On Monday night, Stephen and Bernard Curry were standing in the grand finale of The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition, alongside Rob Mills and Georgie Tunny, and Aesha Scott and Scott Dobson. The final three teams were racing for the glory as well as the chance to win $100,000 for their chosen charity.
Things weren't looking good for the Currys, as Stephen's ongoing knee injury became more and more painful in the penultimate challenge. But arriving at the final challenge, a puzzle, the pair were able to sneak ahead and score themselves the win.
"How do you put it into words?" Stephen asked 10, "It was awesome, it was awful, it was brilliant, exciting and tiring. We wanted to go home, and we never wanted to go home," he said.
"You don't know what to expect when you go on this journey," Bernard added. "It was this incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience that you know you’ll never have again. And we feel grateful for the privileged position we find ourselves in to have this experience, and have it with each other as brothers and best mates."
"It really is a gift," Stephen agreed. "Going on this bonkers journey around the world with your brother and best mate, and meeting all the contestants. The people were an absolute joy."
After hearing other contestants rave about their experiences and the lifelong friends they made, Stephen joked that he assumed that was just something people said in interviews.
"But it's the genuine truth! We are so blessed to have met all of those magnificent specimens," he added. "Put it this way, the WhatsApp chat is going well," he said as he and his brother laughed.
On the very first day of the competition, Stephen and Bernard stood in the line-up of teams, sizing up their competition. But the brothers admit that they never pictured themselves in the final three, let alone winning.
"[Bernard] is wildly optimistic at the best of times, and I reckon there was a bit in his mind that said we could have this. I gave us no chance," Stephen said.
"We had Olympians, AFL players, and people who are very, very, very capable. Georgie Tunny famously has a photographic memory!" Stephen continued. "I thought, well... we can reverse a trailer!
"In the end, it was great," Stephen said. "To be able to push ourselves out of our comfort zone and realise maybe we do have a few more skills than we thought. Bernie is a beast; he carried us through a lot of those challenges, especially the physical ones, because he's an Adonis. Just ask him!"
Bernard was also a beast when it came to the eating challenges throughout the competition, which was a surprise to both his brother and himself.
"That is something that you have no idea you have a gift for until you actually are forced to do it," Bernard explained.
"You call it a gift all you like, but it is a sickness," Stephen joked.
"It's a superpower," Bernard continued, "I had the 'baby bird' principle. Just break everything into swallow-sized pieces and swallow.
While the duo spent most of the race cracking jokes (mostly at each other's expense), they were competing for a very serious cause and one that's close to their hearts.
One In Five is an organisation that the Curry brothers have been ambassadors of for over 20 years. It was established in memory of their friend, Matt Wardlaw, who died from suicide in 2001. One in Five raises funds and supports research into causes, treatments and cures for mental illness.
"I feel like it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing that we've been able to win it for the charity," Bernard said.
"We spent some time with the family last night after our win, and they were just beyond over the moon, beyond excited for the research that this money will fund for them, and the help that it will bring to people experiencing mental illness," he continued.
"We're just so proud to be associated with them," Stephen added.
Watch full seasons of The Amazing Race Australia on 10.
