'I'm travelling the world with my ex - we're still best mates after life-changing loss'
When Yin and Gaz decided to travel across the world with one another, no-one batted an eyelid, after all, they were husband and wife. The only major difference was that now, the pair were actually separated, having been apart for nearly three years.
Nevertheless, the friendly pair, who call themselves ' best mates ' decided to pop their joint application in to appear on hit BBC TV show Race Across the World and the rest is history.
Ahead of the new series starting today [23 April], Yin admitted that times have been tough for her so she thought, 'what better time than now?'
She said: "I saw the advert, and in that moment thought, you know what? I really want to do that. The last year has been quite a personal journey for me.
"Gaz and I, although we used to be married, we've been separated for about three years. And then when we split up, I found another partner, but he passed away suddenly in September. The last year has been tough, but one of the things that Chris gave me was a real sense of adventure, and he really liked traveling. We talked a lot about traveling and so when this came along i thought 'why not?' something inside me made me fill out the application form."
Back living with ex-husband Gaz so that he could look after her during her grieving period, Yin laughed and added that Gaz likely didn't know what he was getting himself into. "I just said 'do you fancy going on Race Across the World with me'. He was like yeah, whatever. He probably just said it more to amuse me, because he obviously knew what I was going through at that moment. But before we knew it, he'd filled out the application and the journey had begun!"
Gaz, who travelled a lot in his early 20s while his mates were at university getting degrees, has seen bits of the show on Googlebox but that's about it.
"I'd taken 9/10months out of my life to go traveling when i was younger, and Yin had never had that. I wouldn't probably do this with anyone other than Yin. I know that sounds weird, because we're not together, we're not husband and wife but we're still best mates. And I think even now, could i do this with my brother? No. Could I do this with any other mates? No. And Yin was pretty much the same."
Race Across the World is a BAFTA-award winning BBC show that started in 2019 when five pairs of racers travelled from London to Singapore, with the contestants each given £1,329 for the whole race without using air transport. The racers travelled over a distance of 12,000 miles in 50 days. And the rest is history.
This series, Yin and Gaz will start their race at The Great Wall of China and navigate their way, against four other teams, across three of Asia's most diverse nations, China, Nepal and India, in a race of over 14,000km to reach the finish line, Kanniyakumari, the southernmost tip of India.
Yin stopped for a moment to reflect on what her late-partner Chris would think of her new adventures.
"I definitely see it like a gift from Chris, I know he's gone, but I do think that he has had a meddling hat in this. He would be laughing hysterically but also cheering us on, wishing he was there, seeing all the different things and getting the new experiences."
She also considered how therapeutic the time will be with Gaz again, allowing closure on certain things from married life.
"This whole process so far has also been a vehicle for us to talk about when we were married, but in a really nice way."
Hilariously, Gaz admitted to picking up a valid tip from other series - he shouldn't "lose his passport" - but did state that the pair have strategic plans in place to win the show together.
Yin said: "Gaz is really great as the initiator of an idea and I'm the kind of person that takes a step back and looks at the plan and sees if its going to work. So I think we do compliment each other in the way that we work. Having known each other for well over 30 years, we know intrinsically where our strengths and weaknesses lie.
"I can sometime be too cautious, and Gaz will push me to stop that dilly dallying which is his strength."
Gaz added: "I would rush in 100 miles an hour and get it wrong every time you whereas Yin would reign me back in."
And they both have a joint secret weapon. Gaz said: "We're both very good at striking up conversation. We're only ever going to do this once. So we need to take full advantage. So rather than be a shrinking violet and back off and not say things, we'll be asking people and if it's the wrong person, we'll go on to the next person. With regards to the money, we will split the money up and each of us hold on to our own passports."
The competitive pair admit they're "not good at sitting in one place at one time" and prepared for their mammoth journey to come in the Lake District.
"It was chucking it down with rain, we went on hikes, and we took the bags. We've also been going out for walks just to get some exercise, but also with our backpacks and all our gear on. We've been going to the gym and generally keeping fit and getting used to the weight on our backs," Gaz added, before laughing, "We've also cut down our intake of food!"
There's on thing that Gaz will need from Yin more than anything though, and he's hoping she'll be kind.
"I love peanut butter, I'm hoping Yin lets me spend some of the budget to get some!"
Yin, who has been living in an under the stairs cupboard at Gaz's house for the last year, doesn't think she'll miss creature comforts, and said that all her belongings are "in a different house."
Gaz plans to bring confidence and Yin is bringing a great sense of analysis with her but what does the family make of their trip together?
"Our daughter is really proud, she's been there from day one, when Yin applied. I was a bit nervous about telling my mum, only because she's on her own apart from my brother, but she said 'go for it'."
Yin admitted that they're "probably more nervous for us than we are ourselves."
Contemplating how the show might change their relationship, Yin does reveal that afterwards it will finally be time to move on.
"I've been staying with Gaz for coming up to a year now so I know that at some stage in the future, I need to move out. We're not married. And I think, what I'm hoping is that I'll gain in confidence, and that race will show that we can always rely on each other and that Gaz is always going to be there as a safety net and a support."
"We'll always look back on it as we've done it together, as best friends, its so unique and will be such a wonderful story," said Gaz.
"It's not lost on us that were very lucky. Its a memory that will stay with us forever."
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