TV Tattler: Celebrity Interviews

The Linz Siblings Tell All After Winning 'The Amazing Race'

(l-r: Tommy, Megan, Nick, Alex)

About 'The Amazing Race' Hot Show: News & Scoop Reruns on GSN Talk to Fans

Also This Week: Danni & Stephenie from 'Survivor'

Dec. 14 -- And you think dealing with your family at holidays is hard. Imagine going on a road trip around North America, crammed 24-7 in a car or airplane, in a race with other families for $1 million. Makes your Aunt Sue's Thanksgiving dinner seem a little less claustrophobic, eh?

This season of 'The Amazing Race' introduced a new concept: teams of four, all related to each other. In the end, it was the Linz family – siblings Nick, 24; Alex, 22; Megan, 21; and Tommy, 19; -- that crossed the finish line first to take home the prize. The Cincinnati natives chatted with AOL Television editor Kelly Woo about winning, their big family and host Phil Keoghan.

What do you plan to do with the $1 million?
Alex: We're four of seven siblings and we've got two parents, so we're going to take that million dollars and split it halfway. Half of it goes to our parents, because they've done so much for us throughout our lives. The rest of it is going to be split up seven ways amongst all of us.

So you have three other siblings back at home? Wow.
Alex: There are six boys and one girl in our family. So, it's a large group.

How did you decide which of you would go on 'Amazing Race'?
Alex: My oldest brother is 28 and married, and he had a child on the way due in August. That would've been a real dilemma for him to get away. My other brother TJ was tied up with his career. Our youngest sibling Timmy had some academic things to take care of, he's younger at 16. Our parents said, "No we want you guys to apply as a sibling team."

What was your family's reaction to your racing adventure?
Megan: They really expressed how proud they were of us. Yeah, there were times when they'd laugh at us and be like, "I can't believe you said that" or "I can't believe you picked the buggy over the build it." It's funny to hear their opinion on what we should've done or what we shouldn't have done. But personally, the best thing for me was to see their faces at the end and to have them react the way they did was really awesome.

You guys really didn't fight much, like the Godlewskis did.
Tommy: I think we went into the race, all understanding that we're on a race, this is an opportunity of a lifetime, there's no time to be bickering, we need to enjoy the experience and bickering would hold us back. You know, we are siblings and we obviously did have our arguments, but because of editing reasons, they didn't show them. But the thing with our family is, you get in an argument, five minutes later it's done with, you make a joke and everyone goes on their happy way. We did have our arguments, but none that held us back.

Did you defer to Nick as the eldest? How did you make decisions?
Alex: There wasn't a leader on the race. Having all four of us being who we are, we had our own strengths and weaknesses and played our parts. We all worked together.

Megan, what was it like racing with three big, manly brothers?
Megan: I've lived my entire life surrounded by boys. Not only my brothers, but all their friends. So, you know, the farting, the burping, the throwing up -- it just doesn't bother me anymore. It really doesn't. Oh, you farted, it smells, great, but whatever. They were so good to me, and they really helped me along the entire race so it was actually a really good experience for me.

Would you like to run a regular edition of the race with one of your siblings?
Tommy: I think we would all agree the race was awesome and was probably one of the few, if only, reality shows we'd actually do because it's a great experience and you get to travel the world. Yeah, if I had the opportunity to do it again with another of my siblings, I definitely would.

Some fans have expressed disappointment that this race has been too easy. Care to comment?
Nick: I wouldn't say it was easier by any means. I think the format was obviously very different from the previous seasons. And there's good reasons for why they did what they did. But as far as easier, I certainly wouldn't say that. The intensity level, the competitiveness was all the same. The tasks were all, I'd say, equally as difficult. It was just in common ground and common areas that people are used to, so I'm sure that the feeling was that this is so much easier than the other ones. But I certainly don't think that was the case.

What's Phil like off-camera?
Alex: Phil's a very cool cat, I think most people don’t realize it because he's always reading a script. But to be honest, he's a lot cooler than people would think.
Megan: Very laid back.
Alex: Very laid back, loves to joke around, he's a funny cat.