though. At first, she’s like, “No.” I was like, “Watch the show and then make up your mind.” Talk to me about that, Stephanie. What made you finally decide to say yes? And was there any anxiety about putting yourself in the limelight like your sister? Stephanie Negrotti: No, it wasn’t anything about putting myself in the limelight. It was just more about the nature of the game. And I had seen how Big Brother was, and I had seen how The Challenge was. I didn’t want to play a social game. I just really wanted to be a competitor. And so she gave me a call, and I remember exactly where I was. I was hanging out with a friend who had a house right on the beach. And then I was like, “Hey, I gotta step out. My sister’s calling me.” And then I just remember having this conversation, looking at the ocean and being like, “You’re out of your mind. I’m not doing this.” She’s like, “Please go watch it. “So I watched it, and then I was hooked. I was like, “Wait a second. This is wholesome. It’s got all the elements. It’s got drama, it’s got excitement, it’s got relationships with yourself and someone else, and the trials and tribulations of growing with yourself and trusting yourself and trusting your partner and communicating. “And then also doing it all over the world. And then I couldn’t stop watching it, and so I kept watching it. And then finally it was like, “Alright, I’m in. Let’s do it.” And then right after that, I started training and working out. And I was sold immediately after the first one I saw, Season 35. So I was like, “Alright, let’s do this.” But I didn’t know that it was going to be a Big Brother season. So I got tricked! Let’s go from the beginning of the race to the end. We saw a lot of back and forth between the two of you in this week’s episode. Was that because of the pressure of being in the back of the pack? Or had you had other arguments this season that we just didn’t get to see? Natalie: We were so used to being at the top. So we always knew like, “No matter what, even if you’re in first, second, third, fourth, fifth place, you’re fighting as if you’re in last place.” So no matter what, there’s no like, “Oh, I’m comfortable because I’m in third place.” So you’re always stressed. But we always had the cushion of being , top three, top two, top five, top one. We were not used to competing in the bottom of the pack, final three, final two, so we got a little bit more nervous. And Steph, under pressure, doesn’t communicate. So I’m an overcommunicator. Steph’s an undercommunicator. So because we have this new element of new stress, we weren’t really able to mesh and get our team bond and communication up like the other legs. No matter what, every team’s going to have miscommunication here and there. But we never had a blowout fight that was ridiculous, right? We never were going at each other’s throats. Of course we had conflict here and there. But we got a pretty accurate edit as to how we played. But it was difficult being at the bottom, and we are not used to that additional stress. Steph clammed up. She wasn’t communicating at all. I was extra stressed. So I was high-strung. So it was really difficult to get back to that playing field where we have that perfect communication. We even get a bit of that miscommunciation in the last leg, when the two of you disagree about whether to backtrack to go to the Pit Stop with Joseph and Adam. Stephanie, talk to me about your feelings there. Stephanie: So I initially am a very independent person. So it was a little tough for me to be in such a strong alliance. At the end of the day, you get to meet people, and then you’re like, “Oh my god, okay, these people are great.” But my initial strategy was to just do our own thing and kind of do what Izzy and Paige were doing, just kind of learning from their mistakes, being solo and doing that. But alliances do help you at the beginning, especially when you’re all kind of just racing around. But I think it did the aliance at some point did deter our time, like when we agreed to drive back and look for Joseph and Adam. And then at some point, I wanted to just start working alone. And I think finding that balance of working with a team and then also running your own race was like something that we were kind of working out in our minds. And then also kind of being a pushover at the ticket counter when we had to get that flight to Romania. I think Nat and I didn’t really voice ourselves the way that we should have, and I think that’s what really screwed us over. Natalie, give me your perspective on that. Because you arguably came into the race with the least connections. So what was your reaction when you wound up in the most significant alliance of the season so far? Natalie: So I was bummed when I found out it was the Big Brother season. Because my first and only season on Big Brother was the twist with the vets, so with the returning players. So I’m like, “Oh my gosh, when am I going to catch a break?!” But no, to answer your question, playing with the Big Brother players and not really knowing anyone at first, I was like, “Oh, we’re screwed. They’re all pre-game alliances.” Which I knew, I heard things. They’re all friends. They’ve all played together, they’ve all hung out together, they’ve all gone to events together, traveled on vacations together. So I was just hoping that my sister’s newness and her kindness, and also my social game could get us far and build those relationships. That is one of my biggest strengths: My social game. So I knew that I had this in the bag to become friends with people, but I didn’t know if anyone just wanted to target me or get me out. I knew who Kat was, I knew who Hannah was. I knew who Enzo was. But I didn’t know if they would have my back or not, because we weren’t like friends. I’m not talking to them every day. I wasn’t very close with them. Now I am! But it was definitely unique twist for me. I was a little bit bummed, but pleasantly surprised, because a lot of the players wanted to work with us. They all loved us. So they didn’t air this. But when Kyland and Taylor had the Express Pass to give a team, we all got to campaign. So Phil gave us a moment. Stephanie: Nat was the first to campaign. Natalie: I raised my hand so fast. Stephanie: No one spoke for a few seconds. And then it was like, “Well, I’m going to give it a shot.” And she was the first one to talk. She’s like, “Listen, we don’t have an alliance. We don’t know anyone. So if you help us out, you have our undying loyalty.” And then all of a sudden everyone starts speaking out. We’re like, “Oh…” And then eventually, Jag and Jas gave a really great speech, and whatever happened there, and then they got the Express Pass. But Taylor talked to us, and she said, “If Jag and Jas hadn’t given their speech, we would have given you the Express Pass.” The Trainwreck Alliance pays off in spades when Jag and Jas give you a first-place the day before your birthday, Natalie. How did you feel about that? Did you feel beholden to them because of that? Natalie: No. For me, we had just given them written-out directions. No other team in the history of 38 seasons of The Amazing Race has ever written out directions for other teams, and we did it for Jag and Jas and Joseph and Adam. So it wasn’t like we owed them. They owed us. It was very much everyone helping each other. So we were also helping and bringing value to our alliance. So they were paying it forward. And they said that too on the episode, like, “They did help us with the directions, and we were all just helping each other out.” So I felt like that was a really nice gesture for them to do, and to show us, “We know you’ve helped us. We’re also going to be returning the favor.” So that was a really nice experience for me. I’m going to get that $2,500 and buy myself a nice little gift. So I really did like that. It also helped us to have this alliance. Because we didn’t get U-Turned! We were one of the strong girl/girl teams. The other teams have told us this. Even after the race, “You girls, we couldn’t believe when you got eliminated. We thought you girls were going to make it to the end.” So we didn’t get U-Turned. So no matter what your alliance is, they do help you. And being in good graces with other teams does help you when it comes to the U-Turn board, when it comes to different things as well, and if someone wants to help you. There’s times where you’re in a new country, and you’re asking strangers for their phones for directions. And a lot of these people in other countries don’t speak the language, and a lot of times they don’t want to help you. So that’s when an alliance also helps you out, when you know you’re really stranded and stuck and you don’t have an alternative. Finally, what did you learn the most about your “Yin Yang Sissie” racing around Europe together? Stephanie: I learned that Natalie is more intuitive than she gives herself credit for. There’s a lot of moments where it was kind of like a pivotal decision where it came to doing a challenge. And Nat made the right decision of figuring out what our strengths are and what Detour we needed to choose. Nat is really intuitive, and she’s more analytical than she gives herself credit for. Natalie: I mean, I already know my sister’s greatness. I already know my sister is the GOAT. I’m a little sister, and we were raised in a single-parent household. So I viewed my sister as always like a parent to me. I always looked up to her. I always leaned and relied on her for everything. I know that if I can’t do something, my sister can.My sister is someone who, in my brain and factually, can really do everything she sets her mind to. So for me, the lesson was to make it more about me, to make sure I could play at my sister’s level and elevate to her level. So that’s really what I had to learn.
