'The Amazing Race 34's' Abby Garrett and Will Freeman Break Down Their Unprecedented COVID Removal

The childhood sweethearts also react to their quieter edit on the race, and whether their superfandom truly prepared them.

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Abby Garrett and Will Freeman's time on The Amazing Race was driven by positivity. The childhood sweethearts were longtime fans of the show, and were making a dream come true by getting to race around the world. Even in the most arduous situations, a smile seemed impossible to wipe from Abby's face, and their tenacity and skills had given them good momentum going into the fifth leg.

Unfortunately, positivity in a very different way is what ended their race. Last night's episode started with host Phil Keoghan video chatting the pair at the start of the leg. He informed them that they had tested positive for COVID in between legs and, out of safety for the rest of the cast and crew, would not be moving forward. The upset emotions on their face were palpable. But again, that optimism shined through, as they thanked the show for giving them this opportunity, however abrupt it may have been cut off

Now out of the race, Abby and Will talk with Parade.com about the exact timeline of the COVID diagnosis that led to their removal, their reaction to their quieter edit, and whether their superfandom helped or hurt their time on the race.

Related: Everything to Know About The Amazing Race 34

So what has the experience been like to watch these episodes back? On the one hand, it must be fun to see yourself on a show you love. But on the other hand, you knew what was coming.
Will Freeman: First, it's really exciting, because this first few episodes are so fun. And we had such an absolute blast. But you know in the back of your head it's coming at some point. And this is not gonna be fun to watch when it gets here. So we're trying to enjoy the moment all the way up to it.
Abby Garrett: Andwe've watched the show for so long. So to get to watch it and know the background was so fun and cool, to be like, "Oh my gosh, we remember when this happened and Marcus ran there. And oh, Marcus didn't get it on the first try." But then, of course last night was hard to watch. And it was hard getting the excitement from everyone knowing that it ends in a different kind of disappointment than a lot of racers experience.

So let's get into that disappointment. Walk me through the timeline of you checking into the pit stop last leg to ultimately being removed.
Will: Yeah, so there's travel behind the scenes,. And because it was a COVID season, they were taking really good job making sure I was safe. And there was a lot of COVID tests. So I don't remember if it was the morning before we raced or what it was, but they took our COVID tests like they always did. Unfortunately, they came back to me and said mine was kind of inconclusive. But we needed to take one more just be sure. Abby: And that's when the nerves started to set in.
Will: So second test came back positive. They very quickly moved us out of the rooms because Abby was still negative at that point, which is kind of surprising. But when we're filming, I'm secluded at that point because I was positive. So it was it was pretty crushing. It was really, really hard to get that positive test. And they're like, "Oh, this was that small fear that everyone knew would it being a COVID season. There's always that potential." But no one wanted to be that team. And no one wanted to be that person. I was pretty crushed. I feel like I ruined our chances.
Abby: You didn't ruin it! It is hard being the one that tested positive. I want edto try and keep high spirits for him. But the night that we knew he tests positive, there were ugly sobs. (Laughs.) And so I was hoping when we talked to Phil, I'd gotten it out. But the second Phil comes on, I think the tears just started, and I had to look at Will on the Zoom to try and keep it together.
Will: And I had to look away. I typically am not a big crier, but Abby crying and just the moment of it, I didn't know if I can look at Abby or I'm gonna start crying.

Did you get a chance to say goodbye to the other teams? Or was the extent of your exit what we got on the show?
Abby: So I think maybe the teams came back to the hotel or something after they heard the announcement. And I remember I was laying in bed, and I heard Luis and Derek yell, "We love you Abby and Will!" It could almost bring me to tears again. It was hard because we didn't get to say goodbye andit was just that moment with Phil of like, "This is it. Y'all tested positive." We don't even get it at the mat! 

So what happens after you're eliminated in a case like this? Because I imagine you would have to isolate in Jordan while the other teams move on to France.
Will: Well, they they did keep us at the hotel we're at. Fortunately they kept some production people back for those take care of us. So we were well taken care of. But I had COVID. So I was in a hotel for the extent of my quarantine. Fortunately for Abby, there's a pool.
Abby: Because I got two more tests. And when they both came back negative it was like, "Okay, we'll loosen a little bit."
Will: Yeah, so I was waving to Abby out of the window because fortunately I had a view the pool. But it was it was as good as it could have been for a quarantine. Bbut also you're coming to terms with fact that it really is over. The rest of the race is on and racing and if only we could be there. It was pretty hard.

I don't want your entire story to be about COVID. But what I find interesting is that, honestly, we didn't get a lot of you on the race. Do you think that was because of your unconventional exit? How do you react to your edit in general?
Abby: This is something I've thought a lot about. I think there's a potential that it has something to do COVID. I think we're also, frankly, not dramatic. We don't yell at each other. I tend to be the up and down one. And for whatever reason, in chaos, I almost level out. Our whole mindset throughout the race was "slow and steady wins the race." We felt like we were kind of a slow burn that was just going to peak at the right time. And I think what's hard is we never got to see the peak. Middle of the pack teams, you never really get to know. 
Will: We know from watching so many seasons of it that middle pack's Danger Zone. If you want to get your coverage, you don't want middle the pack. You want some drama at the back or you want to be racing for first. So it was a storm of a couple things that led to not a ton of us.
Abby: You got to see me scream a lot! Because we were so excited to be there.

I want to get into that, actually. You two were such big fans of the show. I'm always interested to ask superfans, did your preparation for the race measure up at all to what you actually experienced?
Will: I think it's to the point where you can't anticipate it. There's all this kind of stuff you could do. We practiced our driving, we practiced our navigation. But I think the biggest thing about the race is when you get there, your adrenaline is pumping so much. And you just start so panicked that anything you might have learned is out your brain, out the window.
Abby: Our main strategy going in was "we're not going to dance." What do I do when we get the dance option? I'm like, "Will, we're dancing!" (Laughs.) Out the window. And then on the first leg, we were like, "Okay, we're gonna get directions to like all three of the places We're gonna circle them on the map and draw it." Will decides he's gonna get turn-by-turn directions, because I don't know! The panic sets in. And everything just like goes out the window. So to your question about did the preparation help? I'm not so sure.

Well to your earlier point about building to a peak, you seemed to be finishing stronger before you got removed. Was that just getting settled into the race, or something else?
Abby:  I think there's something to be said about, as superfans, we were so excited to be there, and so stressed each day that it was going to end. So that's playing in the back of our mind potentially in a different way than it is in others. I think I heard on a podcast from [season 27's] Justin, it takes a few episodes to get your sea legs. And that's how I felt. We just needed to get out some of the, "Oh my gosh, we're on The Amazing Race."
Will: I think back to Munich, and on the starting line, I was legitimately about to throw up. (Laughs.) I was so nervous. And I was so excited. There was a point where I was like, "Let me just get this out and then let's just move along." But by the time we got to Italy, we had actually been to Florence before. We popped out at one point, I was like, "Oh my gosh, Abby, we ate at that restaurant." And so small things like that kind of started to bring you back within yourself. We were starting to get that and feel a little more maybe not relaxed, but at least not out of control. And we did think we were getting more of a handle on it.
Abby: We got back from the Megaleg, and I looked at well and I was like, "Will, we're gonna be in the finals." That's what I just felt, even though Dukati got the best of Will. (Laughs.) That was another situation where I should have done it, but that's fine. We felt we hit our stride at the end and we could carry that forward.

During that Megaleg, I noticed you passed by a couple of teams working together, saying you wanted to "run your own race." Was that something you were always intending to do, and why?
Will: I think, like we were saying, we started feeling more confident. And we had the map, and it was like, "Okay, I think I know where we're going. We don't need help on this one." And at that point, if we're gonna keep bumping up like we think we're gonna do, you got to take some risks. And so we're like, "Let's just do it. We've done it this far without too much help. Why don't we just really push it without anybody?" And I mean, that was the difference between maybe fifth place if we ran with them. So there was a little bit of strategy there and a little bit of just building confidence. We're like, "Okay, let's test ourselves." And it worked out.
Abby: But don't get us wrong! If it was the right timing we would definitely work with them. I think we just passed Luis and Michelle and Quinton and Mattie at the right time where they really didn't know where we were. So it doesn't make sense to team up right now.

Speaking of other teams, were there any you bonded closely with? I know you didn't get much downtime to hang out outside of watching Will struggle with building a Dukati.
Abby: (Laughs.) I think me and Mattie sat waiting for that Ducati for three and a half hours. And the two of us were like, "Yep, we should have brought lunch." e had all day. But truthfully, the cast of this season is amazing. Everybody that we met was so unique. It was overall a very uplifting group. I felt like we bonded with different teams in different ways, and for different reasons. Luis and Michelle are really big fans, and we talked about that. I think at the time, maybe theMiami Heat and the Boston Celtics were playing in the playoffs. And I was like, "Alright, Luis. Let's go, Celtics!" And so there are different little moments you get, and you kind of hold on to. Like the thing of, "Hey, Abby and Will. We love y'all." That just that touched my heart, too.
Will: Yeah, I would echo Abby. It's such a good group. And we got along great with everyone we talked to. I mean, when you're racing through, it's kind of hard to sit down and just be like, "Hey, so tell me about yourself." But the moments where you did get a Roadblock or Detour, and you kind of converse and get to know the other people, it's such a great group.
Abby: And we were about to work with Derek and Claire on the first leg. But then I bombed the freaking keg roll! And so they left before us. And then it didn't work out that we were ever racing at the same time. So I think so much of it is dependent on  chance a little bit. You happen to be in the same place at the same time. 

Will, you said on the show that you would use the winnings from The Amazing Race to go into a ring fund. While you weren't able to get that money, I did note Rich and Dom did get eliminated, but he still proposed. So not to pry, but I have to ask, is there any particular updates on your relationship status?
Will: Yeah, I mean, with that million dollars, the ring fund could have gone up a lot. So it didn't after that. But that's still a discussion. It'll probably be sooner than later. It may or may not been to check out the options. Let's just say that.

Next, read our interview with Linton and Sharik Atkinson, who were eliminated in The Amazing Race 34 Episode 5.