‘Incredible experience’: The ‘Amazing Race’ is over for these Bluffton sisters
Bluffton-born sisters Haley and Kaylynn Williams were eliminated from The Amazing Race this week following the show’s first-ever “Mega Leg” in India.
Haley, 31, and Kaylynn, 30, were announced in September as contestants for the 32nd season of the CBS reality TV show, which premiered in October.
The two competed as a pair against other contestants — including former Carolina Panthers teammates DeAngelo Williams and Gary Barnidge — for a $1 million grand prize as they navigated foreign countries and solved puzzles to find their final destination at each stop.
The sisters’ wild ride came to an end in Hyderabad, India, as “cab driver difficulties put them at the back of the pack once more,” according to Parade Magazine.
Left on the show are brothers and professional volleyball players Riley McKibbin and Maddison McKibbin, who came out on top at the end of the show’s “Mega Leg.” Followed closely behind were couple Will Jardell and James Wallington and former Panthers duo Williams and Barnidge.
Despite coming up short in the reality TV show this week, the two sisters, in proper Thanksgiving fashion, were thankful for the opportunity.
“What an incredible experience this journey has been. So beyond thankful for everyone. Thankful for the friends and family that supported us throughout the race, thankful for the fans, thankful for having the opportunity to race around the world with not only the toughest competitors out there (which I now have the pleasure to call family) but the most impressive production team. Thank you @theamazingrace for one hell of a ride,” Kaylynn posted on Facebook Thursday.
The sisters, who now live in Charleston, previously told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette that their Beaufort County roots — their parents, Gary and Kelly Williams, owned The Sea Shack on Hilton Head Island until selling it in 2004 — and “Southern charm” set them apart in the competition.
But according to Haley, their biggest strength is the bond between them.
“Kaylynn and I are best friends,” Haley said. “We’ve been together for 30 years. We just know each other like the back of our hands. So our communication is better than, I would have to say, anybody else in the entire race because we’re partners. We work so well together.”
In the two years since filming the season, Kaylynn and Haley have been setting up a real estate business in Charleston — and, according to Kaylynn, fielding questions from friends and family about “how the heck they know DeAngelo Williams and Gary Barnidge,” two fellow contestants and former Carolina Panthers teammates.
Haley said the duo watched the first episode with a small group of friends “to see how they translate on TV.”
After that, they planned a series of socially-distanced weekly watch parties at friends’ restaurants and venues across Charleston that have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Want to keep watching the show? The next episode airs Dec. 2 on CBS at 8 p.m. You can also stream episodes online at www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/episodes/ with a CBS All Access subscription or seven-day free trial.
This story was originally published November 27, 2020 at 11:57 AM.
