Kristine and Rubina Bernabe are looking back on their time on “The Amazing Race” season 38 with a mix of humor and reflection. Even months after being U-Turned in Croatia, the sisters reveal that Joseph and Adam Abdin are still sending apology messages.
The sisters talk about how they handled the unexpected setback, stayed focused, and strengthened their sisterly bond along the way.
Apologies Still Coming After Double U-Turn
When “The Amazing Race” season 38 teams made their way to Croatia during week 5, host Phil Keoghan teased them that a Double U-Turn would be ahead during that leg of the race.
While Tucker & Eric and Natalie & Stephanie reached the Double U-Turn first, both teams chose not to U-turn anyone. However, Jas & Jag and Joseph & Adam both decided to use it. Jas & Jag U-turned Izzy & Paige, and Joseph & Adam chose to U-turn Kristine & Rubina.
While both survived the Double U-Turn and were not eliminated that week, Kristine and Rubina found themselves at the back of the pack for week 6. They weren’t able to catch up this time around and were eliminated.
Now that they’ve had time to process everything, Kristine & Rubina talked with Parade and said Joseph & Adam are “groveling to us constantly.”
Rubina said, “We get ‘sorry’ messages all the time. ‘We’re so sorry, we’re so sorry, we’re so sorry. Jag and Jas pressured us.’”
Even though it’s been months since it happened, the messages are still coming. Rubina said, “I have a voice note from them last night, actually, saying, ‘We’re so sorry.’ Literally from last night.”
The Move Shocked ‘The Amazing Race’ Duo
While the teams knew the Double U-Turn was coming up on “The Amazing Race” 2025, Kristine & Rubina were shocked to see their faces on the board.
Kristine said, “Even when we were running along that leg of the race, there is a clip of me saying, ‘It’s not going to be us.’ So we literally had no idea that we were even going to be an option, right? We look at all these strong teams. There’s two people with an Express Pass.”
Rubina added, “Logically, why would it be us at the back of the pack with no Express Pass and half the legs you have? So we truly did not expect to see our faces. It was utter shock. And in that moment, we were like, ‘Listen, we have to just do this. We don’t care.’”
However, since then, Ruben added, “We let the anger out now. But in that moment, we had to stay focused. And I’m glad we did, because obviously it worked in our favor.”
Doing It For Their Mom
In the last episode, producers showed how Kristine & Rubina were doing “The Amazing Race” for their mom, who always wanted to do the show.
Rubina said, “The full circle of that. And I’m so glad that they included that, because we were getting worried, like, ‘Oh, man, are they gonna mention our why?’ The biggest reason was for her. Because I mean, we grew up watching it. And to be able to now see us on it, I know that there’s a million-dollar prize. But there’s some things that really money cannot buy.”
And being on the show helped improve their relationship as sisters. Rubina added, “I know that it’s really cheesy to say, but collect moments, not things. And this is the biggest thing I’m putting in my collection.”
“The Amazing Race” season 38 airs on Wednesday nights at 9:30 p.m. EST on CBS.
