kav

Except he was going to offer to give up his immunity, but when he went up to Eva, before he could even say it, Eva said something like, "No. I am going to do it". (Exit press from both Eva and Kyle) If that was true, he would not have gone up to Eva like he said he did, so I believe this is untrue. Exit press from RHAP from Joe and Eva and Kyle.

They did show Joe saying something along the lines saying that he would do it and Eva said no. Kyle also offered. Right before the fire started Joe asked one last time and Eva said something like "I got it". (not shown on show)

And that is what I believe is wrong with many people in society. I am glad that you do not cry when you have challenges, but crying is not a form of weakness, and I am sure that she does not want to cry during her episodes, but when her brain is going a mile a minute and processing things like "I am a failure or I can't do this" which is what was going on in practicing fire, she was having strong emotions. (rhap, exit)

To many people who are on the Autism Spectrum and their significant others who are there for them every day of their lives because they love them and care about them and it hurts to see them struggle. To the people who did not choose to have it and did not choose to have to be in a world that is not made for them to be successful where they have to use extra energy everyday of their lives. It shows he wanted to help take away to pain he saw in his friend because it hurt him to see someone he cares about having such a hard time. It showed that he has empathy and cared about more than the game.

I am sorry that you feel the need to call that choice "babysitting". It is not that, and it can be very hurtful for you to refer to it refer to it as that. Kyle ALSO was going to offer to do the fire challenge instead of her. This shows that they both have a lot of care and empathy for their friend Eva, even during the competition. Until any of the contestants say out loud that they tiptoed around her after they found out, then that is just an untrue assumption that some viewers choose to believe. Also it is very rude to refer to anyone on the Spectrum as "unfortunate". It is a part of who they are, it is not a negative aspect of them.

That might be true for you, but you are one person and Eva chose to do what was most helpful FOR HER. It seems you are saying that people should not utilize other people to help them calm down if that is what they need. It seems like you are saying she should have told nobody about what she needs, that would not have been helpful to her during the challenge with the balls, and would have made it harder for her to calm down in that situation. You can practice many different self coping strategies at any time, but until a situation happens, you have no idea which ones will work and which ones will not be helpful.

With support teams and coping strategies and learning to understand what situations can be triggers for her. I doubt Joe wondered that. You can tell the close relationship they have just from watching any interview with the 2 of them including the one on the morning show yesterday.

Not quite, she was in charge of the choice of both Kyle and Joe not making fire because she had confidence in herself to do it, even though it was hard, and it was her who said no to both of them saying to let them do fire instead of her. She said no to Kyle about this even before He was able to get the words out to say it. This was in the exit interview from today from both of them.

Joe was not "an adult babysitter", and I believe that is a very rude statement to make. Eva showed from the start that she DOES have what it takes to be on the show, is very courageous, strong, determined, hard working. Sorry you feel it is "a problem" that her being unable to self regulate herself and have meltdowns is something bad, SHE CAN NOT COTROL IT, IT IS HOW HER BRAIN WORKS IN SOME MOMENTS. It is not fair that her and many others brains are wired differently and work differently for reasons that are not known and will not be known anytime soon. It is not fair that she has to work harder to succeed in a world that is not made for her. It is not fair how much energy it can take to mask emotions to try to fit in with those around them.

He did not become "Eva's protecter" because he felt obligated to, he did it because he is a good and kind person who wanted to be a role model of being accepting and kind and understanding to all people for his kids. Yes, the show did benefit her in many ways before it showed her how much of a role model she was to many people who watched the show who are like her. She also learned that she can use her voice against those who think "that she is broken" or who choose not to understand her and mock her. You can have learned about many different coping strategies and self soothing skills, but until you are in the moment and actually can see/feel what someone on the spectrums brain is doing during an episode, you have no idea what it is like and making statements like that can be very hurtful and judgmental.

I disagree 100 percent on this, I believe it is unkind to judge ANYONE on why they might cry because of stressful intense situations. The fire practice was a lot more intense than was shown on the show, and she will always be a WINNER in her own way for her community, and I am sorry that you disagree with that. Until you witness an experience like this as someone on the spectrum or a loved one, you have no idea how emotional and intense that experience can be. I think this experience will teach him that being the kind, thoughtful person that his kids look up to is more important than being physical.

Kyle would argue that after he told Eva she was in it, it was not his choice anymore, in face BOTH him and Kyle begged Eva to let them do fire instead of her, but she said no. As was explained in an exit interview, part of the reason she was picked for lots of rewards were because of the deep relationships she made that were not shown, including with Kyle, Mary, David and Kamilla. Also, she did not want to be picked in the reward for letters for reasons that she shared in an interview.

Their internal goal was to get to the final 3, so as is got closer to that, there was internal stress from it, but once they reached that, they were able to relax a little because they have reached their internal goal. (Their Podcast, Week 10, 2025)

I do not know how your timeline you mentioned could be true considering he sought help and support LAST YEAR before the public even knew he was on the show. You have no idea "what he knew or did not know about how he would respond on the show" before it happened. Just because he went to college and had a job is not the same as the pressures of being on The Amazing Race. If he thought his behavior "was perfectly ok", he would not have sought out help after the show was taped. I am sorry you do not agree with the choice of words "fights" that Johnathan chooses to use, those were his words, and it is important to remember that words do not always have the same meaning to every person. It could "be typical" because it is the way HIS BRAIN WORK, he can not change that no matter if he wants to or society wants him too. His lashing out was him getting his frustrations out of his body, and the words landed on the person who was closest to him at the time. Of corse they "were not typical fights", there is a lot not typical of the Autism Spectrum Disorder.

He did not know he needed structure and routines when he applied and during the taping of the show last May, he did not discover this until AFTER the race was filmed. He did not know what his triggers would be in a place like the race where there are not routines that he can control.