‘The Amazing Race’ Season 7 Winners Uchenna and Joyce — Where Are They Now?
The Amazing Race has been on CBS for 22 years and 34 seasons, meaning that there have been 68 people who have been the first to cross the finish line, where host Phil Keoghan was waiting to crown them the winners. And in The Amazing Race Season 7, the lucky pair was Uchenna and Joyce Agu.
Uchenna and Joyce Agu were the winners of ‘The Amazing Race’ Season 7
Uchenna and Joyce were one of 11 teams to compete on The Amazing Race Season 7, which premiered on March 1, 2005. They were a married couple from Houston, TX, and Uchenna was 40 years old, while Joyce was 44. Before joining the cast of the CBS reality competition series’ seventh season, Joyce was a sales manager, and Uchenna was an energy broker.
Before the competition began, Uchenna and Joyce admitted that they were going through marital problems due to a few personal struggles. They had tried in vitro fertilization two times and sadly failed. And the couple had been laid off from “several major corporations.” So Uchenna and Joyce hoped the Race would “re-spark their relationship.”
The couple began at the bottom of the pack when they finished in eighth place during the first leg. However, they quickly picked up steam and started climbing toward the top in the second leg. Uchenna and Joyce earned their first win during the eighth leg when Joyce memorably shaved her head to get the Fast Forward.
The couple’s time in the Race almost ended during the penultimate leg when they were the last team to the pit stop. Thankfully, it was a non-elimination leg, but they had to surrender their money for the finale. As a result, Uchenna and Joyce ran into many obstacles during the last leg. But they persevered and were the first team to cross the finish line, making them the winners of The Amazing Race Season 7.
What did Uchenna and Joyce do with their prize money?
Throughout The Amazing Race Season 7, Uchenna and Joyce voiced their struggle to have a baby. And they clarified that they would use their $1 million prize money for another in vitro procedure if they won.
After the finale, Joyce told People, “We’ve been struggling to pay those in vitro bills off for so long, so now we have an opportunity to try it one last time. If it doesn’t work, we are open now — after seeing all these kids around the world that would just love to have a home — to the possibility (of adopting).”
The couple also founded a charitable children’s organization in Houston following The Amazing Race Season 7.
Uchenna and Joyce returned to The Amazing Race for season 11, aka All-Stars, in 2007. And during the premiere, they revealed that they had tried in vitro fertilization again, but it had failed.
Ultimately, Uchenna and Joyce finished their second season of The Amazing Race in fifth place after missing a connecting flight.
Uchenna and Joyce divorced years after ‘The Amazing Race’ Season 7
During an interview with Exceptional People Magazine in 2011, Joyce revealed that she and Uchenna split up following The Amazing Race.
When asked how The Amazing Race impacted her relationship, Joyce said, “Well, we are divorced, but when we were on the show — before we went on the show, we really thought that — we weren’t sure if we were going to stay together, because we had gone through the demise of the companies that we worked for. Our careers were crumbling, and we were trying to figure out how we were going to overcome our difficulties.”
She added, “So it affected our relationship a little. And I think by the time we went on the Race, we couldn’t decide if we were going to stay together or not. But when we were on the Race, it was really strange how amazingly perfect we worked together. We respected each other, and we didn’t blame each other for the choices that were made.”
“We felt that we could maintain this perfect partnership because we worked so well together. And it really helped us move ahead in the game,” Joyce concluded. “Of course, when you return home, you return to your normal habits and creature comforts.”
Their individual relationship statuses are unclear. But Uchenna is a motivational speaker and life coach, while Joyce was reportedly working on a memoir in 2014.
The Amazing Race Season 7 is available to stream on Paramount+ and Netflix. The Amazing Race Season 35 will premiere during the 2023-2024 television season on CBS.
