Murtz On The Scene: Exclusive Interview With The Amazing Race Canada‘s Hamilton Elliot & Michaelia Drever

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On Wednesday, in a heartbreaking turn of events, dating couple Hamilton Elliott and Michaelia Drever were eliminated on The Amazing Race Canada after Hamilton lost his passport at the airport. The elimination was particularly disheartening considering the dating couple were just starting to find their stride in the Race and even won the Express pass earlier in the season. In addition to their incredible journey on the program, Hamilton and Michaelia’s story is particularly fascinating as Hamilton is the first transgendered person to appear on any North American iteration of The Amazing Race. The couple initially started dating in high school as Elliott began his transition. I caught up with the pair to discuss their relationship and their time on the show.

Murtz Jaffer: Hamilton, for a long time it seemed like you and Michaelia were the team to beat in the competition. What went wrong?

Hamilton Elliott: We were the team to beat! But I forgot my passport. If I didn’t forget my passport, we could have won this whole race.

MJ: Michaelia, it seemed like there were two moments that you will be remembered for on the show. The first is when you guys won the express pass and used it almost immediately. That was something that I have almost never seen in all the years that I have been covering reality television. Is that something that you regret?

Michaelia Drever: Absolutely not! There’s not one second that I regret using the express pass. Hamilton felt uncomfortable with the challenge, so we decided to use it then. In the end, we ended up winning a trip to India, and couldn’t be more pleased.

MJ: Hamilton, the other moment was obviously you losing your passport at the airport. What do you think happened to it and how much time did it cost you?

HE: It ended up in the pocket in the seat in front of me. And we were so happy to be back at home in Halifax, that I forgot to grab it and put it in my bag. In the end, it cost us the race.

MJ: Can you tell me about your decision to give your second express pass to Brent and Sean?

MD: I wanted to give it to Kristen and Neil – we had such a strong connection with Kristen she’s so sweet. Hamilton was leaning more towards Brent and Sean and after we had that connection in the airport, the reaction itself was enough for us to give it to them. They were the best people.

MJ: Michaelia, I have to tell you that I find the story of your relationship with Hamilton absolutely fascinating. You guys initially met as fellow military cadets right?

MD: Correct.

MJ: And can you tell me about when you knew that you would be more than just friends?

MD: I don’t think we ever really had a time in our relationship where we were like “yes we’re going to be more than friends today.” It was on a friendly basis and it just grew and grew into something it wasn’t before,

MJ: Hamilton, I always felt like you and Michaelia shared one of the strongest bonds on the show this season. Where does that stem from?

HE: We’ve been through everything together. Through my entire surgery and she was always there to make me soup and (was always) helping me.

MD: I’m his doctor, and his nurse as well as his fiancé!

MJ: Michaelia, if Hamilton didn’t lose the passport… do you think you could have won?

MD: Absolutely – without a doubt we would have won. We have such a good connection, great communication, I know we could have pulled through and won.

MJ: Hamilton, what’s next for you?

HE: Still in that stage where I want to figure out what I want to do with my life, I’m only 20 years old there’s lot of time.

MJ: Thanks guys.

The Amazing Race Canada airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on CTV.

Murtz Jaffer is the world's foremost reality television expert and was the host of Reality Obsessed which aired on the TVTropolis and Global Reality Channels in Canada. He has professional writing experience at the Toronto Sun, National Post, TV Guide Canada, TOROMagazine.com and was a former producer at Entertainment Tonight Canada. He was also the editor at Weekendtrips.com.