October 13, 2025 • 55 mins
The missions may be over, but their marriage is stronger than ever. Gia is joined by her ‘Special Forces’ co-stars Shawn Johnson East and Andrew East who take us through their time on the show.
Hear why the three agree that the challenges aren’t what they seem on screen.
Plus, what’s really going on in the editing room, and which cast members are completely different behind the scenes!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey guys, and welcome back to another week of Casual Chaos.
This week, I have two of my Special Forces castmates
and one of the couples that were chosen to be
on Special Forces, Sean and Andrew. Welcome to Casual Chaos
that you. I'm so happy to see you guys. Even
though it's over Zoom, we have to get together soon.
(00:23):
Let's start off, how did this opportunity come to you? Guys?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
They reached out. They have been reaching out and trying
to get me on the show since the origination, but
every season that they reached out, I was either pregnant
or postpartum. And in this season they came with the
double whammy and they said how about you both be
on it? And that one was hard to turn down.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
I think they wanted Sean so bad that the star.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Well, what a journey it was, Gee, what a journey really?
Speaker 1 (00:58):
And I heard you was kind of talking on some
of your podcasts that you felt like this brought you
guys closer and because Andrew, you never saw Sean compete,
so this was really fun for you to see her
in a competitive aspect. And I thought that that was
just so amazing.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Yeah, I think it brought us closer, but kind of
in like a weird way, and that one that I
would recommend to everybody. But it was really really fun
to see Sean in a whole different element. I mean,
I've gotten to know the post gymnastic Sean, the mom Sean,
the wife Sean. I have not really seen the fierce,
(01:38):
ferocious Sean in its full glory. So this was like
an amazing act. Yeah. No, it was terrifying around the
house for the training and everything leading up to it. Gee,
she was like the whole vibe of he.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
I could only imagine. And Sean, you were telling me
how you really did train. You were wearing the weighted vest,
Like what did you do to train yourself for? Same
with you, Andrew.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
I mean, I had just had three babies, so the
past six years, I've had three sea sections and really
not been training seriously. And going into this show, I
had kind of already been on this journey to like
I knew I was done having kids. I knew I
wasn't gonna, like, you know, be having another sea section,
so I really wanted to kind of get back to
(02:22):
feeling strong again and rehabing myself and then came the
offer to the show, and so I was like, I
need to take it up a notch. My fear was
just getting hurt, especially having three babies at home. Coming
back injured was like not an option. I needed to
be able to come back home and still be mom,
and so I decided to. You know, I bought the
weighted best. I bought a sixty pound weighted best because I.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Was so overto so so way more than we needed to.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
So we had thirty pound Burgans, but of course Sean
had the sixty pound.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
I just wanted to make sure I could do it.
And I mean similar to like you being a smaller girl.
I knew from previous seasons having watched them that it
was all equal, so like, it's not like we had
to carry less or smaller items because we were smaller.
And I never want to feel like I can't do
(03:16):
something because of my size. So I tried to overcompensate
for that. So I had a private trainer who would
come over and whip my butt and I would go
rocking and stuff.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
And she's not a morning person, g Is. She was
waking up at four thirty doing these morning workouts. It
was insane. I mean, she took it to another level.
The one thing from the show that.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Did you follow her lead?
Speaker 3 (03:36):
No, no, we try not to work out together. It's
like must be for a disaster.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
We do everything else together, but we do not work
out together.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
But do you remember when they had us hold the
burgens over our head and everybody, myself included, was trembling
because you know you're up there for like over a minute.
Oh yeah, and Sean was just stone cold, just did
not move. There was no muscle failure.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
I remember Foxy walk right by me and looked for
me goes, you're freak. Yeah, I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
No.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
My favorite line, and I'm sure you've seen the reel
of this when Billy came up to you right when
they were taking off the black things over our head
and Billy was like, what do you do? And you
said gymnasts and he goes, yeah, you're flippy flopping all
over the mat. And then they show a clip of
you at one of your meats and you just stuck
(04:26):
the landing. There was no flippy flopping over the mat.
It was like the most insane thing I've ever seen,
And I was like, this is my favorite reel that
they've made so far.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Yeah, I don't know if gymnastics helped, but.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
I think it definitely helped your mindset. You were just
I felt like you listened to every order that the
DS said to us, and you were locked into everything.
But something that I also because we got so close,
especially during the first interrogation, because we were Team Alpha together,
(05:02):
I really saw how you were so hard on yourself
because you were leading us during that first challenge and
you led us to victory. You fully led us to victory,
and you pushed us all so much. And we got
in the car and I could tell that you were
kind of beating yourself up, and I didn't understand it
(05:23):
because I was like, Sean, you're so amazing. You just
led us to the finish line. You led us to
the mission that we had to do, and I just
thought to myself, I was like, this is definitely just
that gymnastics kind of mentality that was probably always instilled
in you, that you always had to be better, And
I wonder if that like affected you during Special Forces.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Absolutely, I was not used to such harsh criticism, and
I feel like coming from gymnastics, I could take criticism
like I was very used to like that wasn't good.
We have to do it again, let's fix it. But
it's always like constructive. And so it was such a
humbling the rewiring of your brain that first twenty four
(06:09):
hours because you and I were like running down this
hill leading the whole team, trying to find this room
that has the bags and like get them up whatever,
and they're just screaming at me. And it's like I
dropped one of the bags and I got screamed up
for dropping it, and then I got screamed up for
not having the heavier one, and I got screamed up
for having the heavy one and taking too much. And
(06:32):
then I was just like I don't know how to
digest any of this, and like is this constructive?
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Is this?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
It was just very confusing to me. So I feel
like I like had to rewire my brain a little
bit after the first day because in gymnastics it's like
if you tell me a critique, I will fix it. Yeah,
this was more about like what can you handle?
Speaker 3 (06:52):
It was really funny to you, gee, it's your credit.
So like Sean, for sure, I think embodied the athletic
mentality of like snap to attention when the coach is
talking to you and like take the constructive feedback. And
I think all the athletes, like with athletic backgrounds kind
of had that same thing where it was like we
were scared, intimidating. It was like flashbacks to coaches because
(07:13):
she wasn't that's what I'm no, that's what I'm saying.
To her credit, I'm so envious because she had like
this another reality that she was living in where you
were you listened and did all the things really well,
but it wasn't. I mean for me, it was out
of place of fear, you know what I'm saying, Like.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
You would fire back at the DS so easily. I
was like, oh, I.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Know, it's so unnatural as an athlete where you're like,
you don't talk back, you take it and you keep going.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
So funny, it was so true, and I just felt
like because some of the times when I was panicking,
I was really panicking, and so when I'm panicking and
they were just screaming at me, I'm like, you're not helping.
Nothing you're doing right now is helping.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
And you wouldn't say that to him though. That's what's crazy.
It's so funny.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
My favorite it like is on replay. In my mind,
my favorite moment is you're doing a challenge I won't
say which one, and you had to carry something and
you were panicking, you were getting nervous and scared, and
you're screaming at Foxy and you're like, you take it,
you hold this, I'm not going to do this anymore.
And he was. He was even shocked, and he was like,
(08:22):
what it was? I love it?
Speaker 1 (08:25):
And honestly, I think Foxy and I had the most
like love hate relationship. But then it's like, finally, I
think the wall was broken and he finally started to
understand me a little bit. But in the beginning, I
just felt like he was so mean to me. I
felt the love a little bit from like Rudy, Q
(08:46):
and Billie, but Foxy, I'm like, this guy just hates me.
And when I felt that from him, I was like, well,
you're getting it right back, like I don't. I don't
appreciate this.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
I feel like I felt like I felt that with Q.
From the beginning. I was like, you, he's gonna be
the guy that's out to get me, and he was
and then broke through the wall at some point, But
who was that for you?
Speaker 3 (09:11):
I was terrified. I was terrib them all.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
To be honest with you, could you have the hardest
time with from the beginning?
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Probably cute Rudy, Yeah, because you're just like, I don't
know how to play this game. Why are you to me?
Speaker 2 (09:22):
You apart a couple of.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Times, yeah, Q had I feel like Q and Billy
were very quick with their comments back, like they just
had it. Their comebacks were quick.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Yeah, so true.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Did you guys talk to anybody from previous seasons to
kind of help you prepare for what to expect for
Special Forces?
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Yeah, we had a couple of friends who did it. Uh,
Savannah christ Is on the show, Buddy Miller, Golden Tate,
Jojoe Joe was on the show. So we would kind
of have like brief but you don't know what questions
I asked, Like all we it would be like was
it as hard as it looked? And they're like harder
than it looked in reality, and then like they tell
(10:07):
you stories, but like some of the things you just
can't prepare for it, like, yeah, it was insane. You
have to face your fears and it's like, well, what's it.
You can't put yourself in a position to like practice
that it's just so unique, and we're like skeptics.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
So every single time someone would say it's so much
harder than like the show shows, we're like, oh but really, yeah,
like it can't possibly be harder.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Yeah, you know, they were right.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
We all were even saying it, even in our group chats.
I was texting Bree on the side and Randall was like,
the first episode was nothing like what it was like there.
They made this look so much easier, and I think
it's so hard because we were really filmed twenty four
hours a day, but then they had to condense those
(10:51):
twenty four hours into one hour. Yeah, so I felt like, yes,
they showed what the challenge was, but they really didn't
show I don't know. I guess it's different for us
because we were in it and we were like our
legs were dying. I felt like I was going to collapse,
like lungs were tightening up, just the whole thing, and
(11:14):
I guess you can't. You are trying to show that
as best as you can.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
And you have like the fancy helicopter which is better
on camera, and then the relay race. You're like, I
mean they showed a little bit of that, but you
can't capture the physical pain, Like that was so hard
it wrecked me. You can't stimulate the heat and the
dust in your mouth, and like, yeah, the helicopter shot
is just an easier, safer bet than trying to capture
all that.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
How did your background, Andrew, like playing in the NFL
help you prepare for Special Forces or was it completely different?
Speaker 3 (11:55):
I think it's totally different. So I think I came
in pretty well prepared physically, Like I like fitness, I'll
do CrossFit. I feel like it's kind of a hobby
of mine. But what I totally under indexed with was
the psychological challenges. And I think, I think like knowing
(12:16):
how to be crafty and witty in those situations. I
just I was like I went in all physical, and
then I realized that there's so many different layers to it,
Like you had to be able to take that constructive,
harsh criticism, you had to be able to do the
psychological challenge, the fear stuff like how do you keep
your nerves? I just didn't know how to prepare for.
(12:37):
So I think, to answer your question, football prepared me
for the physical side of things, but nothing could have
prepared me for the other aspects.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
And I think as the season goes on, we were
a really tough cast, like we were all so physically
fit in the aspect of just getting through the challenges,
but I think a lot of us were in shock
on the mental toll that it was really taking on
all of us and didn't expect that.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
It's a constant agony of knowing something's coming, you don't
know when you don't know what it is, and then
like you're always on edge, you're getting sleep deprived, you're
getting yelled at, You're in a new situation film twenty
four to seven in the middle of the freaking Sahara.
Your body's just like under the extreme heat. Yeah, it's
totally foreign situation.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
I think the hardest part that like people can't grasp
on TV is like we have no concept of time
of any kind. And I don't mean time like throughout
the day, but when you start, when we jump out
of the cars and we start running, we have no
idea if we're going to be running for eight miles
or like eight seconds. They literally just say keep up,
(13:44):
and you don't know if you're going to be cold
in two seconds or two hours. If you can sleep
or not sleep, so you just like never know where
the finish line is, and that really messes with you.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
I one hundred percent agree because even with me and
when I'm working out, my trainer will yell okay, thirty
more seconds or like you know, count you down. So
at least when we're you're training in some aspect, you
kind of know where the finish line is. On the
football field, you know, Okay, I got to make it
x amount of yards to get the touchdown when you're
(14:17):
obviously on the mat performing your routine, Okay, I have
this much left until I'm done. So that really screwed
me up, because even if I go on a run,
I like to like pace myself. Okay, I have point
five more until I reached that mile. So that really
screwed me up because I wish I would have trained
a little harder with my endurance, with my cardio endurance.
(14:40):
I definitely was not prepared for that, and so whenever
we would start running, that's where I was like, I'm
fully panicking right now.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I was panicking during the runs. I don't run. I
don't I hate running.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
And she was at the top of the line every time.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Do you know why, Because it's the easiest place to
be if you're at the back. I would like I
would like deliberately try to like cut people in line
and get to the front, because if I'm trying to
play catch up, I literally panic.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
Yeah, But and that's part of the problem too, because
because you don't know how long the event will be,
you just go balls to the walls. And then, like
people have asked me, well, do you wish you would
have paced yourself, You're like, no, you had to go
fast because if you don't know, you don't do well,
then your team gets penalized. You don't want to be
that guy. So you're like, I just got to go
full sind and then hopefully I can hang on for
as long as I need to. Dude, it gets I.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Just remember one of the days totally. I remember one
of the days, like we had to run a lot
and then we had to a challenge, and then we
thought it was over and we had to go run
these suicides brutal Oh and that was.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
All my fault.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
Why No, I feel like I feel like it was
always inevitable. Any penalty we did that was always pretty
pup and they were just looking for somebody.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
That was the day I got really mad at fox.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
I remember that. I remember that.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Yeah, yeah, that was all my faults. So as we
were doing that, I was panicking because I'm crying because
my body couldn't take it anymore. Then I'm just crying
because I feel so bad that everyone is doing this
because of me. And then You're right. I mean, maybe
it would have been inevitable, like they just wanted to
(16:24):
break us a little more, and they were gonna make
us do this regardless. But when they made us do that,
like Foxy was looking right at me, some people can't
control their tempers.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Those suicides almost that was probably my closest breaking point.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Oh, that day was my breaking point. I think it
was a lot of ours. And yeah, I really thought
I was gonna tap. I recently just had Jesse and
Eric on my podcast and Jesse was saying, how you
mentor her daughter in gymnastics, And I just thought that
was so sweet because when I was younger, if I
(17:03):
had an Olympic gymnast mentoring me, I would feel like
the luckiest girl in the world. And that's so special.
Was it nice having Jesse and Eric beyond Special Forces
with you guys. Knowing how close you guys are, it
was I.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Feel like it kind of give us a sense of home,
you know how it felt. We all show up on
day one, we haven't met each other or seen each other.
I think we kind of like cross paths with each
other at the hotel and we're like, are you on
the show? Or are you on the show. But having
that sense of like friendship gave us a little bit
of comfort at the beginning. It gave you someone to
(17:42):
bond with and kind of look at. But I also
feel like we all got to that level of friendship
within the first twenty four hours really, so it really
it just kind of grew from there. It was great
going in together because we could kind of lean on
each other. But then after day one, it was like
we're a giant family.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
Do you feel like you made lifelong friends on the show, Gia?
Speaker 1 (18:02):
Yes, I love you guys so much, and I feel
like you know, Andrew, when you said it in La
at that big family dinner after press, you said how
people do shows together and life goes on and sometimes
you lose touch and everything like that. But when you
(18:23):
said that, I got so sad because I was like,
I never want to lose touch with any of you,
and I feel like even if we don't talk every day,
we'll kind of pick up right where we left off,
just because Special Forces was so bonding and I really
hope we at least majority of us stay close as
a cast.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Yeah. I agree. It gives you a new appreciation though,
for like the actual military and the relationships with they form,
because if they're in actual combat and they're trauma bonding
together through that, I can't imagine how close that would
make them and how close those like friendships are.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Yeah, oh yeah. And I think just throughout Special Forces,
I think all of us, as much as we were
pushing ourselves and pushing each other, we also were all
kind of taking a step back and realizing what these
ds actually go through and the sacrifice they make for
our country, but also their family, how they really leave
(19:22):
their family, and sometimes they go into battle not knowing
if they're going to come out. So I think all
of that was also just so mind boggling for all
of us. And I mean I could only imagine you guys,
because it was probably so hard to leave your babies.
And then some nights when they would tell us their
(19:43):
stories and we really would feel warped into like feeling
like we were really in combat.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Yeah, so it was.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
There were crazy times where it was like we were
doing things that they had to do before go going
into a really hard battle. And I mean, how was that?
Leaving your babies and also just growing with this whole course.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Really hard. It was really good. We being able to
invest in time for us and do something like this
and challenge ourselves and pay tribute and respect to the
DS and the military was amazing. But leaving our babies
is really hard. We have a five year old to
a four year old and a one year old. I
ended up meeting with a child psychiatrist before we ever left,
just to make sure that if we are gone for
(20:31):
the whole duration, is that going to mess our kids up.
I had set up the entire works. I had grandma's
on both sides, grandpa's, aunts, uncles, cousins. They went to
camp for a little bit, they went to the lake,
they were showered in lips. They never even knew we
were gone pretty much. But I do think having been
(20:52):
so in the trenches of like babyhood and motherhood and fatherhood,
being able to take a step back and go through
these extra sizes that the DS had put us through,
like reflecting and talking about our kids and our family.
It gave you such a deeper appreciation than you were
even capable of feeling.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Yeah, and to do it together, Like, yeah, I'm so
glad we got to do it together, because imagine trying
to explain the full detail to somebody, like get you
get home or back to the barracks in camp after
doing this brutal challenge and all you want is a
decent meal and they gave you this hard, stale bread
that was disgusting. Had enough, Like, there's so much little
(21:31):
things that we all experienced together that like I think
if Sean and I didn't do it together, it would
be h so difficult to try to convey and communicate
the whole experience. But honestly, that's been it's been dis
orient thing to me. And I'm curious if you have
the same experience because we got to know I didn't
know like a lot of people's backgrounds. So you get
(21:51):
to know these people for the first time and you're
like going through all this stuff, suffering together, encouraging each other.
And obviously there's like different styles that everybody had, but
I think, like, you really see the beautiful, redemptive qualities
of everybody in that context. And then when we got
home and you start like looking them up and seeing
(22:12):
what they're putting out on Instagram or seeing what the
internet's saying about them, You're like, oh, my gosh, this
is like that. That's not the person I know that
I got to meet. You know what I'm saying, how's
that been for you?
Speaker 1 (22:23):
One hundred percent? And I even felt that with some
of the people that were on our cast, obviously just
seeing what they've gone through, and I've been having conversations
with people as well, and I'm like, that could be
your opinion, but I genuinely love this person. Yeah, And
this is the connection that I felt with them. There
(22:45):
were certain friends of mine who would ask me about
cast members and talk about their past and I'm like,
but I knew them for who they were on the course,
and they were so nice to me. I have such
a genuine connection with them, and this is my opinion
on them. So I kind of just disassociated anything that
(23:06):
online says about them and just I look at them
how we met them on Special Forces.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
I actually said, this is something that day because they're
asking about cast members, and I said it, it was
fascinating because every single day we would do three or
four different things and would be you know, put in
groups of two or three or five or whatever, and
so we really got to know people on a very
intimate level. And I don't think I could name a
single cast member that I wouldn't trust to have my
(23:35):
back on a course like that, where like explosions are
going off and it's life or death, and every single
person I trusted to truly like help me, save me,
encourage me, be there for me, and says you. It's
like you'd come home and you're like, WHOA, don't talk
about my person.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
That way, you know, literally, And it's so funny because
I even try to explain things to my boyfriend Christian,
and during some of the challenges, I'm like, no, but
you don't understand, like this is how hard it was,
and it's like, this is what's happening, and like you
guys were saying, it really is so difficult because I'm
trying to explain it to him, like to the nitty
(24:15):
gritty yeah, and he's like I would love to, like
he is so adventurous he goes, I would love to
do this. I would do this for free. This is amazing,
like he would have he would love to do Special Forces,
and he thinks it's so cool that like I was
able to do it, but actually explaining to him like, okay,
this was the first episode, but this is actually how
(24:36):
hard it was, Like it's so difficult. So it really
is so nice that you guys had each other because
at least you two get it as partners, like and
you guys are like, okay, at least we understand it.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
It's actually interesting too, something that's hard to capture on
TV is kind of like you were saying, they are
so good at simulating and driving this feeling inside of
you of like fight or fly the right fight or fight? Yeah, yeah,
to where yes there's cameras around, and yes it's like
(25:08):
not real, but I truly felt like I was in
I'm About to Die about.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
They sent us some clips to use for social media
for episode three, and they have the explosions on there,
and as we're watching, we're like, that looks so late,
Like it doesn't look nearly as intense as what it
was when you had the explosions, dirt flying in front
of your face. I felt like Q was just riding us,
yelling at us. He's like Juste's like, come on, guys,
(25:35):
and in the moment's.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
I know so different. Every single one of us got
out of that challenge like that was the hardest thing
of my life, hyperventilated. I had three bourgains walking out
of that. Mark wanted to kill me because I kept
dropping the body, like.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
The poor body. The guy, the actual guy actually kind
of cussed. By the end of that.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
I had to like and there must have been a
weighted best on him.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
There has been.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
It was so heavy.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
And the edges of that sled on the handles was
just like hard metal. It was so hot, so hot.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
There's a there's a from the raw footage that we got.
There's a clip of me and my uh and like
my raw footage that they sent me, and I go,
my hands are so cut up right now, like the
blisters are insane. But yeah, that was I don't know.
I felt like that challenge didn't look as hard either,
But I think the latter challenge you can't like that
(26:45):
was hard. I mean, actually, there's probably a walk in
the park. I probably thought it was a balance be.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
I didn't mind that one at all. I actually thought
that one was a little I got yelled at for that.
I don't know if they're I don't know if this
was fully shown, but there's a part where I jumping
over the walls and then then the first go over
the ladder and I go over the ladder like kind
of fast because it didn't make it didn't make me
feel scared at all. No, yeah, and Q He's like,
(27:16):
how was that? And I said the wrong thing, but
I go kind of fun and he flipped a switch
and he goes you think this is just and he's
like cussing me out, dude.
Speaker 3 (27:28):
It was so confusing because sometimes they would make jokes
with you, like Billy one makes jokes, and then if
you try to joke back, sometimes he would be friendly
to it. Other times they'd switch into like yelling at
you mode. You're like, wait a minute, I thought we
were having like I thought we were five and I
was having a good time.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
No exactly said.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
I was like, this was my career, like fights in
small things don't scare me.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
I was like I'm sorry, No, it was so funny.
When I first started, I was like inching up the
slowest ever, and they were like number eighteen, let's go,
asked her. And then I finally started running along the pegs.
But at first I was going as slow as molasses.
(28:09):
I was shaking, like trembling, and I mean, I can
only imagine how you felt. Andrew like that was so
so that was like scary and you guys are big guys.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
The ladder, yeah, yeah, so the ladder definitely like the
weight aspect of it. I was given the ladder a
hard time just because I have weigh two hundred and
twenty five pounds and this thing was bending to the max.
But honestly, Sean and I got to do that together.
So she did it, and I was like, I mean,
Sean's dominating the whole time up to this point, and
I was like, I have this is the one thing
that I might be able to beat her in because
(28:41):
she went first, and so I was just like locked
in on getting to the other side as fast as
possible because we had a little cheeky competition going on.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
He said, the Stopwatch on his actual watch and he
did it in yeah yeah, and then he got yelled at.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
He didn't worry. You did not like that either. Game anyway. Yeah, dude,
the wind was like serious business up there.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
Serious. Yeah, but I mean just because of like the
guys that were your size Andrew, like I know, Nick
was like panicking.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
My favorite line of the whole, like all of Nick
was I don't want to be an army man no more.
You said that all the.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Time, all the time. And then in this episode two
they showed where we all got really intimate with each other.
Were you, guys nervous for that because this was both
of your first times? I'm assuming Oh, well, I guess
Dancing with the Stars was reality TV, but you I
(29:43):
feel like you really didn't get too personal on Dancing
with the Stars like this, we got personal when you
were brought into interrogation rooms and then we just got
so close as teammates. And how was that for you guys?
Were you because half the time I didn't I forgot
that the cameras were even there, and I was just
(30:04):
having fun with you guys and just so comfortable. But
I also kind of grew up in the reality TV space,
So how did that feel for you, guys?
Speaker 2 (30:12):
To get shares his story.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
Yeah, the way you're saying intimate, she is like, so just.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
Just we're sharing stories.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Okay, So Rudy comes in and like, okay, sorry, is
that the wrong word we're getting.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
We all got so into it with each other. I mean, okay, geez,
I don't know what's going on your side of the barracks,
but my gosh, anyway, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
This was Okay, it was do you know what I'm
talking about?
Speaker 3 (30:46):
Comes in. Rudy comes in and shares a really deep story,
which was the first time that we saw the other
side of the DS of like, oh man, they're really
like sharing some serious stuff.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
And he tells us in a circle and share something
really vulnerable about our and.
Speaker 3 (31:01):
It was so strained because we're only with these people
at this point for three days. Yeah, and we like
everybody shared their deepest, darkest shame secret, like hardest thing
they're going through. And like, looking back, it's such a
rare context of like, no one is that comfortable with
each other in that short amount of time, except if
(31:21):
you do these things in that context. And so I
think what I've been really shocked by on the show
is how how much of like the barracks footage they're
they're using, and like, when you're in there, you don't
notice those cameras really and you're like, ah, they're probably
not going to use any of this, but they use it.
(31:41):
And I did not like the reality TV show vibe.
It was like so stressful just to know that they
could be using any of this footage and mashing it
up with any other thing I've said, and like, I
just didn't know how that's going to turn out. Fortunately,
I feel like the show is very generous and mind
with how they're trying too.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
I think it's very positive. Yeah, within everybody's story, like
and they have it looks really good.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
And they try like they give you an opportunity to
make yourself look good, and like I feel like you
really have to try to mess it up.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
There's no false narratives going on with editing of any
kind anyway.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
Yeah, it was that was that was really wild for me,
with the cameras and the constant mic and it's like
never done anything like it.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
I actually loved the intimacy side of it, like the
conversations because up until that point, like Andrew said, we
didn't really know everybody, but like I knew some people,
and I knew some people for what their headlines were
and being able to like hear them open up in
the context of knowing them for seventy two hours and
seeing how they operate under fear and pressure and stuff
(32:43):
was really eye opening and made us all like bond
even closer. It's almost like now I understand you more
and I can protect you better. Yeah, I remember, I
feel like we had really bonded with Randall Kobb after that,
because I will never forget. In one of the challenges
that's coming up, Randall got pushed really far and he
(33:04):
almost got pushed past a point where I remember him
coming to us and him saying like I'm not good yes,
and I need you like I need to lean on
you now for a while, and it made it all
like made sense and it was like, okay, I've got you.
And the next one it reversed and so it was
a beautiful yeah, beautiful part.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
Of the show. It's all intentional. Yeah, the DS probably
sets us up to get this close and tell our
stories because it makes us form these bonds. So it's
cool how this whole show is just very strategically done
to make us, I don't know, become lifelong best friends.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
They know what they're doing, that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
They really do. Between the two of you, who do
you think handled the challenges better?
Speaker 2 (33:58):
Andrew?
Speaker 3 (33:59):
I think I did these the challenges way worse when
it came to everything else.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
The challenges were so hard for me. The weight, how
large the thing, the like items were that we had
to move and carry. Miles Afron like, that was hard.
And Andrew, we were watching episode two and he literally said,
(34:25):
the stairs weren't that bad, and I was like, you suck.
Speaker 3 (34:29):
That was.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
That was so hard.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
That was so hard. And it was so funny because
obviously my mom was struggling during the stairs, like really bad,
and so the DS are yelling at her because they're like,
you're holding your daughter back and all this stuff. Once
we actually got up the stairs and we made it
to obviously the aircraft challenge, I kept saying to my
(34:56):
mom like, I know you were really struggling, but it's
okay because when you stopped, it gave me an excuse
to stop, so it was totally fine, Like don't beat
yourself up about it, because I was actually really grateful.
So she thought that was so funny. But yeah, no,
that was so hard. That had to have been like
(35:17):
two hundred flights.
Speaker 3 (35:19):
I did you know, you guys did great.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
There's a walk in the park for Andrew.
Speaker 3 (35:23):
And what about you? I mean, who do you feel like?
Who were you? One? Who did you walk away being
closest with? And then two? Who were you?
Speaker 1 (35:33):
Like?
Speaker 3 (35:33):
Dang that that person I would want to be their
teammate walking into the next challenge, not knowing what it
would be.
Speaker 1 (35:50):
I walked away probably closest with. I think Brie and
I got really close throughout the Special Forces. But then
to have like a teammate like Sean, like, she pushed
me so much, and it was funny because I looked
(36:10):
at her, and you know, there were even times where
I felt like she was pushing me and I would
get you know, annoyed within myself and then take it
out on her a little bit and totally didn't mean to,
but it was just like in the moment, and I
knew she was looking out for me and pushing me
to my limits. But there were times where obviously you're
like so overwhelmed, but she was one of the most
(36:32):
like motivating people for me. And then the guy like,
you guys were just so amazing to like for helping us.
And my mom like always says that like they were
such gentlemen, every all of the guys, and I was like,
they really were, because even though we were smaller as
females and we were struggling, you guys would help us,
(36:54):
even just lift our burgains and you have no idea,
but you guys just lifting the back of our burgains
made the world of a difference. Like it was like
night and day. So just having that like security of
you guys and just helping us, it was it was amazing. Yeah,
I don't think I would be able to do without
(37:14):
any of you.
Speaker 3 (37:15):
It was really cool to see how we all helped
each other in different ways. And no, Lie, I feel
since the show it's so spoiled to get a spend
every day with Sean, because like it changed my perspective
from like what you can get into as a couple
where it's like, ah, why are you? Why are you
nitpicking here? Why you why are you criticize him here?
(37:37):
And that show really reframed everything I saw Sean and
all the feedback I was getting from her from like
oh what was me to wait a minute, she like,
there is no teammate like Sean teammate And I'm thinking
so high to be able to do every day with her.
It's it's been so fun just to see the lasting
(37:57):
effects that the show has had, and I think I
feel like it really did positively impact our relationships. So
maybe you feel the same. I'm not sure.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Oh for sure I feel the same my ride or not.
And also I hoping you guys not. Yeah, yeah, I
said it from day one though, when we were stuck
on the mountain together Gyea it was you and Brie,
I was like, I will choose you guys every challenge
every time. We bonded so quickly in that first day, I.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
Was just gonna ask you, guys, who do you think
you got closest with and who would you go into
combat with?
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Because of the first day and like being thrown into
that whole environment, they separated all of us into two teams,
that team Alpha and Bravo, and I think on our team, you,
me and Brie just all being like similar mindset, similar sizing,
so like everything, we just bonded really closely and kind
(38:51):
of like they were very defining moments in the season
when we were there of having to lean on you guys,
and like vice versa, that just stuck with me.
Speaker 3 (39:01):
So you too, honestly, Randall for one of the challenges
later that has not been showed yet. I feel like
him and I became brother. He's in a really fun way.
Eric and I, I think, understand each other so much
differently in it.
Speaker 1 (39:16):
And you guys are like the trio Yeah.
Speaker 3 (39:18):
Yeah, and Christy for you, I mean Randall and you
saw the worst side of me. I feel like we're
this freaking embarrassment and failure and you're like, all right,
well we gotta go with this. But I guess I
want to stay tuned to watch that part of it.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
No, definitely. Everyone said that this was such a life
altering experience. What was something that you guys discovered about yourselves.
Speaker 2 (39:44):
Reaffirmed even more? Just like Andrew's my rider and I
and I feel like Billy and the DS were like
trying to question that the whole time of Like, would
you truly choose him or vice versa in any scenario
under you know, harsh conditions, and I would say yes always.
And I think outside of our marriage, having done the
(40:07):
kid thing for six years, I wondered if I was
capable of doing something physically or mentally challenging. Again, I
haven't really tapped into that since I was sixteen seventeen
years old, and so I got caught up in the
spiral of motherhood for a while where it was serving
everyone else but myself, and it just made me feel
(40:27):
strong again, and it kind of propped me up as
a mother to feel like I am strong enough for
my children and for our family, and I needed that.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
Yeah, the word that comes to mind is just inspired.
Like I said, I'm inspired in a new way with
our relationship. After that, it's like a fresh takee Oh
my gosh, I'm just glad to be here and not
in Morocco. Is kind of how I feel every day now.
It's like, dang, we got it so good. You have
no idea. I'm also inspired, kind of like what I
(41:00):
was saying earlier, just a new perspective of a lot
of times you don't get the opportunity to see the
good sides of people, and so like just being reminded
that everyone has redemptive qualities and I just need to
(41:20):
search for them. Yeah, it was just like so fun
to I think I'm also inspired by knowing that hard things, obviously,
as the word would imply, are difficult, but the amount
of good things that can come from that, like proving
something to yourself or bonding with other people is still good.
(41:43):
So it's like I'm more inspired to chase after some
more and I think thoughtfully difficult things as opposed to
saying I don't need to do this right now, or
you know, I'm thirty four now, so you can kind
of just start you kind of start picking and choose,
and it feels like what difficult I want to deal with,
(42:04):
or this is just inconvenient. It's like, no, let's just
do more of this because there's good things that can come.
Speaker 1 (42:09):
Would you guys say that this was the hardest thing
you've ever done in your life? Or does the NFL
and the Olympics pass this up?
Speaker 3 (42:18):
No way harder than.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
No way harder than the Olympics. Comparing it, It's just
like the Olympics were hard because it was compiled over
a fifteen year time span. It's a very long, large commitment.
This was the hardest condensed period of time I've ever gone.
Speaker 3 (42:40):
Through, the hardest ten days you've ever gone through. Yeah,
that's probably accurate.
Speaker 1 (42:45):
Yeah, yeah, I think that's accurate for all of us.
Speaker 2 (42:48):
I mean, like childbirth and stuff of course is like
very difficult and hard. But no, like the period of
time has is unmatched.
Speaker 3 (42:57):
Yeah, I agree with that.
Speaker 1 (42:59):
Did anyone supp as you by their toughness?
Speaker 2 (43:01):
Every you are you kidding, Leah freaking you did? Oh
my gosh, your run gea, however long it was, was
the most inspiring thing I've ever seen in my life.
Because one, you were the youngest of the group, right, yeah. Yeah,
And to see like your journey almost like the you
(43:22):
could you could see firsthand your rollercoaster of like your
security you had in your mom and then when she left,
and like your insecurity and then your fears and how
you overcame them, and just like it was the coolest
thing to witness.
Speaker 3 (43:35):
No, but legitimately yes, incredibly impressive. Everybody in their own
way was so tough. Like if you think about bre.
Speaker 1 (43:43):
Pre surprised me just because I knew that before Special Forces,
my girl was not working out and I knew that, Yeah,
and she shocked me the most.
Speaker 3 (43:54):
Yeah, it was amazing. And then Johnny was tough in
the sense that, like she, he was sober leading up
to it, which is tough. That's its own form of toughness.
Eric was tough because he got super injured and he
like pressed through. Randall was was tough because of that
instance of fear that was like hard to work through.
Speaker 2 (44:11):
Everybody like everyone such a tough cast.
Speaker 3 (44:15):
It was awesome.
Speaker 1 (44:17):
So yeah, you guys were just these So from the start,
did you have any predictions on who you thought would win?
Speaker 3 (44:26):
Sean? No, yes, Sean.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
Like from the start, I have to say, like my
top four were you two. This was hard because then
Jesse was so tough too, So like I have to say,
like you two as couples, like you two, and then
also Jesse and Eric and then Randall. Yeah, I thought
(44:55):
Randall was taking it home too.
Speaker 2 (44:57):
Same I would say Andrew, Eric Randall were like my three.
I would I like put money on at the beginning.
Speaker 3 (45:07):
Never, I'm never betting against Sean.
Speaker 1 (45:11):
I mean, how could you?
Speaker 3 (45:12):
And also you're like, well, you're like, how many people
can make it the distance? Is there a set cap
on that or they technically say everybody?
Speaker 1 (45:19):
Yeah? I don't think so, because I don't know. I
haven't I didn't watch season one and two all the
way through, but I watched season three all the way through,
and I know there were two winners for season three.
I'm not sure about one and two, but I mean
at least a handful of people make it to interrogation,
(45:41):
so there could potentially be four or five winners.
Speaker 3 (45:46):
Right, potentially a lot to stay tuned to find.
Speaker 1 (45:48):
Out, potentially just talking from previous seasons. Of course, are
you guys excited to watch the rest of the season
of Special Forces and are your kids going to be watching?
Speaker 2 (46:00):
Ecstatic to watch the season? I am loving it. Ia
and I have talked about like when since we lived
it individually, it's like we didn't get to hear everything
that you were saying, you know, over on your side
of the barracks, and like how you a lot of
times we didn't get to see each other even do
the challenges because we'd be like isolated and so getting
(46:22):
to complete everybody's story that we like knew personally there
but see how they like went through it has been
really cool to watch, and like, now that we're like
decompressed and not feeling like we're dying every second, it's
fun to watch.
Speaker 3 (46:37):
And also let's let's just stay at the obvious. The
whole thing is so dope, Like it really is something
that I would pay to do. Yeah, and then you
add on like all this. The production is top notch,
the fancy cameras and how they'd add this slow mo
like everything looks so cool. So yeah, it's a blast
to watch, and it's even cooler and more exciting to
like know all of the background behind the scenes that
(46:59):
when into that one little episode that they made and.
Speaker 2 (47:02):
Our kids are they watching it? No, it's way too
intense for the how little they are, and like explaining,
like right now we're at ages of them where we're
like containing controlling fear for them. So like their little
brains are just like going crazy, so actively showing them
when mommy and daddy are afraid for their lives is
(47:25):
probably not a good idea.
Speaker 1 (47:26):
Too much blood, yea, how do you explain vulgar language?
Speaker 3 (47:32):
Are so many beeps when these guys talk. Well, we
told him.
Speaker 2 (47:38):
That mommy and daddy hats to jump out of a helicopter,
and so that's like the one thing they have seen
so far, and they think it's so cool. They're adrenaline
junkies just like us, so they want to do it.
And our four year old thinks he's like a little
army man now because he wears he wears.
Speaker 1 (47:52):
My wait, I was seeing I forget which one of
your babies, like literally climb your rock wall and go
on the gymnastic mats. I was like, this is a
mini Sean.
Speaker 3 (48:01):
Yeah, thank what's new with you? Though? Gee, how the
heck you've been This is such a tree. I'm gonna
milk this time for all that we can get at it.
Speaker 1 (48:12):
I mean, I've been good. I'm moving out next month.
Speaker 2 (48:14):
You found an apartment.
Speaker 1 (48:15):
I found an Apartment's good. I'm super excited. So I'm
moving out and literally a little less than a month,
I'm moving to Jersey City, so right outside New York.
It's honestly perfect. I love the neighborhood. It kind of
reminds me of a smaller New York City. But I
have all the easy access to get into the city.
(48:37):
Ten minute walk to the path, ten minute walk to
the ferry, so it's perfect. And I just can't wait
to walk everywhere and just not use my car. I
feel like I've been using my car so much, just
commuting it back and forth into the city, So I
can't wait to just live this commuter lifestyle.
Speaker 3 (48:54):
Are you a Christian about to like lock it down
or what's the deal?
Speaker 4 (48:58):
I know, not yet, I'm actually moving into this place
by myself, which I'm really excited about, right and he.
Speaker 1 (49:09):
Wants to move in with me soon, but I kind
of wanted to do this part alone at first. And
I've never really lived alone. So when I was in college,
I had roommates. Then I came back home and I
just felt like I was always looking out for somebody
(49:30):
in my house, whether it was like driving my sisters
or you know, when you're at school roommates, you're not
really on your own. So I'm kind of looking forward
to just being me in my space for a little bit,
even if it's six months, Like he can come in
six months later, but like, I just want to start
this by myself first.
Speaker 3 (49:51):
You got a dog or a cat or anything.
Speaker 1 (49:53):
I do have a dog. She's right here. This is Bella,
a little multi fu But I've had her since I
was really little, like maybe ten or eleven. So she's
twelve wo and she's still kicking. So I'm like her mommy,
(50:14):
and I really take care of her, like I give
her like doggy vitamins and like the whole thing. So
I really want to take her with me to Jersey City.
I'm just nervous that she's going to freak out when
she's alone in the apartment because there's always just so
much chaos happening in this house, so that'll be like
trial and error.
Speaker 3 (50:34):
But congrats, she's doing great.
Speaker 1 (50:39):
She's doing good. He's just working and you know, hustling,
trying to do the best she can. But she's she's
doing good. What about you, guys? How's the pod? How's work?
You guys have looked like you're traveling everywhere?
Speaker 3 (50:55):
Right, So crushing it, Sean is just pretty crushing it that.
Speaker 1 (51:00):
Guys, your your videos have been killing me, killing me.
They've been so good, No, such a good way. They've
been so good recently. I'm like, oh, they're they're they're
loving it.
Speaker 3 (51:13):
Shout out to the squad. We have a blast. I
love what we're gonna do. And uh, I can't believe
that we get to do it every day and called it.
Speaker 1 (51:22):
But anything exciting coming up for you guys?
Speaker 3 (51:26):
We finish our book?
Speaker 1 (51:27):
Oh yeah, wait, are you guys going to do a
book tour?
Speaker 2 (51:31):
Yeah? In the spring.
Speaker 1 (51:33):
Okay, so you totally need to let me know when
you were in New York.
Speaker 3 (51:37):
We will don't tease though, because we were there yesterday
we didin't get to see you. Maybe it's our fault.
Speaker 2 (51:41):
That's our fault. We were literally in the city for now.
Speaker 1 (51:43):
That was both of our faults. We we didn't know.
Speaker 3 (51:46):
Yeah, I got a big day tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (51:48):
Andrew is finishing his PhD.
Speaker 3 (51:51):
Yeah, Andrew, I gotta give a big presentation, which would
be fun.
Speaker 1 (51:56):
Yeah, that's amazing because you were you were telling me
that you were still you were still in school right
when we were.
Speaker 2 (52:04):
Yeah, he gives a huge presentation to like literally finish
his doctor at tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (52:09):
That's incredible.
Speaker 3 (52:10):
And all I want to do next the questioning wink wink.
All I have to do is just go through some questioning,
not unlike potentially you know something else, something else, and
maybe I'll do better. It's time. But now I wanted
to do it for all the content that we put out,
just to have like a little more academic rigor behind it.
(52:32):
Are you going through law school or what's the dealgy.
Speaker 1 (52:36):
I graduated with a degree in criminal justice and a
minor in sociology. And then when I graduated, I just
like my career just like skyrocketed, and I to go
to law school and even so many tutors professors because
I was studying for my LSATs. They were like, if
(52:59):
you were not one hundred percent invested in this, there
is no point to go to law school right now
because it's your full time job and doing Special Forces
just you know, Next Gen MYC the other show that
I'm on on Bravo, there's just con And you know
how it is with content creating and filming content. You
really and then our podcasts, like you really are constantly
(53:24):
busy twenty four to seven, and your schedule is so unpredictable,
like brand trips come up randomly, or I've been traveling
for the past month, like home for a day at
a time, and I'm like, how did this even happen?
I blinked my eye and it's like we're traveling constantly.
So I wish because it really is my passion and
I genuinely love it, but I just wish that I
(53:47):
would be able to lock down to it right now.
But I just don't want to set myself up for
failure either, So I'm just like, I don't think it's
the right time right now. And your house, how's everything
going with that?
Speaker 2 (54:00):
H great? Hopefully moving in in a month, So.
Speaker 1 (54:04):
Okay, exciting. So before the holidays, maybe two yeah, just
two weeks of December, Okay, love that in the middle
of the holidays, which is great. That's gonna be hectic.
Hopefully you're not hosting Thanksgiving.
Speaker 3 (54:17):
No, no, honestly, I could still live in the barracks
for the rest of my life. That Sean has put
a lot of work into this house. I'm excited to
be there.
Speaker 2 (54:27):
Next time you're in Nashville, you have to come stay
with us.
Speaker 1 (54:29):
I know I Jesse actually texted us about her movie premiere. Yeah,
and so I'm gonna really try to make it work.
Speaker 2 (54:39):
If you come out to the premiere for Jesse's movie,
you're gonna stay at our house. Okay, Okay, we're gonna
fight over you.
Speaker 1 (54:47):
Okay. Love you guys so much, and make sure to
tune in. Special Forces World's Toughest Test is out now
every Thursday at nine eighth Central on Fox and Hulu. Oh,
thank you guys so much for coming on Casual Chaos.
Speaker 2 (55:03):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (55:05):
Where can they find you? Guys? Your podcast, your socials.
Speaker 3 (55:10):
You don't want to check out our stuff. It's embarrassing
and you're better off not seeing it, So don't don't
google us do on Instagram much.
Speaker 2 (55:19):
Thanks there you go.
Speaker 3 (55:20):
Don't recommend it.
Speaker 1 (55:22):
You guys are the best. Love you so so much.
Say hello to the kiddies for me.
Hey guys, and welcome back to another week of Casual Chaos.
This week, I have two of my Special Forces castmates
and one of the couples that were chosen to be
on Special Forces, Sean and Andrew. Welcome to Casual Chaos
that you. I'm so happy to see you guys. Even
though it's over Zoom, we have to get together soon.
(00:23):
Let's start off, how did this opportunity come to you? Guys?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
They reached out. They have been reaching out and trying
to get me on the show since the origination, but
every season that they reached out, I was either pregnant
or postpartum. And in this season they came with the
double whammy and they said how about you both be
on it? And that one was hard to turn down.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
I think they wanted Sean so bad that the star.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Well, what a journey it was, Gee, what a journey really?
Speaker 1 (00:58):
And I heard you was kind of talking on some
of your podcasts that you felt like this brought you
guys closer and because Andrew, you never saw Sean compete,
so this was really fun for you to see her
in a competitive aspect. And I thought that that was
just so amazing.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Yeah, I think it brought us closer, but kind of
in like a weird way, and that one that I
would recommend to everybody. But it was really really fun
to see Sean in a whole different element. I mean,
I've gotten to know the post gymnastic Sean, the mom Sean,
the wife Sean. I have not really seen the fierce,
(01:38):
ferocious Sean in its full glory. So this was like
an amazing act. Yeah. No, it was terrifying around the
house for the training and everything leading up to it. Gee,
she was like the whole vibe of he.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
I could only imagine. And Sean, you were telling me
how you really did train. You were wearing the weighted vest,
Like what did you do to train yourself for? Same
with you, Andrew.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
I mean, I had just had three babies, so the
past six years, I've had three sea sections and really
not been training seriously. And going into this show, I
had kind of already been on this journey to like
I knew I was done having kids. I knew I
wasn't gonna, like, you know, be having another sea section,
so I really wanted to kind of get back to
(02:22):
feeling strong again and rehabing myself and then came the
offer to the show, and so I was like, I
need to take it up a notch. My fear was
just getting hurt, especially having three babies at home. Coming
back injured was like not an option. I needed to
be able to come back home and still be mom,
and so I decided to. You know, I bought the
weighted best. I bought a sixty pound weighted best because I.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Was so overto so so way more than we needed to.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
So we had thirty pound Burgans, but of course Sean
had the sixty pound.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
I just wanted to make sure I could do it.
And I mean similar to like you being a smaller girl.
I knew from previous seasons having watched them that it
was all equal, so like, it's not like we had
to carry less or smaller items because we were smaller.
And I never want to feel like I can't do
(03:16):
something because of my size. So I tried to overcompensate
for that. So I had a private trainer who would
come over and whip my butt and I would go
rocking and stuff.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
And she's not a morning person, g Is. She was
waking up at four thirty doing these morning workouts. It
was insane. I mean, she took it to another level.
The one thing from the show that.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Did you follow her lead?
Speaker 3 (03:36):
No, no, we try not to work out together. It's
like must be for a disaster.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
We do everything else together, but we do not work
out together.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
But do you remember when they had us hold the
burgens over our head and everybody, myself included, was trembling
because you know you're up there for like over a minute.
Oh yeah, and Sean was just stone cold, just did
not move. There was no muscle failure.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
I remember Foxy walk right by me and looked for
me goes, you're freak. Yeah, I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
No.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
My favorite line, and I'm sure you've seen the reel
of this when Billy came up to you right when
they were taking off the black things over our head
and Billy was like, what do you do? And you
said gymnasts and he goes, yeah, you're flippy flopping all
over the mat. And then they show a clip of
you at one of your meats and you just stuck
(04:26):
the landing. There was no flippy flopping over the mat.
It was like the most insane thing I've ever seen,
And I was like, this is my favorite reel that
they've made so far.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Yeah, I don't know if gymnastics helped, but.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
I think it definitely helped your mindset. You were just
I felt like you listened to every order that the
DS said to us, and you were locked into everything.
But something that I also because we got so close,
especially during the first interrogation, because we were Team Alpha together,
(05:02):
I really saw how you were so hard on yourself
because you were leading us during that first challenge and
you led us to victory. You fully led us to victory,
and you pushed us all so much. And we got
in the car and I could tell that you were
kind of beating yourself up, and I didn't understand it
(05:23):
because I was like, Sean, you're so amazing. You just
led us to the finish line. You led us to
the mission that we had to do, and I just
thought to myself, I was like, this is definitely just
that gymnastics kind of mentality that was probably always instilled
in you, that you always had to be better, And
I wonder if that like affected you during Special Forces.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Absolutely, I was not used to such harsh criticism, and
I feel like coming from gymnastics, I could take criticism
like I was very used to like that wasn't good.
We have to do it again, let's fix it. But
it's always like constructive. And so it was such a
humbling the rewiring of your brain that first twenty four
(06:09):
hours because you and I were like running down this
hill leading the whole team, trying to find this room
that has the bags and like get them up whatever,
and they're just screaming at me. And it's like I
dropped one of the bags and I got screamed up
for dropping it, and then I got screamed up for
not having the heavier one, and I got screamed up
for having the heavy one and taking too much. And
(06:32):
then I was just like I don't know how to
digest any of this, and like is this constructive?
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Is this?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
It was just very confusing to me. So I feel
like I like had to rewire my brain a little
bit after the first day because in gymnastics it's like
if you tell me a critique, I will fix it. Yeah,
this was more about like what can you handle?
Speaker 3 (06:52):
It was really funny to you, gee, it's your credit.
So like Sean, for sure, I think embodied the athletic
mentality of like snap to attention when the coach is
talking to you and like take the constructive feedback. And
I think all the athletes, like with athletic backgrounds kind
of had that same thing where it was like we
were scared, intimidating. It was like flashbacks to coaches because
(07:13):
she wasn't that's what I'm no, that's what I'm saying.
To her credit, I'm so envious because she had like
this another reality that she was living in where you
were you listened and did all the things really well,
but it wasn't. I mean for me, it was out
of place of fear, you know what I'm saying, Like.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
You would fire back at the DS so easily. I
was like, oh, I.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Know, it's so unnatural as an athlete where you're like,
you don't talk back, you take it and you keep going.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
So funny, it was so true, and I just felt
like because some of the times when I was panicking,
I was really panicking, and so when I'm panicking and
they were just screaming at me, I'm like, you're not helping.
Nothing you're doing right now is helping.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
And you wouldn't say that to him though. That's what's crazy.
It's so funny.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
My favorite it like is on replay. In my mind,
my favorite moment is you're doing a challenge I won't
say which one, and you had to carry something and
you were panicking, you were getting nervous and scared, and
you're screaming at Foxy and you're like, you take it,
you hold this, I'm not going to do this anymore.
And he was. He was even shocked, and he was like,
(08:22):
what it was? I love it?
Speaker 1 (08:25):
And honestly, I think Foxy and I had the most
like love hate relationship. But then it's like, finally, I
think the wall was broken and he finally started to
understand me a little bit. But in the beginning, I
just felt like he was so mean to me. I
felt the love a little bit from like Rudy, Q
(08:46):
and Billie, but Foxy, I'm like, this guy just hates me.
And when I felt that from him, I was like, well,
you're getting it right back, like I don't. I don't
appreciate this.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
I feel like I felt like I felt that with Q.
From the beginning. I was like, you, he's gonna be
the guy that's out to get me, and he was
and then broke through the wall at some point, But
who was that for you?
Speaker 3 (09:11):
I was terrified. I was terrib them all.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
To be honest with you, could you have the hardest
time with from the beginning?
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Probably cute Rudy, Yeah, because you're just like, I don't
know how to play this game. Why are you to me?
Speaker 2 (09:22):
You apart a couple of.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Times, yeah, Q had I feel like Q and Billy
were very quick with their comments back, like they just
had it. Their comebacks were quick.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Yeah, so true.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Did you guys talk to anybody from previous seasons to
kind of help you prepare for what to expect for
Special Forces?
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Yeah, we had a couple of friends who did it. Uh,
Savannah christ Is on the show, Buddy Miller, Golden Tate,
Jojoe Joe was on the show. So we would kind
of have like brief but you don't know what questions
I asked, Like all we it would be like was
it as hard as it looked? And they're like harder
than it looked in reality, and then like they tell
(10:07):
you stories, but like some of the things you just
can't prepare for it, like, yeah, it was insane. You
have to face your fears and it's like, well, what's it.
You can't put yourself in a position to like practice
that it's just so unique, and we're like skeptics.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
So every single time someone would say it's so much
harder than like the show shows, we're like, oh but really, yeah,
like it can't possibly be harder.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Yeah, you know, they were right.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
We all were even saying it, even in our group chats.
I was texting Bree on the side and Randall was like,
the first episode was nothing like what it was like there.
They made this look so much easier, and I think
it's so hard because we were really filmed twenty four
hours a day, but then they had to condense those
(10:51):
twenty four hours into one hour. Yeah, so I felt like, yes,
they showed what the challenge was, but they really didn't
show I don't know. I guess it's different for us
because we were in it and we were like our
legs were dying. I felt like I was going to collapse,
like lungs were tightening up, just the whole thing, and
(11:14):
I guess you can't. You are trying to show that
as best as you can.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
And you have like the fancy helicopter which is better
on camera, and then the relay race. You're like, I
mean they showed a little bit of that, but you
can't capture the physical pain, Like that was so hard
it wrecked me. You can't stimulate the heat and the
dust in your mouth, and like, yeah, the helicopter shot
is just an easier, safer bet than trying to capture
all that.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
How did your background, Andrew, like playing in the NFL
help you prepare for Special Forces or was it completely different?
Speaker 3 (11:55):
I think it's totally different. So I think I came
in pretty well prepared physically, Like I like fitness, I'll
do CrossFit. I feel like it's kind of a hobby
of mine. But what I totally under indexed with was
the psychological challenges. And I think, I think like knowing
(12:16):
how to be crafty and witty in those situations. I
just I was like I went in all physical, and
then I realized that there's so many different layers to it,
Like you had to be able to take that constructive,
harsh criticism, you had to be able to do the
psychological challenge, the fear stuff like how do you keep
your nerves? I just didn't know how to prepare for.
(12:37):
So I think, to answer your question, football prepared me
for the physical side of things, but nothing could have
prepared me for the other aspects.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
And I think as the season goes on, we were
a really tough cast, like we were all so physically
fit in the aspect of just getting through the challenges,
but I think a lot of us were in shock
on the mental toll that it was really taking on
all of us and didn't expect that.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
It's a constant agony of knowing something's coming, you don't
know when you don't know what it is, and then
like you're always on edge, you're getting sleep deprived, you're
getting yelled at, You're in a new situation film twenty
four to seven in the middle of the freaking Sahara.
Your body's just like under the extreme heat. Yeah, it's
totally foreign situation.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
I think the hardest part that like people can't grasp
on TV is like we have no concept of time
of any kind. And I don't mean time like throughout
the day, but when you start, when we jump out
of the cars and we start running, we have no
idea if we're going to be running for eight miles
or like eight seconds. They literally just say keep up,
(13:44):
and you don't know if you're going to be cold
in two seconds or two hours. If you can sleep
or not sleep, so you just like never know where
the finish line is, and that really messes with you.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
I one hundred percent agree because even with me and
when I'm working out, my trainer will yell okay, thirty
more seconds or like you know, count you down. So
at least when we're you're training in some aspect, you
kind of know where the finish line is. On the
football field, you know, Okay, I got to make it
x amount of yards to get the touchdown when you're
(14:17):
obviously on the mat performing your routine, Okay, I have
this much left until I'm done. So that really screwed
me up, because even if I go on a run,
I like to like pace myself. Okay, I have point
five more until I reached that mile. So that really
screwed me up because I wish I would have trained
a little harder with my endurance, with my cardio endurance.
(14:40):
I definitely was not prepared for that, and so whenever
we would start running, that's where I was like, I'm
fully panicking right now.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I was panicking during the runs. I don't run. I
don't I hate running.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
And she was at the top of the line every time.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Do you know why, Because it's the easiest place to
be if you're at the back. I would like I
would like deliberately try to like cut people in line
and get to the front, because if I'm trying to
play catch up, I literally panic.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
Yeah, But and that's part of the problem too, because
because you don't know how long the event will be,
you just go balls to the walls. And then, like
people have asked me, well, do you wish you would
have paced yourself, You're like, no, you had to go
fast because if you don't know, you don't do well,
then your team gets penalized. You don't want to be
that guy. So you're like, I just got to go
full sind and then hopefully I can hang on for
as long as I need to. Dude, it gets I.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Just remember one of the days totally. I remember one
of the days, like we had to run a lot
and then we had to a challenge, and then we
thought it was over and we had to go run
these suicides brutal Oh and that was.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
All my fault.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
Why No, I feel like I feel like it was
always inevitable. Any penalty we did that was always pretty
pup and they were just looking for somebody.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
That was the day I got really mad at fox.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
I remember that. I remember that.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Yeah, yeah, that was all my faults. So as we
were doing that, I was panicking because I'm crying because
my body couldn't take it anymore. Then I'm just crying
because I feel so bad that everyone is doing this
because of me. And then You're right. I mean, maybe
it would have been inevitable, like they just wanted to
(16:24):
break us a little more, and they were gonna make
us do this regardless. But when they made us do that,
like Foxy was looking right at me, some people can't
control their tempers.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Those suicides almost that was probably my closest breaking point.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Oh, that day was my breaking point. I think it
was a lot of ours. And yeah, I really thought
I was gonna tap. I recently just had Jesse and
Eric on my podcast and Jesse was saying, how you
mentor her daughter in gymnastics, And I just thought that
was so sweet because when I was younger, if I
(17:03):
had an Olympic gymnast mentoring me, I would feel like
the luckiest girl in the world. And that's so special.
Was it nice having Jesse and Eric beyond Special Forces
with you guys. Knowing how close you guys are, it
was I.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Feel like it kind of give us a sense of home,
you know how it felt. We all show up on
day one, we haven't met each other or seen each other.
I think we kind of like cross paths with each
other at the hotel and we're like, are you on
the show? Or are you on the show. But having
that sense of like friendship gave us a little bit
of comfort at the beginning. It gave you someone to
(17:42):
bond with and kind of look at. But I also
feel like we all got to that level of friendship
within the first twenty four hours really, so it really
it just kind of grew from there. It was great
going in together because we could kind of lean on
each other. But then after day one, it was like
we're a giant family.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
Do you feel like you made lifelong friends on the show, Gia?
Speaker 1 (18:02):
Yes, I love you guys so much, and I feel
like you know, Andrew, when you said it in La
at that big family dinner after press, you said how
people do shows together and life goes on and sometimes
you lose touch and everything like that. But when you
(18:23):
said that, I got so sad because I was like,
I never want to lose touch with any of you,
and I feel like even if we don't talk every day,
we'll kind of pick up right where we left off,
just because Special Forces was so bonding and I really
hope we at least majority of us stay close as
a cast.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Yeah. I agree. It gives you a new appreciation though,
for like the actual military and the relationships with they form,
because if they're in actual combat and they're trauma bonding
together through that, I can't imagine how close that would
make them and how close those like friendships are.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Yeah, oh yeah. And I think just throughout Special Forces,
I think all of us, as much as we were
pushing ourselves and pushing each other, we also were all
kind of taking a step back and realizing what these
ds actually go through and the sacrifice they make for
our country, but also their family, how they really leave
(19:22):
their family, and sometimes they go into battle not knowing
if they're going to come out. So I think all
of that was also just so mind boggling for all
of us. And I mean I could only imagine you guys,
because it was probably so hard to leave your babies.
And then some nights when they would tell us their
(19:43):
stories and we really would feel warped into like feeling
like we were really in combat.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Yeah, so it was.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
There were crazy times where it was like we were
doing things that they had to do before go going
into a really hard battle. And I mean, how was that?
Leaving your babies and also just growing with this whole course.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Really hard. It was really good. We being able to
invest in time for us and do something like this
and challenge ourselves and pay tribute and respect to the
DS and the military was amazing. But leaving our babies
is really hard. We have a five year old to
a four year old and a one year old. I
ended up meeting with a child psychiatrist before we ever left,
just to make sure that if we are gone for
(20:31):
the whole duration, is that going to mess our kids up.
I had set up the entire works. I had grandma's
on both sides, grandpa's, aunts, uncles, cousins. They went to
camp for a little bit, they went to the lake,
they were showered in lips. They never even knew we
were gone pretty much. But I do think having been
(20:52):
so in the trenches of like babyhood and motherhood and fatherhood,
being able to take a step back and go through
these extra sizes that the DS had put us through,
like reflecting and talking about our kids and our family.
It gave you such a deeper appreciation than you were
even capable of feeling.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Yeah, and to do it together, Like, yeah, I'm so
glad we got to do it together, because imagine trying
to explain the full detail to somebody, like get you
get home or back to the barracks in camp after
doing this brutal challenge and all you want is a
decent meal and they gave you this hard, stale bread
that was disgusting. Had enough, Like, there's so much little
(21:31):
things that we all experienced together that like I think
if Sean and I didn't do it together, it would
be h so difficult to try to convey and communicate
the whole experience. But honestly, that's been it's been dis
orient thing to me. And I'm curious if you have
the same experience because we got to know I didn't
know like a lot of people's backgrounds. So you get
(21:51):
to know these people for the first time and you're
like going through all this stuff, suffering together, encouraging each other.
And obviously there's like different styles that everybody had, but
I think, like, you really see the beautiful, redemptive qualities
of everybody in that context. And then when we got
home and you start like looking them up and seeing
(22:12):
what they're putting out on Instagram or seeing what the
internet's saying about them, You're like, oh, my gosh, this
is like that. That's not the person I know that
I got to meet. You know what I'm saying, how's
that been for you?
Speaker 1 (22:23):
One hundred percent? And I even felt that with some
of the people that were on our cast, obviously just
seeing what they've gone through, and I've been having conversations
with people as well, and I'm like, that could be
your opinion, but I genuinely love this person. Yeah, And
this is the connection that I felt with them. There
(22:45):
were certain friends of mine who would ask me about
cast members and talk about their past and I'm like,
but I knew them for who they were on the course,
and they were so nice to me. I have such
a genuine connection with them, and this is my opinion
on them. So I kind of just disassociated anything that
(23:06):
online says about them and just I look at them
how we met them on Special Forces.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
I actually said, this is something that day because they're
asking about cast members, and I said it, it was
fascinating because every single day we would do three or
four different things and would be you know, put in
groups of two or three or five or whatever, and
so we really got to know people on a very
intimate level. And I don't think I could name a
single cast member that I wouldn't trust to have my
(23:35):
back on a course like that, where like explosions are
going off and it's life or death, and every single
person I trusted to truly like help me, save me,
encourage me, be there for me, and says you. It's
like you'd come home and you're like, WHOA, don't talk
about my person.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
That way, you know, literally, And it's so funny because
I even try to explain things to my boyfriend Christian,
and during some of the challenges, I'm like, no, but
you don't understand, like this is how hard it was,
and it's like, this is what's happening, and like you
guys were saying, it really is so difficult because I'm
trying to explain it to him, like to the nitty
(24:15):
gritty yeah, and he's like I would love to, like
he is so adventurous he goes, I would love to
do this. I would do this for free. This is amazing,
like he would have he would love to do Special Forces,
and he thinks it's so cool that like I was
able to do it, but actually explaining to him like, okay,
this was the first episode, but this is actually how
(24:36):
hard it was, Like it's so difficult. So it really
is so nice that you guys had each other because
at least you two get it as partners, like and
you guys are like, okay, at least we understand it.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
It's actually interesting too, something that's hard to capture on
TV is kind of like you were saying, they are
so good at simulating and driving this feeling inside of
you of like fight or fly the right fight or fight? Yeah, yeah,
to where yes there's cameras around, and yes it's like
(25:08):
not real, but I truly felt like I was in
I'm About to Die about.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
They sent us some clips to use for social media
for episode three, and they have the explosions on there,
and as we're watching, we're like, that looks so late,
Like it doesn't look nearly as intense as what it
was when you had the explosions, dirt flying in front
of your face. I felt like Q was just riding us,
yelling at us. He's like Juste's like, come on, guys,
(25:35):
and in the moment's.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
I know so different. Every single one of us got
out of that challenge like that was the hardest thing
of my life, hyperventilated. I had three bourgains walking out
of that. Mark wanted to kill me because I kept
dropping the body, like.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
The poor body. The guy, the actual guy actually kind
of cussed. By the end of that.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
I had to like and there must have been a
weighted best on him.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
There has been.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
It was so heavy.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
And the edges of that sled on the handles was
just like hard metal. It was so hot, so hot.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
There's a there's a from the raw footage that we got.
There's a clip of me and my uh and like
my raw footage that they sent me, and I go,
my hands are so cut up right now, like the
blisters are insane. But yeah, that was I don't know.
I felt like that challenge didn't look as hard either,
But I think the latter challenge you can't like that
(26:45):
was hard. I mean, actually, there's probably a walk in
the park. I probably thought it was a balance be.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
I didn't mind that one at all. I actually thought
that one was a little I got yelled at for that.
I don't know if they're I don't know if this
was fully shown, but there's a part where I jumping
over the walls and then then the first go over
the ladder and I go over the ladder like kind
of fast because it didn't make it didn't make me
feel scared at all. No, yeah, and Q He's like,
(27:16):
how was that? And I said the wrong thing, but
I go kind of fun and he flipped a switch
and he goes you think this is just and he's
like cussing me out, dude.
Speaker 3 (27:28):
It was so confusing because sometimes they would make jokes
with you, like Billy one makes jokes, and then if
you try to joke back, sometimes he would be friendly
to it. Other times they'd switch into like yelling at
you mode. You're like, wait a minute, I thought we
were having like I thought we were five and I
was having a good time.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
No exactly said.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
I was like, this was my career, like fights in
small things don't scare me.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
I was like I'm sorry, No, it was so funny.
When I first started, I was like inching up the
slowest ever, and they were like number eighteen, let's go,
asked her. And then I finally started running along the pegs.
But at first I was going as slow as molasses.
(28:09):
I was shaking, like trembling, and I mean, I can
only imagine how you felt. Andrew like that was so
so that was like scary and you guys are big guys.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
The ladder, yeah, yeah, so the ladder definitely like the
weight aspect of it. I was given the ladder a
hard time just because I have weigh two hundred and
twenty five pounds and this thing was bending to the max.
But honestly, Sean and I got to do that together.
So she did it, and I was like, I mean,
Sean's dominating the whole time up to this point, and
I was like, I have this is the one thing
that I might be able to beat her in because
(28:41):
she went first, and so I was just like locked
in on getting to the other side as fast as
possible because we had a little cheeky competition going on.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
He said, the Stopwatch on his actual watch and he
did it in yeah yeah, and then he got yelled at.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
He didn't worry. You did not like that either. Game anyway. Yeah, dude,
the wind was like serious business up there.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
Serious. Yeah, but I mean just because of like the
guys that were your size Andrew, like I know, Nick
was like panicking.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
My favorite line of the whole, like all of Nick
was I don't want to be an army man no more.
You said that all the.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Time, all the time. And then in this episode two
they showed where we all got really intimate with each other.
Were you, guys nervous for that because this was both
of your first times? I'm assuming Oh, well, I guess
Dancing with the Stars was reality TV, but you I
(29:43):
feel like you really didn't get too personal on Dancing
with the Stars like this, we got personal when you
were brought into interrogation rooms and then we just got
so close as teammates. And how was that for you guys?
Were you because half the time I didn't I forgot
that the cameras were even there, and I was just
(30:04):
having fun with you guys and just so comfortable. But
I also kind of grew up in the reality TV space,
So how did that feel for you, guys?
Speaker 2 (30:12):
To get shares his story.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
Yeah, the way you're saying intimate, she is like, so just.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
Just we're sharing stories.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Okay, So Rudy comes in and like, okay, sorry, is
that the wrong word we're getting.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
We all got so into it with each other. I mean, okay, geez,
I don't know what's going on your side of the barracks,
but my gosh, anyway, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
This was Okay, it was do you know what I'm
talking about?
Speaker 3 (30:46):
Comes in. Rudy comes in and shares a really deep story,
which was the first time that we saw the other
side of the DS of like, oh man, they're really
like sharing some serious stuff.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
And he tells us in a circle and share something
really vulnerable about our and.
Speaker 3 (31:01):
It was so strained because we're only with these people
at this point for three days. Yeah, and we like
everybody shared their deepest, darkest shame secret, like hardest thing
they're going through. And like, looking back, it's such a
rare context of like, no one is that comfortable with
each other in that short amount of time, except if
(31:21):
you do these things in that context. And so I
think what I've been really shocked by on the show
is how how much of like the barracks footage they're
they're using, and like, when you're in there, you don't
notice those cameras really and you're like, ah, they're probably
not going to use any of this, but they use it.
(31:41):
And I did not like the reality TV show vibe.
It was like so stressful just to know that they
could be using any of this footage and mashing it
up with any other thing I've said, and like, I
just didn't know how that's going to turn out. Fortunately,
I feel like the show is very generous and mind
with how they're trying too.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
I think it's very positive. Yeah, within everybody's story, like
and they have it looks really good.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
And they try like they give you an opportunity to
make yourself look good, and like I feel like you
really have to try to mess it up.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
There's no false narratives going on with editing of any
kind anyway.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
Yeah, it was that was that was really wild for me,
with the cameras and the constant mic and it's like
never done anything like it.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
I actually loved the intimacy side of it, like the
conversations because up until that point, like Andrew said, we
didn't really know everybody, but like I knew some people,
and I knew some people for what their headlines were
and being able to like hear them open up in
the context of knowing them for seventy two hours and
seeing how they operate under fear and pressure and stuff
(32:43):
was really eye opening and made us all like bond
even closer. It's almost like now I understand you more
and I can protect you better. Yeah, I remember, I
feel like we had really bonded with Randall Kobb after that,
because I will never forget. In one of the challenges
that's coming up, Randall got pushed really far and he
(33:04):
almost got pushed past a point where I remember him
coming to us and him saying like I'm not good yes,
and I need you like I need to lean on
you now for a while, and it made it all
like made sense and it was like, okay, I've got you.
And the next one it reversed and so it was
a beautiful yeah, beautiful part.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
Of the show. It's all intentional. Yeah, the DS probably
sets us up to get this close and tell our
stories because it makes us form these bonds. So it's
cool how this whole show is just very strategically done
to make us, I don't know, become lifelong best friends.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
They know what they're doing, that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
They really do. Between the two of you, who do
you think handled the challenges better?
Speaker 2 (33:58):
Andrew?
Speaker 3 (33:59):
I think I did these the challenges way worse when
it came to everything else.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
The challenges were so hard for me. The weight, how
large the thing, the like items were that we had
to move and carry. Miles Afron like, that was hard.
And Andrew, we were watching episode two and he literally said,
(34:25):
the stairs weren't that bad, and I was like, you suck.
Speaker 3 (34:29):
That was.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
That was so hard.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
That was so hard. And it was so funny because
obviously my mom was struggling during the stairs, like really bad,
and so the DS are yelling at her because they're like,
you're holding your daughter back and all this stuff. Once
we actually got up the stairs and we made it
to obviously the aircraft challenge, I kept saying to my
(34:56):
mom like, I know you were really struggling, but it's
okay because when you stopped, it gave me an excuse
to stop, so it was totally fine, Like don't beat
yourself up about it, because I was actually really grateful.
So she thought that was so funny. But yeah, no,
that was so hard. That had to have been like
(35:17):
two hundred flights.
Speaker 3 (35:19):
I did you know, you guys did great.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
There's a walk in the park for Andrew.
Speaker 3 (35:23):
And what about you? I mean, who do you feel like?
Who were you? One? Who did you walk away being
closest with? And then two? Who were you?
Speaker 1 (35:33):
Like?
Speaker 3 (35:33):
Dang that that person I would want to be their
teammate walking into the next challenge, not knowing what it
would be.
Speaker 1 (35:50):
I walked away probably closest with. I think Brie and
I got really close throughout the Special Forces. But then
to have like a teammate like Sean, like, she pushed
me so much, and it was funny because I looked
(36:10):
at her, and you know, there were even times where
I felt like she was pushing me and I would
get you know, annoyed within myself and then take it
out on her a little bit and totally didn't mean to,
but it was just like in the moment, and I
knew she was looking out for me and pushing me
to my limits. But there were times where obviously you're
like so overwhelmed, but she was one of the most
(36:32):
like motivating people for me. And then the guy like,
you guys were just so amazing to like for helping us.
And my mom like always says that like they were
such gentlemen, every all of the guys, and I was like,
they really were, because even though we were smaller as
females and we were struggling, you guys would help us,
(36:54):
even just lift our burgains and you have no idea,
but you guys just lifting the back of our burgains
made the world of a difference. Like it was like
night and day. So just having that like security of
you guys and just helping us, it was it was amazing. Yeah,
I don't think I would be able to do without
(37:14):
any of you.
Speaker 3 (37:15):
It was really cool to see how we all helped
each other in different ways. And no, Lie, I feel
since the show it's so spoiled to get a spend
every day with Sean, because like it changed my perspective
from like what you can get into as a couple
where it's like, ah, why are you? Why are you
nitpicking here? Why you why are you criticize him here?
(37:37):
And that show really reframed everything I saw Sean and
all the feedback I was getting from her from like
oh what was me to wait a minute, she like,
there is no teammate like Sean teammate And I'm thinking
so high to be able to do every day with her.
It's it's been so fun just to see the lasting
(37:57):
effects that the show has had, and I think I
feel like it really did positively impact our relationships. So
maybe you feel the same. I'm not sure.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Oh for sure I feel the same my ride or not.
And also I hoping you guys not. Yeah, yeah, I
said it from day one though, when we were stuck
on the mountain together Gyea it was you and Brie,
I was like, I will choose you guys every challenge
every time. We bonded so quickly in that first day, I.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
Was just gonna ask you, guys, who do you think
you got closest with and who would you go into
combat with?
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Because of the first day and like being thrown into
that whole environment, they separated all of us into two teams,
that team Alpha and Bravo, and I think on our team, you,
me and Brie just all being like similar mindset, similar sizing,
so like everything, we just bonded really closely and kind
(38:51):
of like they were very defining moments in the season
when we were there of having to lean on you guys,
and like vice versa, that just stuck with me.
Speaker 3 (39:01):
So you too, honestly, Randall for one of the challenges
later that has not been showed yet. I feel like
him and I became brother. He's in a really fun way.
Eric and I, I think, understand each other so much
differently in it.
Speaker 1 (39:16):
And you guys are like the trio Yeah.
Speaker 3 (39:18):
Yeah, and Christy for you, I mean Randall and you
saw the worst side of me. I feel like we're
this freaking embarrassment and failure and you're like, all right,
well we gotta go with this. But I guess I
want to stay tuned to watch that part of it.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
No, definitely. Everyone said that this was such a life
altering experience. What was something that you guys discovered about yourselves.
Speaker 2 (39:44):
Reaffirmed even more? Just like Andrew's my rider and I
and I feel like Billy and the DS were like
trying to question that the whole time of Like, would
you truly choose him or vice versa in any scenario
under you know, harsh conditions, and I would say yes always.
And I think outside of our marriage, having done the
(40:07):
kid thing for six years, I wondered if I was
capable of doing something physically or mentally challenging. Again, I
haven't really tapped into that since I was sixteen seventeen
years old, and so I got caught up in the
spiral of motherhood for a while where it was serving
everyone else but myself, and it just made me feel
(40:27):
strong again, and it kind of propped me up as
a mother to feel like I am strong enough for
my children and for our family, and I needed that.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
Yeah, the word that comes to mind is just inspired.
Like I said, I'm inspired in a new way with
our relationship. After that, it's like a fresh takee Oh
my gosh, I'm just glad to be here and not
in Morocco. Is kind of how I feel every day now.
It's like, dang, we got it so good. You have
no idea. I'm also inspired, kind of like what I
(41:00):
was saying earlier, just a new perspective of a lot
of times you don't get the opportunity to see the
good sides of people, and so like just being reminded
that everyone has redemptive qualities and I just need to
(41:20):
search for them. Yeah, it was just like so fun
to I think I'm also inspired by knowing that hard things, obviously,
as the word would imply, are difficult, but the amount
of good things that can come from that, like proving
something to yourself or bonding with other people is still good.
(41:43):
So it's like I'm more inspired to chase after some
more and I think thoughtfully difficult things as opposed to
saying I don't need to do this right now, or
you know, I'm thirty four now, so you can kind
of just start you kind of start picking and choose,
and it feels like what difficult I want to deal with,
(42:04):
or this is just inconvenient. It's like, no, let's just
do more of this because there's good things that can come.
Speaker 1 (42:09):
Would you guys say that this was the hardest thing
you've ever done in your life? Or does the NFL
and the Olympics pass this up?
Speaker 3 (42:18):
No way harder than.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
No way harder than the Olympics. Comparing it, It's just
like the Olympics were hard because it was compiled over
a fifteen year time span. It's a very long, large commitment.
This was the hardest condensed period of time I've ever gone.
Speaker 3 (42:40):
Through, the hardest ten days you've ever gone through. Yeah,
that's probably accurate.
Speaker 1 (42:45):
Yeah, yeah, I think that's accurate for all of us.
Speaker 2 (42:48):
I mean, like childbirth and stuff of course is like
very difficult and hard. But no, like the period of
time has is unmatched.
Speaker 3 (42:57):
Yeah, I agree with that.
Speaker 1 (42:59):
Did anyone supp as you by their toughness?
Speaker 2 (43:01):
Every you are you kidding, Leah freaking you did? Oh
my gosh, your run gea, however long it was, was
the most inspiring thing I've ever seen in my life.
Because one, you were the youngest of the group, right, yeah. Yeah,
And to see like your journey almost like the you
(43:22):
could you could see firsthand your rollercoaster of like your
security you had in your mom and then when she left,
and like your insecurity and then your fears and how
you overcame them, and just like it was the coolest
thing to witness.
Speaker 3 (43:35):
No, but legitimately yes, incredibly impressive. Everybody in their own
way was so tough. Like if you think about bre.
Speaker 1 (43:43):
Pre surprised me just because I knew that before Special Forces,
my girl was not working out and I knew that, Yeah,
and she shocked me the most.
Speaker 3 (43:54):
Yeah, it was amazing. And then Johnny was tough in
the sense that, like she, he was sober leading up
to it, which is tough. That's its own form of toughness.
Eric was tough because he got super injured and he
like pressed through. Randall was was tough because of that
instance of fear that was like hard to work through.
Speaker 2 (44:11):
Everybody like everyone such a tough cast.
Speaker 3 (44:15):
It was awesome.
Speaker 1 (44:17):
So yeah, you guys were just these So from the start,
did you have any predictions on who you thought would win?
Speaker 3 (44:26):
Sean? No, yes, Sean.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
Like from the start, I have to say, like my
top four were you two. This was hard because then
Jesse was so tough too, So like I have to say,
like you two as couples, like you two, and then
also Jesse and Eric and then Randall. Yeah, I thought
(44:55):
Randall was taking it home too.
Speaker 2 (44:57):
Same I would say Andrew, Eric Randall were like my three.
I would I like put money on at the beginning.
Speaker 3 (45:07):
Never, I'm never betting against Sean.
Speaker 1 (45:11):
I mean, how could you?
Speaker 3 (45:12):
And also you're like, well, you're like, how many people
can make it the distance? Is there a set cap
on that or they technically say everybody?
Speaker 1 (45:19):
Yeah? I don't think so, because I don't know. I
haven't I didn't watch season one and two all the
way through, but I watched season three all the way through,
and I know there were two winners for season three.
I'm not sure about one and two, but I mean
at least a handful of people make it to interrogation,
(45:41):
so there could potentially be four or five winners.
Speaker 3 (45:46):
Right, potentially a lot to stay tuned to find.
Speaker 1 (45:48):
Out, potentially just talking from previous seasons. Of course, are
you guys excited to watch the rest of the season
of Special Forces and are your kids going to be watching?
Speaker 2 (46:00):
Ecstatic to watch the season? I am loving it. Ia
and I have talked about like when since we lived
it individually, it's like we didn't get to hear everything
that you were saying, you know, over on your side
of the barracks, and like how you a lot of
times we didn't get to see each other even do
the challenges because we'd be like isolated and so getting
(46:22):
to complete everybody's story that we like knew personally there
but see how they like went through it has been
really cool to watch, and like, now that we're like
decompressed and not feeling like we're dying every second, it's
fun to watch.
Speaker 3 (46:37):
And also let's let's just stay at the obvious. The
whole thing is so dope, Like it really is something
that I would pay to do. Yeah, and then you
add on like all this. The production is top notch,
the fancy cameras and how they'd add this slow mo
like everything looks so cool. So yeah, it's a blast
to watch, and it's even cooler and more exciting to
like know all of the background behind the scenes that
(46:59):
when into that one little episode that they made and.
Speaker 2 (47:02):
Our kids are they watching it? No, it's way too
intense for the how little they are, and like explaining,
like right now we're at ages of them where we're
like containing controlling fear for them. So like their little
brains are just like going crazy, so actively showing them
when mommy and daddy are afraid for their lives is
(47:25):
probably not a good idea.
Speaker 1 (47:26):
Too much blood, yea, how do you explain vulgar language?
Speaker 3 (47:32):
Are so many beeps when these guys talk. Well, we
told him.
Speaker 2 (47:38):
That mommy and daddy hats to jump out of a helicopter,
and so that's like the one thing they have seen
so far, and they think it's so cool. They're adrenaline
junkies just like us, so they want to do it.
And our four year old thinks he's like a little
army man now because he wears he wears.
Speaker 1 (47:52):
My wait, I was seeing I forget which one of
your babies, like literally climb your rock wall and go
on the gymnastic mats. I was like, this is a
mini Sean.
Speaker 3 (48:01):
Yeah, thank what's new with you? Though? Gee, how the
heck you've been This is such a tree. I'm gonna
milk this time for all that we can get at it.
Speaker 1 (48:12):
I mean, I've been good. I'm moving out next month.
Speaker 2 (48:14):
You found an apartment.
Speaker 1 (48:15):
I found an Apartment's good. I'm super excited. So I'm
moving out and literally a little less than a month,
I'm moving to Jersey City, so right outside New York.
It's honestly perfect. I love the neighborhood. It kind of
reminds me of a smaller New York City. But I
have all the easy access to get into the city.
(48:37):
Ten minute walk to the path, ten minute walk to
the ferry, so it's perfect. And I just can't wait
to walk everywhere and just not use my car. I
feel like I've been using my car so much, just
commuting it back and forth into the city, So I
can't wait to just live this commuter lifestyle.
Speaker 3 (48:54):
Are you a Christian about to like lock it down
or what's the deal?
Speaker 4 (48:58):
I know, not yet, I'm actually moving into this place
by myself, which I'm really excited about, right and he.
Speaker 1 (49:09):
Wants to move in with me soon, but I kind
of wanted to do this part alone at first. And
I've never really lived alone. So when I was in college,
I had roommates. Then I came back home and I
just felt like I was always looking out for somebody
(49:30):
in my house, whether it was like driving my sisters
or you know, when you're at school roommates, you're not
really on your own. So I'm kind of looking forward
to just being me in my space for a little bit,
even if it's six months, Like he can come in
six months later, but like, I just want to start
this by myself first.
Speaker 3 (49:51):
You got a dog or a cat or anything.
Speaker 1 (49:53):
I do have a dog. She's right here. This is Bella,
a little multi fu But I've had her since I
was really little, like maybe ten or eleven. So she's
twelve wo and she's still kicking. So I'm like her mommy,
(50:14):
and I really take care of her, like I give
her like doggy vitamins and like the whole thing. So
I really want to take her with me to Jersey City.
I'm just nervous that she's going to freak out when
she's alone in the apartment because there's always just so
much chaos happening in this house, so that'll be like
trial and error.
Speaker 3 (50:34):
But congrats, she's doing great.
Speaker 1 (50:39):
She's doing good. He's just working and you know, hustling,
trying to do the best she can. But she's she's
doing good. What about you, guys? How's the pod? How's work?
You guys have looked like you're traveling everywhere?
Speaker 3 (50:55):
Right, So crushing it, Sean is just pretty crushing it that.
Speaker 1 (51:00):
Guys, your your videos have been killing me, killing me.
They've been so good, No, such a good way. They've
been so good recently. I'm like, oh, they're they're they're
loving it.
Speaker 3 (51:13):
Shout out to the squad. We have a blast. I
love what we're gonna do. And uh, I can't believe
that we get to do it every day and called it.
Speaker 1 (51:22):
But anything exciting coming up for you guys?
Speaker 3 (51:26):
We finish our book?
Speaker 1 (51:27):
Oh yeah, wait, are you guys going to do a
book tour?
Speaker 2 (51:31):
Yeah? In the spring.
Speaker 1 (51:33):
Okay, so you totally need to let me know when
you were in New York.
Speaker 3 (51:37):
We will don't tease though, because we were there yesterday
we didin't get to see you. Maybe it's our fault.
Speaker 2 (51:41):
That's our fault. We were literally in the city for now.
Speaker 1 (51:43):
That was both of our faults. We we didn't know.
Speaker 3 (51:46):
Yeah, I got a big day tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (51:48):
Andrew is finishing his PhD.
Speaker 3 (51:51):
Yeah, Andrew, I gotta give a big presentation, which would
be fun.
Speaker 1 (51:56):
Yeah, that's amazing because you were you were telling me
that you were still you were still in school right
when we were.
Speaker 2 (52:04):
Yeah, he gives a huge presentation to like literally finish
his doctor at tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (52:09):
That's incredible.
Speaker 3 (52:10):
And all I want to do next the questioning wink wink.
All I have to do is just go through some questioning,
not unlike potentially you know something else, something else, and
maybe I'll do better. It's time. But now I wanted
to do it for all the content that we put out,
just to have like a little more academic rigor behind it.
(52:32):
Are you going through law school or what's the dealgy.
Speaker 1 (52:36):
I graduated with a degree in criminal justice and a
minor in sociology. And then when I graduated, I just
like my career just like skyrocketed, and I to go
to law school and even so many tutors professors because
I was studying for my LSATs. They were like, if
(52:59):
you were not one hundred percent invested in this, there
is no point to go to law school right now
because it's your full time job and doing Special Forces
just you know, Next Gen MYC the other show that
I'm on on Bravo, there's just con And you know
how it is with content creating and filming content. You
really and then our podcasts, like you really are constantly
(53:24):
busy twenty four to seven, and your schedule is so unpredictable,
like brand trips come up randomly, or I've been traveling
for the past month, like home for a day at
a time, and I'm like, how did this even happen?
I blinked my eye and it's like we're traveling constantly.
So I wish because it really is my passion and
I genuinely love it, but I just wish that I
(53:47):
would be able to lock down to it right now.
But I just don't want to set myself up for
failure either, So I'm just like, I don't think it's
the right time right now. And your house, how's everything
going with that?
Speaker 2 (54:00):
H great? Hopefully moving in in a month, So.
Speaker 1 (54:04):
Okay, exciting. So before the holidays, maybe two yeah, just
two weeks of December, Okay, love that in the middle
of the holidays, which is great. That's gonna be hectic.
Hopefully you're not hosting Thanksgiving.
Speaker 3 (54:17):
No, no, honestly, I could still live in the barracks
for the rest of my life. That Sean has put
a lot of work into this house. I'm excited to
be there.
Speaker 2 (54:27):
Next time you're in Nashville, you have to come stay
with us.
Speaker 1 (54:29):
I know I Jesse actually texted us about her movie premiere. Yeah,
and so I'm gonna really try to make it work.
Speaker 2 (54:39):
If you come out to the premiere for Jesse's movie,
you're gonna stay at our house. Okay, Okay, we're gonna
fight over you.
Speaker 1 (54:47):
Okay. Love you guys so much, and make sure to
tune in. Special Forces World's Toughest Test is out now
every Thursday at nine eighth Central on Fox and Hulu. Oh,
thank you guys so much for coming on Casual Chaos.
Speaker 2 (55:03):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (55:05):
Where can they find you? Guys? Your podcast, your socials.
Speaker 3 (55:10):
You don't want to check out our stuff. It's embarrassing
and you're better off not seeing it, So don't don't
google us do on Instagram much.
Speaker 2 (55:19):
Thanks there you go.
Speaker 3 (55:20):
Don't recommend it.
Speaker 1 (55:22):
You guys are the best. Love you so so much.
Say hello to the kiddies for me.
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