I won Race Across The World but hid a secret struggle from the cameras

Daily Mail​

17 hours ago

Race Across The World came to a tense conclusion earlier this week.
The BBC reality competition show, which started in 2019, sees five pairs of contestants undertake a cross-continental race - without smartphones, credit cards, the internet or air travel.
The fifth series saw the travellers take on an almost 9,000-mile route from the Great Wall Of China, through Nepal, to the southern tip of India, with a budget of just over £1,000 per person.
And its winners were mother and son duo Caroline and Tom Bridge, 61 and 21, who narrowly claimed victory - with sisters Elizabeth and Letitia only 19 minutes behind them.
The pair, who took home the £20,000 prize, have now spoken out about the secret battles their epic 51-day journey helped them overcome.
From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop.
Caroline and Tom spoke extensively on the show about the mother claiming - and her son accepting - her identity beyond being a housewife and parent.
But she told Metro she had been facing another challenge behind the scenes too: 'We'd just downsized the house which I really struggled with.
'I didn't have a horse anymore and we had our dog put down.
'Tom was becoming more independent and I thought, "I don't know what life is going to offer me now".
'Luckily, Race Across The World came at the right time.'
She took the loss of her horse so hard because it has emerged since her time on the show that Caroline is a successful eventer.
The Race Across The World winner loves to take part in the equestrian event, which sees competitors take on dressage, cross-country and show jumping.
Just before appearing on the show, which was filmed at the end of last year, she won all three events in British Eventing's grassroots BE80 league.
And since finishing the BBC competition show, she got her horse back and made a successful return to the sport: 'I have a much more positive attitude now.
'I still spend a lot of time outside with my animals but I'm not as frightened of being lonely.'
In fact, her return to horse riding has been so effective and positive that she has already topped the British Eventing BE90 March/April OBP league.
Caroline told The Horse and Hound in May riding prepared her well for the TV show: 'Eventing has got a little bit of the challenge of Race Across the World because you have to be prepared, fit, determined and have an aim in mind...
'Horsey people are generally quite grounded and extremely tough.
'You can put up with being dirty and grubby and you just get on with it and that really helped because dignity goes out the window very, very quickly.
'You don't mind getting your hands dirty in both senses of the word.
'And I was quite fit, which was probably the biggest help for me in the long run.'
But some viewers of the BBC programme, upon discovering her sporting career, questioned why it was not mentioned during the series.
One said on discussion site Reddit: 'I'm not dismissing her feelings about being her role in life.
'But her whole "I'm just a stay-at-home mum who has never done anything in my life" attitude rubs a bit thin when you take her sporting career in to account.
'She's not just an amateur - she has been doing it for 25 years i.e. all the time she was running a house.'
Another added: 'I don't like how Caroline is making out she is just some poor housewife who has never had a life when actually, she is a very successful eventer.
'She is making out that she hasn't done anything for herself since getting married. This is simply not true.'
Someone else said: 'Caroline is successful in eventing which, to me, makes her sob story seem a little disingenuous and designed to counter their obvious privilege.
'They definitely have grown over the course of the series and become more likeable.
'I don't think the producers really needed to work as hard on it as they might have thought.'
But other commenters defended her: 'I think that's more of an age thing and your children getting older.
'My mum kept going on about having lost her purpose and confidence when I went to uni... even though she had a very successful career.
'She's just retired and is saying the same thing now she's not working.'
Another added: 'Oh for goodness' sake, it's the lowest level of eventing you could possibly do...
'She has a horse (not a crime, last time I looked) and she does a bit of very low entry-level eventing. As a hobby, not a profession...
'She's stayed home and looked after her children and husband. And now she is wanting to do a little bit for herself before it's too late.
'Have an adventure... what's wrong with that?'
And it clearly worked - as they signed the coveted check-in book, Caroline said, through tears: 'We must never doubt ourselves, ever, ever, ever again.'
Caroline has also since confessed how hard it has been to keep their win a secret from all their family and friends.
They had to lie and say they had been visiting Tom's godfather in Australia and doing some travelling around the country.
But both of them have never been there - leaving them quickly brushing off any family or friends who tried to ask anything more about it.
Months after their life-changing trip, they still have not received the prize money - and even with all that time, they remain not quite sure how they will spend it.
Caroline plans, sensibly, to put it in a premium bond until she decides - while Tom thinks he may well go to do more travelling.
In the meantime, Tom has set up a new business endeavour with a friend the pair met on their travels.
While in India, they stayed with a man named Mr Chhotaram and his family, who have a rug-making business.
But Tom and Caroline know they are not going to stop travelling any time soon - with a trip to Kazakhstan in the works
The mother and son had a go at it themselves, eventually buying and shipping their creation to the UK - and all Tom's friends have been admiring it.
And ever since their interest, Tom has been importing Mr Chhotaram's rugs to the UK, selling them on his behalf and sending the money back to him.
The business partners have imported ten so far, with a pop-up shop and a website both in the works.
And Tom and Caroline are not going to stop travelling any time soon - with a trip to Kazakhstan in the works.
She smiled: 'We're not going to do any research, just [fly] by the seat of our pants and just be impulsive, speak to locals and find out what's good to do.'
Race Across The World is available to watch on BBC Two and to stream on BBC iPlayer.