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The Exes Find Their Peace in the Race to Survive: New Zealand Finale: Interview
Divorced racers Paulina and Creighton explain how they made it to the finish line — and what's next.
Spoilers for the finale of Race to Survive: New Zealand!
Emotions were overflowing for the three teams who made it to the final crate in the Race to Survive: New Zealand season finale. But arguably, divorced racers Paulina Peña and Creighton Baird were feeling everything just a little bit more, as this competition marked the end of their adventures together.
While they didn't win the season, they came in second and fulfilled a goal that Creighton told USA Insider was on his mind from before the start of the race. "I knew that Paulina and I were going to make it to the final three," he said with assurance in a recent Zoom. "We wouldn't have signed up for this unless we had a large amount of confidence of that is where we would be. And so being in that final three, no matter how it happened, it felt like we were supposed to be there.
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"It ended up being a really good experience, not just for us as like racers in the competition. But that final race was like the real bonding experience," Creighton shared as he teared up. "It was the last couple days that Paulina and I had together, like ever in our life."
Paulina added that Creighton's tireless enthusiasm is what got her to overcome her initial concerns. "He definitely went into this way more confident than I did," she admitted. "I had a lot of self-doubt with my own personal, physical abilities. But his confidence is what pushed me further, and his enthusiasm. Once we were out there, I started feeling a lot more confident."
The Ups and Downs of the Time Trial for Paulina and Creighton
In Race 5, the time trial that separated the leftover teams, Creighton and Paulina ended up facing challenges they didn't expect. For Creighton, it was getting lost in the brush — he was delayed and deeply frustrated.
"One of the things about being out in these races is you don't actually know exactly if you're behind, or ahead," Creighton explained about that leg. "But what I didn't know is that I wasn't moving as efficiently and quickly as I thought I would have. And so yeah, that was frustrating because this is it! This is the final race and nothing else really mattered."
On the other hand, Paulina went through the gamut of emotions, feeling deeply alone in the woods, but then finding her navigating bearings and gaining a new partner for a bit with Canadian oil rig worker, Kennedy. "It was definitely my most emotional race and it's a very sacred one to me," Paulina shared. "I even got a tattoo commemorating it because it was very metaphorical to Creighton and I."
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She said she felt both heartbroken at accepting that Creighton would no longer be in her life, much like this specific leg, while at the same time discovering that she had the "strength to create a life for myself." And she said Kennedy was a big "game changer" regarding the latter.
"She and I had gotten really close during survival camps," Paulina explained. "She has also gone through a lot of trials throughout her life, and has questioned her strength and who she is. And that's something that I've struggled with as well. We both were able to prove to ourselves that we're a lot stronger than we've ever given ourselves credit for and we were able to continue to lift each other up.
"The whole time we were racing, we weren't helping each other at all," she continued. "We were navigating completely on our own, and we wouldn't even check with each other. But we were both moving together, yelling back and forth, like, 'You've got this! You're so much stronger than when we first started this.' Having that female uplifting moment where we were competitors, but also knew that it was more than just a race for the two of us was really, really special, I think for both of us."
Paulina and Creighton's Mindset Heading to the Finale Crate
By Day 40 of the competition, Creighton and Paulina were in good spirits on the last run to the crate. Coming in second to the Smokejumpers didn't even temper their victorious spirits.
Asked what it was like mentally for them heading for that crate, Paulina said it was incredibly "bittersweet," as she had her eye on the prize.
"There's this feeling of I'm so excited to be done racing because we are so beat up and hungry. But more than anything, I was heartbroken for it to be over," she shared. "I was excited to reach that finish crate for the accomplishment of it. But at the same time, I wasn't ready to stop racing with Creighton. I wasn't ready for that to be the end for us. It was such a life-changing experience for me, and I think for Creighton as well."
Creighton agreed and recalled that when all three teams were standing together at the end crate — triumphant — he still felt sad that the journey was over.
Where Are Paulina and Creighton Now?
Where are these two today? Paulina confirmed that the race teams have remained connected after the finale, visiting and texting with one another to keep up their unique bonds.
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Personally, Paulina shared that the airing of the series was a new connector for them.
"This is the first time we've seen each other in a little while, but we do still keep up with each other," she said of their outreach with one another. "I'm thankful for the show keeping that connection for us. Like as episodes come out, we'll check in on each other. And I want to continue to stay connected. But it is still a new new normal that we're navigating because being on a TV show together is very different than what most divorced couples go through."
Creighton concurred and added, "This is a really strange spot in time for Paulina and I. I didn't know what to expect coming into the shows release. And honestly, I don't know what to expect moving into the future. But whatever it is, I know it's gonna be great. I know it's gonna be the best."
Watch all of Race to Survive: New Zealand on USA Network.
