It seems only natural that Lulu and Lala Gonzalez would suffer twin fates at the beginning and end of their time on The Amazing Race 33. The radio hosts experienced some interference from the get-go, even finishing in last place on the race’s second leg. But they were able to rally after a long time away, finishing as high as second place. Unfortunately, a trip to Greece ended up spelling their doom (as well as “souvlaki”), as a day of getting lost sent them to the back of the pack once more. Despite spending every second together, Lulu and Lala started surprisingly out of sync. They struggled during the first couple of legs in London, as navigational difficulties had them barely escaping elimination in the first leg and finishing in last in the second. And they turned part of that frustration on each other, as they brought in Lulu’s recent breakup to discuss their self-esteem issues as a team. Luckily, those issues seemed to fade during the nineteen months they had off before filming resumed. Or perhaps it was a renewed purpose of racing, spurred on by tragically losing their grandmother to COVID-19 before coming back. Whatever it was, the Lulu and Lala that came back seemed to be night and day compared to before. They were working in sync, rarely having huge moments of stress. They finished as high as second place, getting things cooking metaphorically despite their lack of literal skills. But just when it seemed like they were burning bright, the heat began to drastically lower like poorly-made cheese. As other teams took the lead, they again fell to the back, fighting to avoid elimination. When they touched down in Greece, they were able to start comfortably, leaving the first Roadblock in third place. But they got completely turned around right after, accomplishing an Amazing Race rarity and arriving at the pitstop before they even got to the halfway point of the leg. That ended up being the climax in their Greek tragedy, as they could not catch up after that grave mistake. Now out of the race, Lulu and Lala talk with Parade.com about why they got so lost in Greece, how they overcame their initial struggles, and what they surprisingly learned about each other while racing. Let’s start with how you got eliminated. How did you end up getting so lost you accidentally arrived at the pit stop before the end of the leg?Lala Gonzalez: I think that our biggest mistake was that the directions we got were a little bit confusing, and we got so lost. That’s what screwed us over and how we ended up at the pit stop. We lost so much time doing that. It was a blow to the stomach because we knew we were going to need to make up a lot of time.Lulu Gonzalez: We were running around in circles right by the pit stop. And I knew that that was the pitstop, and I’m like, “This can’t be it. It’s too easy. This doesn’t seem right.” So we went in circles, not knowing that we just needed to keep going. And I think I say in one of the online clips, but all we needed to do was keep driving forward. Instead, we just decided to be stubborn and keep going to the same place over and overLala: We were at a park.Lulu: Yeah. And that really took up so much time.Lala: We were on the beach. So it looks deserted, and you don’t really see much. So we’re like, “What is this? Are we right, or did we completely pass it?” There was no sign of life; it was just emptiness. So we were like, “I think we passed it.” And that’s where we decided to turn back around, and we wasted time doing that.Lulu: In the area right next to the pitstop, there was a beach, there were people there, there was music. And so we’re like, “This is it,” not knowing that there was a whole other section of the beach. Granted, there was nobody around. But it was still a beach. Our self-doubt really got in the way. Had we just trusted the directions that we had and just kept going–Lala: –we could’ve still been in it. Speaking of a blow to the stomach, let’s talk about your troubles with the souvlaki. Did your difficulties come from the added pressure of knowing you were behind?Lulu: Eating the second souvlaki was so…I can’t even describe to you. We felt defeated. We were like, “I can’t believe this. We’re eating another souvlaki. What are we doing wrong?” And the ironic part is that I have a very sensitive stomach; I can’t hold food down. And it was Lala who was having the bigger issue eating the souvlaki! And I felt horrible for her.Lala: I don’t like raw onion. And she put so many raw onions on both souvlakis that I just began to gag and vomit. (Laughs.) It was so bad. My nose was hurting. I think it was just emotions knowing that we’re last, we’re wasting time, we had gone to the pit stop.Lulu: Honestly, I felt bad for Lala as her twin. I could not do anything to make her feel better. It was very hard to watch her crying and not be able to do anything. We also took a very long time trying to figure out how to spell “souvlaki. “And truth be told, we have never had Greek food in our lives. It was very foreign to us, what souvlaki was and what was in it. We eat like little kids! (Laughs.) Let’s go to the beginning of the race. Did it surprise you how much you struggled in those first couple of legs, both in the tasks and with each other?Lala: Yes, it did. We work together, and we live together. So we’re used to always kind of figuring out problems together. But when you’re put in a race, a million dollars is at stake. You can’t waste time. The bad and ugly really come out in a person, and we were taking it out on each other.Lulu: Because we do work together, and we live together, whatever issues we may have, we just push them to the side, and we continue with our job and our lives. We never really had discussed whatever was really bothering us.Lala: There’s a lot of pent-up energy.Lulu: Pent-up resentment is what it was! And so, coming onto the race, we had to deal with little things that ticked us off and made it into something bigger than what it was. We spoke about it when we had those 19 months to really just talk it out and be like, “Why do we do that? Why are we making each other feel bad when we could just talk it out and be encouraging?” I didn’t like seeing us like that, because we are close. And we do love working with one another.Lala: And we’re such positive people! We’re always constantly preaching to our listeners, “Be kind to one another.” And here we are, arguing!Lulu: Exactly. So it was a reality check. And so I think coming back the second time around, we definitely had switched it up. We were not even bickering. And I think on this last leg, we weren’t even arguing that much.Lala: We were like, “Well, we’re lost. Let’s just be positive.” Part of those initial arguments came from a recent breakup that Lulu had which had affected the way she viewed herself. Can you talk more about how the big life event shaped the way you saw yourself on the race?Lulu: So that happened two years ago. It was a really bad breakup. He wasn’t too nice to me towards the end of the relationship. He was very mean with his words and always made me feel bad. So I never thought I would find myself in a relationship where I would allow someone to bring me down and make me feel bad about myself and talk down to me. That’s just not the way that we were raised. And for me to have allowed it for a year and a half–or even two–I was so mad with myself that I put myself in that position. And because I was in that bad state of mind, I had this negative energy. And I sent it off to my sister and my family and everybody around me. I was just excusing his actions when in reality, I should have never been put in that situation. So I was thinking, “Oh my god, this guy said I was never going to make it. And he’s absolutely right.” And watching me say that about myself was heartbreaking because no woman should ever think like that of herself. And no woman should ever put up with that.Lala: This is why I got upset with her. She didn’t realize what she was saying about herself. I was trying to tell her and open her eyes, saying, “Yes, we can do this! You have these negative words from this man, and you actually believe it.” It hurt me that she would think like that of herself. And it got me upset.Lulu: And so when I told her, “Just drop it,” it’s because I do realize that. That’s why I’m not in that relationship anymore. She just kept instigating it and instigating it. And I was like, “Dude, it happened to me, not to you! Why are you taking it’s so personal?“Lala: But that’s what happens with twins! We have such a strong bond that if someone does something to her, sometimes I take it more personally than she does. Don’t mess with my sister!Lulu: But it was a lesson learned. And sometimes, people need to go through stuff to really understand their worth. Going on the race, to me, was therapy. Because I’m like, “I’m away from all of that. I have just met these amazing people. This is a great experience.” And I remember when they said that we were all going back home because of the pandemic, I was like, “No, I don’t wanna go home! Can I stay here in Scotland?” (Laughs.) But I’m glad that I did., and I’m glad that I’m so over it. I am in another relationship now! Very happy. It’s stuff that people sometimes have to go through in life to realize what you want to put up with and what you should not. Congratulations! Well, speaking of the 19 months away, you both sadly lost your grandmother before returning to the race. How much did her death reshape the way that you viewed the experience?Lulu: Losing our grandmother changed the way that we looked at life as a whole.Lala: It taught us to be more appreciative of the things that we do have and appreciate the time that we have with our loved ones.Lulu: We were so focused on our job. Our careers really took over our lives. And when that happened, we realized, “Why are we so focused on our careers? We do have a career; we know what we’re doing. We need to now focus on family.” Because time is of the essence, and you just never know who’s going to go.Lala: Our grandmother was always such a positive woman, a fighter. A two-time breast cancer survivor. So we took in a lot of the way that she lived her life. She was always happy. She never ever held a grudge. She never complained about anything. And she struggled a lot in her life. So for us to see that and realize, “We have the opportunity to be on the race. Many people audition and don’t get through, and here we are. We need to really just have fun.“Lulu: Represent New Jersey, represent women, represent everybody, and just take in the experience. And with her passing, we were not able to be there with her. Like many people, she was in the hospital, and nobody was allowed in. So for someone who practically raised us, she was always around, and not being able to do anything for her was tough.Lala: It made us a little upset. That’s not fair; she didn’t deserve to die alone.Lulu: She shouldn’t have died, or she should have been with her family. And we couldn’t give that to her. So we felt angry about that. But then we took it all in and said, “She would still want us to go on the race. She would want to have fun. And she would want us to make the most of it.” And so what that’s how we came back into the race, with a positive mindset. You two have spent your entire lives together. But was there anything new you learned about each other racing around the world?Lala: Yes, we did! My sister’s always the more aggressive one, the stronger one. She’s more vocal when she says something. She’s more upfront about it. She’s not afraid to speak out. But on the race, I realized that I’m a lot more emotionally strong than she is. Physically, she’s stronger. But emotionally, I have the upper hand, which is something I never thought I was. I always thought that she was the strong twin, and I’m the weaker one always in left field somewhere, kind of following her around. She’s the leader out of both of us. But seeing how she was sensitive to a lot of things, I’m like, “Who are you? (Laughs.) What am I giving you the pep talk? Usually, it’s the other way around!” She likes to hold in a lot. She doesn’t like to cry in front of people. So it was nice to see that vulnerable side of her. And I’m happy that a lot of people got to see that too. Because a lot of people see her and say, “Oh, she’s the tough one.” I’m like, “Yeah, but there’s a little teddy bear in there!“Lulu: (Laughs.) Yeah, I am. I don’t like to show my emotions. I hold it all in. Because I’m 20 minutes older, I feel I need to be strong for my twin sister. (Laughs.) But sometimes, it’ll get the best of you. And what I learned from Lala is basically what my sister said. She’s always followed me around. I always lead, and she just follows. And this time around, it was the opposite. I was following her most of the race. And it was an uncomfortable feeling for me. I’m not used to that. I’m used to being in control.Lala: Being the boss! (Laughs.)Lulu: (Laughs.) Yeah. And so I realized it was okay if I step back and let Lala take charge for a while. She has it together, and sometimes she has it more together than I do. So learning that about Lala and learning that about myself, I was like, “Okay, Lala’s going to be fine if I’m not around. I need to stop freaking out and stop treating her like a baby. She can handle her own.” (Laughs.) Next, check out our interview with Akbar and Sheri Cook, who were eliminated in Leg 6.
