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'Amazing Race' Couple Want To Do A Travel Series

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By WALT BELCHER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 8, 2008

Their second-place finish on "The Amazing Race 13" Sunday night might not be the last that TV viewers have seen of Tampa couple Ken and Tina Greene.

"We want to do a travel adventure series that would show people how to stay fit and have exciting, challenging vacations," Tina Greene said in a telephone interview today.

"One of the things that we are going to do now is try to get that kind of TV show developed," the Tampa business executive added.

Even though they lost the race -- and a $1 million prize -- to the brother and sister team of Nick and Starr Spangler, the Greenes say they saved their marriage, gained a new appreciation for each other and now have thousands of fans.

"All of our family and friends are saying that what we got is worth more than a million dollars," Tina said.

During the taping of the race this summer, the other teams didn't know the Greenes had been separated for several months. "They thought we worked well together," Ken said. "Like every team, we had moments when there were disagreements, but we proved we were good competitors."

Tina said that during the finale, every one was in tears after Ken pulled out their wedding rings and asked her to "start over."

"And we'll do it right this time," he said. Ken said he felt that she wouldn't turn him down with all those people watching. She said she cried again Sunday night watching the emotional finale.

The drama of using the race to test their relationship was one of the subplots as the teams raced nearly 40,000 miles over five continents.

Although the footage was edited to show their most frustrating moments, Ken says they knew they would be opening up their lives. "I think the editing was tougher on Tina than on me," he said of the scenes in which they appeared to be bickering.

Some catty bloggers also were hard on the couple, but Tina says the positive feedback has been overwhelming. "Everywhere we go, people tell us how much they were rooting for us to stay together and how they admired that we could compete with the younger teams," Tina said. She is 48, and Ken is 52. The winners are 21 and 22.

Tina says she had brief moments when she thought that getting back together with Ken wouldn't work. But they were fleeting. "When I looked at the big picture, I saw this man who had these wonderful strengths," she says.

Both say that visiting New Zealand was the highlight of their journey. The low point was falling behind on the last leg of the competition. The inability to flag down cabs and find reliable drivers was a constant nightmare that was out of their control

They estimate that they came within five minutes of beating the Spangler siblings. They did get $25,000 for coming in second.

They had to keep the outcome of the race secret until Sunday. The race was taped this summer. In September, Ken, who had been living in San Diego since they split, secretly moved to Tampa. He loaded everything he owned into a U-Haul and drove 43 hours straight to get here in time for Tina's birthday.

Tina owns a Tampa-based firm that recruits medical and pharmaceutical executives. Ken, a former NFL defensive back and college football coach, is a distributor for a company that makes a health beverage from acai palm berries.

Tina says they plan to renew their vows soon in a special ceremony. They also came in first on three legs of the race, winning two vacations and a pair of ATVs.

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