Interview ‘The Amazing Race Canada’ Keshia & Nova

Keshia Gordon and Nova Stevens took on Season 12 of The Amazing Race Canada as friends ready to push themselves outside of their comfort zones. After Nova was approached about joining the race, she knew Amazing Race superfan Keshia was the person she wanted by her side, and the two prepared for just about everything, from weighted runs and trivia to maps and dance challenges. In this exit interview, Keshia and Nova look back on their surprising U-Turn elimination, debate whether they used their Express Pass too early, and reveal what it was really like watching the other teams talk strategy behind their backs. They also open up about how the race strengthened their friendship, the challenges they loved (and absolutely hated), and why they would still encourage anyone thinking about applying to just go for it.

TEM (The Extra Mile):  Did you guys have, like, a lot of feelings come up kind of rewatching everything back? Especially the last episode, too. The non-elimination leg.

Keshia: Watching it back, it definitely resurfaced, like, you know, feelings a little bit. Because it’s like, you don’t really see how the other teams perceive you or anything like that. So just to see it up in the moments, it’s like, damn. Like, you know, it’s tough. But no regrets.

Nova: Yeah, just to echo what Keshia is saying. You have no idea what the other team is doing or saying about you. So to watch… We were just wow, I thought you had my back and then here you are talking smack about me. It’s a huge eye opener. But again, it’s just life, you know, and it’s a game.

TEM: I’m curious, whose idea kind of was it to go on the Amazing Race Canada between you two? Or was it kind of like a mutual thing or did one of you guys kind of pitch the other a little bit?

Nova: I had gotten approached by one of the casting directors. And initially, I was gonna go with my partner, but he like is camera shy. He hates cameras. And I’m like, I’m so sorry, like, I’m not gonna do it. My partner’s not into it. And then they were like, Oh, ask somebody else. And I’m like, who is obsessed with Amazing Race Canada? Who wants to be on TV? Keisha. Yeah, then I asked her and then obviously she said yes. And here we are.

TEM: Did you? So I mean, Keisha, obviously, being a big fan, did you like trade guys to do any trade specific training for it? Or did you guys can just go into it?

Keshia:  Well, we train we should we We got our weighted vests, we would go for walks and little runs, and we would play trivia games, and we would, like, we got the maps to learn more about Canada, you know, we even were at her house doing YouTube dance challenges, like, we were trying to think out the box, but, yeah, you think you’re setting yourself up trying to train for things, but then you get a challenge like an irrigation system, or like a wild puzzle, and you’re like, oh, this is something that you never would have thought, you know?

TEM: And, you know, one thing about this season, obviously, is with the Express Pass, do you feel like you used it for the right challenge, or do you think there would have been a better challenge to kind of use it for, like?

Keshia: So, with our Express Pass, we had it when we had to go and do the planting, and I think we used it at a good time, because had we have not used it, I feel like Shayla and Cheyanna, they would have gotten to the passport … And for sure, they would have put us up on that board. And then we would have been forced to use it at the wall climbing. So no matter what, our Express Pass was going to be used.

Nova: I think I disagree. I think I disagree. I think had we held off our Express Pass, we would have still been in the game because we found out later on that Dana and Cordelia had that 90-minute penalty. So we would have been fine. So I do think we used it prematurely.

Keshia: Yeah, but I feel, I still think that we would have had to use it at the wall climbing because we didn’t know that they had this.

Nova:Hindsight is 20-20. But yeah, I wish we would have kept it and used it for the U-turn.

TEM: And is there any kind of challenges that you guys like, let’s say prepared for that you didn’t get to do that you kind of wish you got to do? Just like based on like previous seasons or anything?

Nova: We wish there were more physical challenges. I felt like the season lacked a lot of physical challenges, at least from the first five episodes, because what did we have? We had the slack line. What else, Keshia?

Keshia: That’s pretty much it, right? The rest weren’t really physical. Something in a sport, you know, like I wanted a sport challenge because like we’re sport girlies and like I would have been, it would have been nice to be able to, show off my athleticism or laugh, you know?

TEM: Is there anything that you guys kind of learned about each other that you didn’t know prior to, I mean, going after, after going on the race?

Nova: I think we knew each other, but what we knew of each other was just more amplified. Like I knew she was emotional, but I know if she was that emotional, you know? And I love her for it. Like I think emotions are beautiful and we should express ourselves, but being in such a confined space with someone for a month at a time. Like we We couldn’t leave our hotel rooms. We didn’t have our phone. So you really had to be together. I think that helps you grow in your relationship as well.

Keshia: Yeah, like with Nova, like I wanted to make sure that I was always respecting her boundaries and making sure that like I was taking care of like the needs that she has asked for me. So it was it was like, you know, it was something that I got to like, even now, like I have these things embedded in my brain now. So when I’m with Nova, I feel like I know how to handle her.

TEM: What would you guys say was either of your favorite and least favorite challenge from the ones you got to do?

Keshia: My least favorite challenge was for sure the puzzle like that. I think I had a little breakdown at that one. And my favorite challenge was when I got to do the dance challenge with Michele. Like that was a lot of fun to do the intersection with another team. And we love the Italian boys, like the fellow girls. Yeah, so to do a challenge with them and do good at it like that was for me a highlight.

Nova: For myself, oddly enough, I would say the slack line because I feel like I killed it. I didn’t even look down. I just laser focus, looked ahead and killed it. And then my least I’m sure you know, irrigation. Yeah, that was me building things. I’m literally just a girl. These manicured nails are not meant for building nothing. So that was my least favorite.

TEM: I thought you’d say the kangaroo poop.

Nova: Oh, see, I had so many. I don’t know. There were so many. All of them. hated them all. All the touching stuff. All the touching stuff. I forgot about that one. See, trauma, kind of like brushed this aside. Yeah, yeah. You brought it back. Thanks a lot.

TEM:  Is there anything that you guys would tell any future contestants? What’s one thing that you would want to tell anyone that wants to try out for the Amazing Race Canada?

Keshia:   It’s not as easy as it looks. People really believe that they can come on there and kill it and just like, oh, it looks so easy, but it really is challenging. You know, like go in there and expect for all the hard times and also just go in there to expect good times like you just never know what’s going to come out of that race.

Nova: But also don’t let that fear deter you from wanting to go on it. I mean, I think behind I think when you when there is challenge and change, there’s growth. So if you want to grow, definitely go. I’ve grown a lot. If you want to challenge yourself, definitely go on it. And the only way to train, would say, honestly, do everything. Puzzles, build something real life, irrigation. There’s honestly not a real way to train. I mean, the twin side, but. Unless you’re the twins who have the spreadsheets, I have no idea. I don’t know if there’s like a book of sorts that you can read or, yeah, but just do it. If you want to do it, give it a shot. You just never know.

TEM: and just my final question to kind of wrap everything up. So we’re all about going the extra mile. So what does that mean to you or how do you go the extra mile just on a day to day?

Nova: For me, going the extra mile means not giving up. With life, there’s so many ups and downs. And if you just learn to just know that no matter what you go through, as long as you just keep trying, eventually you’ll either grow or accomplish your goals. So just don’t give up. Brush it off and get up again, you know?

Keshia: I 100% agree. Like to go that extra mile is putting yourself in uncomfortable situations, putting yourself in environments that you maybe never would have put yourself in. And just like embrace it and learn from it and grow from it. Cause yeah, me and Nova, we’ve definitely. We’ve a lot in this situation as individuals and as friends, so it was a very beautiful experience, and yeah.

Catch a new episode of The Amazing Race Canada Season 12 on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and streams next day on Crave