‘The Amazing Race’ Season 26 Cast: Jackie Hopes ‘Crazy’ Experience With Blind Date Jeff Will End With ‘Magical’ Happily Ever After [VIDEO]
Being on The Amazing Race can be stressful enough for those on the show, but the added element of being on a blind date is make the experience even more crazy for new contestant Jackie Ibarra.
In a pre-race interview with CBS, Ibarra, a 27-year-old dancer from Las Vegas, admits to being excited about the new adventure, but admits its also pretty nerve-wracking as well.
"This experience is so crazy," she says. "I've never been on a blind date before, so this is just an entirely new experience for me, it's a double whammy. Not only am I doing The Amazing Race and racing around the world, I am being paired up on a blind date with a total stranger and this is crazy! I mean, what am I going to do? What if I don't like him? What if it doesn't work out? But you know what, I've got to just totally go for it."
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Ibarra also admitted to recognizing that now only is the experience crazy, but it's a big deal, because for her and the other blind date contestants, there is more than just the $1 million prize at the finish line if they make a connection with their teammate.
"I have a lot at stake I mean not only do I have the $1 million, I have a possible love interest right now coming up, and I'm very, very excited to meet him, I'm dying," she says. "I cannot wait to meet him that is just...once I meet him, I feel like everything will come into place and we will just move forward together and this will just magically happen and we'll just magically fall in love and magically win the $1 million and live happily ever after."
However, she cautions, her blind date needs to be able to let her do her thing as they go-or there's going to be a big problem for their partnership.
"Respect is a big thing for me. I definitely am looking for a guy that respects me because if he doesn't respect me and he says anything to me negatively, or tries to fight with me or tries to not let me do my thing, or try to control me, there will definitely be some issues and I am not one to stand for that and I will make sure you know to definitely put him in his place, and I have done I before I'm not afraid to put a guy in his place," she says.
The Amazing Race premieres Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 9:30 p.m. on CBS.