[rock music] ♪ Dan: The South.

It's a region rich with history.

From the iconic streets of New Orleans to the gulf shores of Alabama and the hundreds of small towns filled with unmistakable Southern charm.

This is an area of our nation filled with family history dating back multiple generations.

In fact, Relative Race has spent more time finding families here in the South than any place on the map.

And this iconic Southern city is Savannah, Georgia.

And this is where four new teams from all across the country are about to embark on a journey unlike any other.

Welcome to an all new season of Relative Race that starts right now.

DNA tells us who we are and where we came from.

Following their own DNA, four teams are racing... Woman 1: Woo!

[honking] Woman 2: Are you kidding me?

Dan: ...to win $50,000... Man 1: Go.

Go, go, go.

Dan: ...and to find their family.

[knocking] Singer: ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh-oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh-oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh-oh ♪ ♪ Dan: Welcome to Forsyth Park, the epicenter of Savannah, and this is a place where families have been coming together to create memories for hundreds of years.

♪ And this is where the next journey on Relative Race is about to kick off.

So, let's go ahead and meet the teams whose lives are about to change forever beginning with Team Red.

- I'm Geselle.

- And I'm Taquida.

- And I'm from New Orleans.

- And I'm from Texas.

Both: And we just met today, and we're Team Red!

Geselle: My name is Geselle.

I am from New Orleans, Louisiana.

I'm a musician and also a writer.

Taquida: I'm Taquida.

I am originally from Texas, born and raised, and I now reside in South Carolina.

I am a media manager and also apprentice for funeral service, and I'm also a podcaster.

We became friends online, and then we started working on similar projects together, and it just kinda grew from there, and...

Although we don't call each other "sister in Christ," that's pretty much what we are, um, because we do worship together.

We pray together.

Geselle: We're both introverts, uh, and we both have that time where we're like, No, we're charging.

Leave me alone.

But also that time where we, like, okay, I need to get out and be amongst the people.

- I'm very competitive, you know.

We have to be Team Red all the way.

- I'm Mitchell White.

- I'm Trinesha White.

- We're husband and wife.

- We're from Stone Mountain, Georgia.

Both: And we're Team Blue!

Mitchell: We've been together for almost ten years now, been married for four.

And she's my best friend.

- Mitchell and I clicked from day one.

We really bonded, and we do everything together.

Mitchell: I'm a full-time plumber.

I do love it and enjoy it, but I really enjoy working with my hands.

Trinesha: I'm a stay at home mom of two children, and my oldest, which I also homeschool.

When I'm not doing that, I'm uploading healthy meals and recipes that I love to make for my social media channels.

Mitchell: We've been training hard.

We've been doing mind exercises, body exercises.

We're gonna be the best team out there regardless.

[police siren] - I'm Andy Orrell.

- And I'm Lizzy Orrell.

- And we're newlyweds from Auburndale, Florida.

Both: And we're Team Green!

Lizzy: Between the two of us, we have four children from previous marriages.

Andy: I'm a communications and marketing professional, which I've been doing for over 26 years.

Lizzy: I work from home as a professional artist.

I have a home studio.

I use all sorts of stuff in my art.

Andy: I think we've really come up with a game plan of how we're going to be as successful as we possibly can be.

This is something we're gonna remember for the rest of our lives.

- I'm Callie Shelton.

- And I'm Patrick Johnson.

- And you're slow.

- What?

[beep] - I'm Callie Shelton.

- And I'm Patrick Johnson!

- You're-- you're a mess!

And we're siblings through adoption from Janesville, Wisconsin.

Both: And we're Team Black!

Patrick: As brother and sister, we're not super-duper, like, lovey-dovey.

Callie: I think we're very similar in a lot of ways, but our lives are polar opposites, always kinda have been.

Patrick: I am director of customer service at a chemical manufacturer, but my passion, I cofounded the Isaac Strong Foundation in honor of my son that passed away.

Boy: Yeah!

Callie: I'm currently a stay at home mom with my two little boys, but before that, I was a professional performer.

Singer-dancer for different production companies, two national tours.

Living out of a suitcase is gonna make this really easy.

This is old hat to me.

Patrick: This seemed like a good okay, here we go, you know, it's go time.

♪ Dan: Welcome, Teams.

The time has come.

Are you ready for a road trip unlike any other?

All: Yes!

Dan: That's good.

Because over the next 10 days, you're gonna experience highs and lows, emotional twists and turns, ups and downs in a way that you have never experienced before.

But remember, it's all gonna be worth it because each and every day, family is waiting for you.

And let's not forget, there is that $50,000 that's also on the line Mitchell: Can't forget that.

Taquida: Lookin' around at the other teams, um, I do see some competition that's gonna come about.

Um, we may have to make sure that we're on our A game.

- Lookin' at the teams, I think we got some competition, um... - Definitely.

- Definitely I'd say they're similar to us.

I don't know.

My big thing is I'm watching everybody.

Dan: Before we get started, I think it's more important that you know each other deeper.

And here's the reason why.

Each of you is about to become a family unto yourselves.

And this is what I mean by that.

Each of you has a unique story to tell.

Each of you has unique reasons for being here.

And by being on this journey, you should draw closer to each other.

Do you agree?

All: Yeah.

Geselle: We agree.

Dan: So I ask you, do you want to know more about each other?

All: Yeah!

Taquida: Definitely, yeah.

- Good.

Follow me.

Excuse me.

- What?

Where we going?

Mitchell: Once we started out, he was just, like, follow me, and then he just started walking towards us, so I kinda was, like, Where's he goin'?

And he just split us right down the middle.

He kept on goin', so, didn't nobody say anything, so we just turned around and followed right behind him.

- [laughs] Andy: We're all just looking at each other going, [laughingly] What, what's going on here?

Where are we going?

Are we actually starting the race at this point?

- No one knows, so... - Are we going directly to a challenge?

- That's what we're thinking.

Yeah, it's challenge time.

It's go time.

Geselle: What in the world are we in for?

Taquida: I was, like, oh, here comes the first challenge.

Here comes the first surprise.

[dramatic snare drums] Dan: We're gonna head over here, guys.

Callie: Do we get to get on a trolley?

Dan: Right.

This is for you.

Hop on board.

Lizzy: Oh, wow.

Taquida: Wow.

[laughs] Geselle: What in the world are we getting ready to experience?

- Are you ready?

All: Yes!

Dan: Good, because this next stop is a journey that you will never forget.

Hold on.

♪ Lizzy: Is that for us?

Dan: That's for you!

Geselle: That's crazy.

Dan: Welcome to the historic Savannah Theater, and boy oh boy are they giving us a welcome.

Follow me.

Taquida: Oh my.

Andy: Let's go look at, look at this.

♪ Taquida; Oh my, look.

Patrick: Look at that poster.

We got our own poster.

- Look at these!

- Look like action stars.

Taquida: Yeah, superheroes.

Andy: That is hil-- Oh, that is awesome.

Dan keeps throwing one surprise after another at us, and I'm not gonna lie.

I'm not sure if we're ready for whatever's gonna come next.

♪ Taquida: Oh my gosh.

Lizzy: Oh, neat.

Patrick: [whispering] This is so cool.

Andy: Beautiful.

Lizzy: Yeah.

Mitchell: It’s nice in here.

Geselle: Pretty.

- It's gorgeous.

This is beautiful.

After we saw the posters, we were really excited.

We walk into the theater though.

We fall silent.

Andy: Oh yeah.

Lizzy: It's just stunningly gorgeous.

But the mood totally changes, and I think we all knew that we were gonna get to know each other a lot more.

Dan: Why do you think you're sitting here right now?

We've never done this before.

- I think we're gonna get to see ourselves on the screen.

Dan: Oh really?

- [laughs] Dan: You mean those movie posters outside might've given a little bit of that.

All: Yeah.

- I kinda wanna see that sci-fi movie you guys are in.

Patrick: Yeah.

All: [laughing] Trinesha: Just a little bit.

- Well as we like to say in the biz, let's roll it.

Trinesha: Oh wow.

♪ Callie: [on screen] Patrick and I are both fully adopted, uh, completely separate families.

We were both adopted through the same adoption agency from the same city and the same hospital, but we're six years apart.

It feels like the universe kind of laid Relative Race in front of us just at the right place, right time, where I've always wondered, uh, where I come from and who's out there.

♪ [fire crackling] I recently found out who my biological mother and father are.

Unfortunately they do not want to be found right now.

That's something that I've always prepared for, but if I had the opportunity to say something, it would be that I still love them and I still think of them and I still pray for them every day, every single day, and I have always wanted what's best for them just like they wanted what was best for me.

And even if it was just that one time to tell them all of this and then we parted ways forever, that would've been enough.

I've spent almost 40 years thinking that they're wondering if I'm okay.

And now it's my turn to wonder if they're okay.

♪ Patrick: My family, I have me and my wife and then my boys.

Isaac was diagnosed at two-and-a-half with neuroblastoma.

Neuroblastoma is cancer of the nerves.

Isaac had it in multiple spots.

He was always super duper loving.

He was super duper outgoing.

Luckily our family, we hung really good, and we had the faith all the way until the end.

Isaac fought neuroblastoma for three years and then died four days after his sixth birthday.

After Isaac passed, I definitely think I'm a l-- I'm more shut down because you sort of do start to wall yourself off a little bit more.

I've never been, like, super an emotional person.

Callie: Losing anyone, it changes you.

It especially changes you when you lose a child and, um, I think my brother lost a bit of himself and lost a bit of his light.

♪ Patrick: I'm hoping Relative Race can help me find some of that emotion and empathy that I lost when I lost Isaac.

♪ Taquida: When Giselle asked me to be a part of the show, it was exciting.

We've been chatting and talking for so long it just seemed natural, you know, um, to be able to finally just meet her in person.

I had a nice childhood growing up, and family to me is very important.

You wanna have that family that is there to support you.

You support them, do family things together, and always have somebody that's gonna be there no matter what.

This journey is more so for Geselle than for me.

I am looking forward to being an emotional support for her because I know this is gonna be a challenging moment for her.

I know it'll answer a lot of questions that she needs to help her to complete herself.

Geselle: So, as a kid, I was given an assignment to work on my family tree.

I went home and I was excited, said Hey mom, I have this project and I need to work on my family tree.

My mother says well, you can probably call my, your great aunt, but, you know, you were adopted.

As a kid, I'm like, What is adoption?

Like, I don't really understand this concept.

And as it was broken down to me, I think that was part of the, part of the process of making me feel like the black sheep.

Um, and that's the way I saw it through a child's eye.

So my adoptive dad, he died when I was three.

He passed right in front of me.

There was a part of me that died in that moment.

Um, because my dad and I, our relationship was everything.

I was told that I was too young to go to his funeral, so I didn't have that closure in that moment.

And I think if I was allowed that closure, it would've helped me to process it better.

Andy: My adoption story, I knew very little about.

I know that I was adopted in Buffalo, New York.

My mother was always very honest about it, but it's just something that we never really talked about a lot, and there wasn't really a lot of information there to talk about.

My adoptive father had, uh, schizophrenia.

Unfortunately when my father went over during the Vietnam conflict, he came back a changed man, and, uh, we'll never really know the reasons that eventually he ended up taking his own life.

It's difficult losing the only father figure you knew at such a young age because, especially as a male child, you're wanting to latch onto something or someone that you can emulate what it means to be a man from.

After my adoptive father had passed away, I'd completely shut down wanting to find who my birth family was.

I kind of made a decision at a very young age that if they wanted me in their lives, they'd find a way to find me.

And part of me was always afraid of okay, what if there is that rejection?

I wasn't gonna push to know more.

I had a loving mother.

I had a family.

And that was going to be enough.

Luckily for me, Lizzy in a lot of ways saved me from that.

Uh, she's always had a real love and a passion for family histories and the importance that family means to a person.

Lizzy: This show really is about Andy finding his birth family and us doing that together because his family is our family.

Andy: It's really emboldened me to be able to take that step to try and find out more about who it is that I am and where it is that I come from.

I'm really going into it with an open mind and an open heart.

♪ Trinesha: My grandparents took me in when I was two years old and then they legally adopted me when I was around the age of eight years old.

And growing up with them was amazing.

We had a great relationship.

They were my mom and dad.

And that's all I knew growin' up.

My grandfather passed in 2011, so now it's just me and my grandmother, and we are still extremely close.

Growing up, I always tried to have a relationship with my mom, but it unfortunately, it just, it didn't work out.

As for my father's side of the family, I really don't know anything about him, but I would be very curious to find out if there is anything I could find out about my father's side.

Mitchell: My childhood growing up was very different.

I was pretty much raised almost in the foster care system, being moved from home to home.

All in all it wasn't a great experience.

When we were removed from our home, we were immediately separated.

My three sisters went into one truck.

I went into another truck.

And they went completely different directions.

I was taken to a local boy's group home.

I stayed there for about a week until we had our first visitation, and then that's when we got to see each other again at the CPS office.

We had visitation every Wednesday.

My mom showed up for the first one, and we were all in there, and it was, like, it was like we were a family again.

You know, we just playin' and talkin', but once the hour's up, they remove her from the room and they take her out a separate set of doors, and they take us to another set of doors.

After a while she just showed up for one, and then the next one came.

She didn't show up.

She stopped showing up, so they stopped taking us up there.

- Fair to say that you now know each other quite a bit better?

Andy: Mhmm.

- Yeah.

Mitchell: I was very surprised.

It, it brings everything full circle for me 'cause everybody's been through something, but you never know what the other person's going through 'cause they're so upbeat and so happy.

Tinesha: [emotionally] You never know what else someone else has had to fight... what else someone has had to do to overcome things.

And I'm so grateful to be with everyone here.

Callie: To hear that you have the same feelings as other people, you know, over this, over being adopted and, and, just, just to... hear it from someone's else's mouth and hear it from someone else's perspective, it's, it's heartbreaking.

Patrick: Mhmm.

- Because you don't want anyone else to ever feel that way.

Patrick: Yeah.

Taquida: You know, we go through life that people take so much for granted, and sometimes it's a little bit of selfishness, you know?

But you want to grasp every moment with the family that you do have.

We've become family now, and we're stuck.

[laughingly] We're stuck with each other, so we're not going anywhere.

- Yeah.

Geselle: So it's, to me as I looked at everything from a faith perspective, all I saw was overcomers.

Lizzy: Yeah.

Geselle: I saw people that have triumphed over the most hardest and difficult things, but they're still here and they're still standing, and it gave me hope to fight another day.

Trinesha: All right.

Lizzie: This season seems totally different than any other season.

I think that these other teams were chosen for a reason.

I think we were all chosen specifically to be together.

I think it's a gift.

I think these people are a gift.

♪ Dan: So after spending time in that theater, I'm wondering, do you have a deeper appreciation for each of you now?

- Yes.

- Absolutely.

- Definitely.

Dan: It was powerful.

You are a family.

You are connected in your desire to find more family.

But you're also competitors.

Ten days from now, one team here is also gonna walk away with $50,000.

And here is one final piece of advice: make sure and pay close attention to each of your competitor's journeys each and every day.

It will matter.

Taquida: The thing I thought about is it's gonna be some trivia somewhere down the line, so we better play-- pay close attention.

- He's definitely hinting at something.

I'm not sure what though yet.

♪ Dan: When we first started this show 11 seasons ago, we thought it might be fun to take away all your technology and instead provide you with maps.

And this season is no different.

We are starting you with a very local map of this very area that you are in.

On those maps, you will note there is a mark.

In this case, X marks the spot of your car and the keys to those cars.

Remember, it's gonna be somewhere in this historic district of Savannah.

Think of it as a treasure hunt.

Find the keys, start the cars, and you begin to find family.

Are you ready?

All: Yes!

- Good.

Because Relative Race Season 12 starts in three, two, one, go!

♪ - What's that?

One, two, three, four streets up?

- Four streets up.

- And then we should be able to find our keys.

Patrick: All we gotta do is get right there, so I like the first plan.

- We first head to Taylor and then up?

Okay, all right.

Mitchell: Once we got the map, we look straight down, look straight up, look for the closest street sign, and commence to following that path.

Trying to make a beeline, uh, the fastest way to where we needed to go.

- Walk down Gaston until Habersham?

- It's been so long since I think either of us have used an actual map.

I think we both were handed the map, and we're like, Oh, wow, which way is up again?

Are we going this way, that way?

But I think we figured it out pretty quickly.

♪ Lizzy: Habersham!

Andy: Yes, right here!

Good job, Liz.

Lizzy: Okay.

Taquida: Just one more major street.

Geselle: One more?

Taquida: Yeah.

Mitchell: There it is.

Trinesha: Where?

Mitchell: Right there.

It's right there.

Patrick: Boom!

Callie: This is our park right here.

Patrick: And we gotta go in the back left corner.

- Whitefield Square.

Yep, that's it.

- Okay, okay.

- [out of breath] Okay.

So they gotta be over here somewhere.

Okay.

We got to the park and started lookin' around, trying to find the keys, and boom.

We found them right away.

Keys.

[keys jingling] Okay.

Let's go.

♪ Callie: No, that would be over here.

It's over here.

Andy: Oh, got it!

Lizzy: Oh, it's in there.

It's in there.

♪ Callie: Of course it's not gonna just be laying out there.

Mitchell: The keys have to be somewhere around this fountain.

Patrick: We are so close.

Where is it?

Wait, there!

I was gonna say!

Callie: Got it!

After spending all that time digging through the mud looking for those keys, they were hanging on a bench behind us.

Trinesha: The keys can't be in the water, right?

Mitchell: Right when I'm about to jump into the water, I look down, and there go the keys.

You gotta be kidding me.

Andy: Great job, baby!

Lizzy: [indistinct] Andy: You are such a rock star!

♪ Lizzy: Team Green.

- Grab it.

There's a phone.

- Here, you hold the phone.

- Rip it!

[laughs] [tearing] - Ugh.

Both: "Your first destination is Nashville, Tennessee."

Both: Panama City, Florida?

Oh my gosh.

- Okay.

- Conyers, Georgia.

- Oh.

Let's go.

Let's put my seatbelt on.

- Charleston, West Virginia.

Okay, I guess we're going [laughingly] to West Virginia.

Charleston, West Virginia.

- No idea where West Virginia is.

[laughs] - We mapped out some locations, so seeing Panama City, we was, like Florida?

Like, that's not w-- That wasn't in our plans.

Oh wow.

Mitchell: Let's go, baby!

Let's go!

Callie: ♪ Heading to Nashville!

♪ Dan: That's it.

Our teams are off, and this race is officially on.

Keep in mind that each team will be given a different allotted time each day to one, find their relative's city; two, complete a common challenge; and three, find their relative's address in that city.

The team that goes over their allotted time the most each day will receive a strike.

Three strikes and you're out of this race.

Now, the teams that make it to Day 10 will then compete for the $50,000 grand prize and the chance to be crowned Relative Race champion.

Callie: Ah, look at these maps!

Okay, Kentucky, Minnesota... Georgia!

♪ - Where are we?

Lizzie: We are still in Savannah, right?

- Correct.

- So we're near the coast.

Okay, here's Savannah.

And we're going to Charleston, West Virginia, which is... north.

North?

- North.

- You're going west.

Trinesha: I can go straight across and go that way, can I?

Mitchell: You sure?

Trinesha: No, I'm not sure, but... Mitchell: Yeah, me neither.

- West is ahead.

- West is straight?

- 16 West.

16.

It says 16 on the side!

- It does.

Lizzy: Yeah!

Andy: We done did navigate, baby.

Geselle: [laughingly] I don't know what we're celebrating, but yay, okay.

- We're finally on the freeway.

[laughs] Dan: Day 1 of Relative Race is in full swing as all teams navigate their way out of Savannah, Georgia.

And since their cellphones have no GPS or Internet access, they'll have to rely on old school paper maps.

Today, Team Red is headed to Panama City, Florida with a total allotted time of 6 hours and 21 minutes.

Team Green is racing to Charleston, West Virginia.

They have an allotted time of 7 hours and 41 minutes.

For Team Blue, they'll remain in the state of Georgia today.

Trinesha and Mitchell will be navigating to Conyers, Georgia with an allotted time of 3 hours and 53 minutes.

As for Team Black, they'll be racing to Nashville, Tennessee.

Their total allotted time for the day is 7 hours and 19 minutes.

♪ - You sendin' that to everybody?

Geselle: Yeah, that.

I think we're in for a treat of responses.

- Ooh.

[phone dings] - All right, so Red Team.

- I told you, man, silent assassins.

- I know!

- Everyone's, like, Oh, sweet little Christian ladies.

Trust me, they're gonna kneecap us.

- Nice.

- Shade.

- It's funny because Red Team, nobody expects anything, at this point, from them, but looking at them, they are, like, really focused, and they're really into what they're doing from what we've seen so far.

So yeah, of all the teams, they're the ones that scare me the most.

- So, the Green Team responds... - Yes.

Geselle: We have a lot of fun in the car, uh, and that's just because both of us are silly by nature.

♪ Dan: Day 1 is already at its halfway point, and all teams quickly approach their destination cities.

Both: Panama City!

- We done made it!

- Woo!

- City limit.

- City limits.

We are in Charleston.

- We made it.

- Yay!

We're in Conyers.

- Oh, we made it.

[phone dings] - Check the phone, check the phone.

Callie: All right, Mr. Dan.

Dan: With their relative addresses in hand, all of our teams are now in a race to find their families.

Andy: Anything on the smaller map that says Hickory on it?

- I can definitely look.

- Okay, so we're definitely gonna have to stop and ask for directions?

- Of course.

- It has to be, like, a side street or something.

- It's gotta be.

- No, we gotta go this way.

Trinesha: Oh yeah, you're right, you're right.

Mitchell: Hook a left.

- Yeah, this way.

- Whoa.

Both: Sweet!

Callie: Have you ever heard of Flora Maxwell Road?

Callie: [gasps] Yay!

Who do we see?

- A mailman.

- A mailman.

Okay, to the lights and then to the left?

Thank you so much.

Woo hoo!

Ha-ha - [laughingly] Yeah!

- And this mailman was our godsend.

He led us straight to the promised land, and it was [mouth click] pristine.

Taquida: Hi, Sir, um, would you, would you happen to know where Ereno street is?

Lizzy: As we're trying to find the address, we decide to stop at the first gas station we see, and wouldn't you know, this guy has the exact directions to the house we're looking for.

- Now that was just lucky.

♪ - Back this way.

Geselle: Left, Venetian Way.

Taquida: Uh-huh.

- It's right there, Flora Maxwell.

[gasps] Ooh!

224.

Mitchell: Stop.

That's it!

Trinesha: [indistinct] Road!

Mitchell: Oh, we made it.

Geselle: There it is.

- Okay, 3900, right?

- 3900.

- Is it E-R-E-N-O, right?

Geselle: That is correct, baby.

Let's go!

Lizzy: 1104, so it's on this side.

- 'Kay.

Mitchell: 1248.

Keep going.

- This is, that's it.

3900.

- 1104.

- 224, 224, right here.

♪ - Oh my gosh.

Mitchell: Who is that?

Trinesha: We pull up, and I see this woman standing outside.

I was thinking that it was my relative because it made more sense location-wise.

Oh my gosh, it's so crazy.

Mitchell: [grunts] Oh man.

- Hi.

Woman 2: Hi there.

Mitchell: Hello.

- Hello.

- My name is Mitchell.

This is my wife, Trinesha.

Woman 2: Hi, how are you?

I'm Yvonne.

Trinesha: [laughs] Nice to meet you.

Yvonne: Very nice to meet you too.

- Which one of us are you related to?

- I am related to you.

- How are we related?

- I am your grandaunt.

- Grandaunt.

- You're my grandaunt.

Can I give you a hug?

Yvonne: Sure!

[laughing] So good to meet you.

Oh my goodness.

Oh.

Mm.

[laughs] Yvonne: You are so beautiful.

Look at you.

[laughs] I'm Yvonne, and I'm Trinesha's great aunt.

When she first met me, that just sent chills over my body.

And, um, I immediately fell in love with her.

- Do you know anything about me?

- Not a lot, but... Trinesha: No?

[laughs] - Not a whole lot.

- Oh my gosh I'm so-- You're so beautiful.

- Oh, thank you.

- Yes, you are so pretty.

- Thank you.

Trinesha: I'm so excited.

I'm feeling so much right now.

Yvonne: I'm excited too.

Trinesha: Oh my-- I'm so-- [laughs] Mitchell: Immediate, immediate waterworks.

Immediate waterworks.

Trinesha: I know, immediate meltdown.

Oh my goodness.

I'm so excited to meet you.

- I'm excited to meet you all too.

Trinesha: Talkin' to my aunt, I immediately felt welcomed.

I felt comforted.

I felt like I was wanted.

And I didn't grow up with that comfort from my biological side, and that's just one of the things that I had always pushed back, and so nothing could've set me up for the way that I felt.

Thank you so much for wanting to meet me.

Yvonne: Yes, ma'am, no problem.

I'm excited.

[laughs] Trinesha: I'm so excited.

I don't know what-- I'm feeling everything all at once.

- Oh my goodness.

I know.

- Well, y'all wanna come on in?

Mitchell: Yes.

Thank you.

Triensha: I'm just-- I'm a mess.

♪ - All right.

You ready?

- Walking up to the door, I'm feeling... whoever's on the other side of the door, God, just give me the strength to face it, and give me the right words to say to the person on the other side of this door.

♪ - You ready?

Geselle: Yeah.

- Hi.

Geselle and Taquida: Hi!

- How are you?

Woman 3: I'm good.

How are you?

Taquida: Doing good.

I'm Taquida.

- I'm Geselle.

- Hi, I'm Aura.

Geselle: Nice to meet you, Aura.

And whose relative are you?

Aura: I'm your relative.

Geselle: And how are we related?

- I'm your first cousin on your father's side.

- Oh, wow.

Nice to met you.

Aura: Nice to meet you.

♪ My name is Aura, and I'm Giselle's cousin on her father's side.

Geselle: Oh my goodness.

- So, how's it been?

- It's been a journey, but we're here.

- I bet you're tired.

- Just a little bit.

Just a little bit.

But it's more exciting just to be able to meet you, and... Aura: Yeah.

Geselle: Yeah, I see the resemblance.

- [laughs] Yeah, I kinda do too.

- I do.

Aura: Yeah, you look like my, my sisters.

Geselle: Oh wow, this is crazy.

- This is crazy.

Geselle: So, tell me a little bit more about you, like, what is your passion?

- My whole life is music.

I-- - Oh, man, come over here.

Aura: [laughs] What do you mean?

- That's me.

Come on.

That's what's up.

Both: That's what's up.

Aura: Um, yeah, I, uh, my main thing is singing, um, then acting, then dancing.

Geselle: When I started talking to my cousin and, and learning that music was her thing and theater was her thing and dance, you know, that she was really a creative, uh, and then just kinda just watching her, her mannerisms.

It's like, this is, like, me at a younger age.

Uh, it just, it was joyful to be able to experience that moment with her and just to be able to see that not only is, uh, this woman standing in front of me that has similarities, but this person has blood that runs through them that, you know, that runs through my veins, and so I was just really just excited for that moment.

♪ - Oh wow.

- Does he look like me?

- [laughs] - Oh, don't turn off the car.

Get out of the car.

♪ Woman 4: Hi.

Patrick: Hi.

Callie: Hi.

Man 1: Hello.

Patrick: I'm Pat.

- I'm Callie.

- I'm Katie.

- I'm Michael.

- And who are you related to?

Katie: We're related to you.

Patrick: And who are you?

- [emotionally] I'm your first cousin on your dad's side.

Callie: [laughing] Michael: Great to meet you guys.

Katie: Oh my gosh.

I am Katie Reichenberger.

- And I'm her son, Michael Richenberger.

- And we are from Nashville, Tennessee.

Both: And we are Patrick's cousins.

Patrick: This is the first biological family I have ever met, and so giving her a hug, uh, it took me a few seconds to let go.

It's like you're hugging someone you just met, but it, you do feel like there's just a connection.

You know, we're blood.

It's, it's like you're hugging someone that's sort of a stranger but not, and I just, I didn't wanna let go.

Callie: From my perspective watching, watching it all unfold and being present for it, it's... [laughs] it's so incredible to watch.

- It is.

It is amazing stuff.

- It's this beautiful moment that I'm honored to be a part of.

♪ Lizzy: There it is.

- Yep.

When, uh, we were walking up to the house, uh, this beautiful woman came out who, uh, was full of energy and excitement, huge smile on her face, uh, tears already starting to well up in her eyes.

Hi.

- Hi.

Andy: Uh, I'm Andy.

This is my wife, Lizzy.

- I'm Robin.

I am your aunt on your father's side.

[laughs] - Aunt Robin.

How are you doing?

Robin: Good to see you.

Andy: So good to see you too.

Robin: Oh.

Robin: My name is Robin Burger, and Andy is my nephew.

I'm very happy that I'm actually the first one to meet him.

It's hard to put into words.

I'm so glad I met him, and I'm so glad he's part of the family and we finally know who he is and, and everything, and everything that goes with that.

I waited such a long time, hoping this would happen.

You're family.

And we've got so many more stories to tell you.

I don't know who you're all gonna see, but there are gonna be so many.

I just want you to know we're crazy.

Both: [laugh] - So are we.

Robin: Oh good, good.

[laughs] Lizzy: [laughs] Andy: It's not every day that, uh, you can say, Yeah I met the first person that I'm related to.

The energy that was coming between us and the connection that was forming there just was beautiful.

Yeah, I'm never gonna forget.

♪ - I'm excited.

I'm excited to get to know you.

Yvonne: Same here.

[laughs] - I really am.

- Welcome, welcome family.

Both: [laugh] - You're my great aunt?

Yvonne: Yes.

- So that make, that makes me your niece?

Yvonne: Yeah, yeah, you're actually my grand niece.

Trinesha: Right, you're my grand aunt.

Your brother's son's... - First child.

- First child.

- Yes.

[laughs] - Do you know my father?

- Yes.

- [laughs] What's he like?

- Just like you.

He likes to smile.

He likes to talk.

- Really?

Yvonne: Yes.

- He knows?

- Yes.

[laughs] Trinesha: That was my main burning question was does he even know.

Yvonne: Yeah.

He know now.

[laughs] Yvonne: Would you like to see a picture of him?

- I'm sorry.

[sniffles] - This was maybe around the time that he, that you were born.

Mitchell: Wow.

Trinesha: Oh my gosh, he looks just like me as, when I was a baby.

What, what's his name?

- His name is Russell.

- Russell.

Mitchell: Russell.

- Mhmm.

Trinesha: Russell.

- Mhmm.

♪ Trinesha: I'm looking at the photos, and I can just, I can see so much of myself in him.

It is absolut-- It's just unreal.

yeah, it brings happiness.

Definitely makes me happy and just to know that I'm actually looking, and I've never looked at a picture.

I've never looked at him.

I've never seen a picture of him.

Going someone without knowing, but wanting to know, but deciding not to know-- [laughs] It's just, it's, it's such, it's just such a good feeling because at some point you get, I get tired of saying, "I don't know."

And you just, you get stuck wondering, and I don't have to wonder anymore.

I have a name.

I have a picture.

I have more than I had yesterday.

And for that I'm forever grateful.

♪ - This is my dad.

- Hi.

- This is my adoptive Father.

- Nice to meet you, I'm Ian.

- Geselle.

Nice to met you.

- Taquida.

- Taquida, thank you.

Aura: My bio dad and my mom, uh, divorced, and then she met Ian.

And four years ago, he adopted me when he was my stepdad.

Ian: And why I'm here and her mom is also not here is she passed away a year ago this week as a matter of fact.

She died from pancreatic cancer.

- I'm sorry for your loss.

- Thank you.

Thank you.

- Well, that's a beautiful thing to take on someone, you know, that is not blood related to you, but they become family, you know?

And it's just a beautiful thing that you... - It was, it was the best thing, and we both get a lot out of it.

Yeah, yeah, really, really an amazing experience.

- Sometimes he says, uh, that he met my mom because I needed a dad, and that just touches my heart.

- Aww.

Ian: I'm, I'm not the one that's supposed to cry at these.

All: [laughing] - [laughingly] You guys are supposed to do that.

Geselle: Meetin' Ian for the first time, um, just looking at him, I could see the genuineness and the care and the concern that he had, um, for my cousin.

I was grateful to meet him in that moment, because it takes a strong person to be able to just step up to the plate and be what somebody else was unable to do.

- Why did you decide to look for family and reach out?

- Because as an adoptive kid, you always grow up with a hole in your heart.

You know, um, because there's a piece of you that you, that's missing, and only the birth family has the keys to be able to... or the tools necessary to be able to fill that heart, that heart hole that you have, and so for me, this is bringing closure and wholeness to areas in my life, you know, to be able to meet family and then also to be able to develop a relationship with them.

Aura: I know, I, because I'm also adopted I sort of, I sort of know that, that hole of, like, not having your blood family.

I never really talked about it, but it was, it's just being able to be the first part of filling that hole for her is just...

The fact that I can do that for someone else is just...

I am so grateful.

Ian: I see, a, Aurita.

We call her Aurita in the family, and I hope you will too.

- Yeah, you can call me Aurita.

- Uh, she's happiest when she's with her relatives, with her family.

That's when she thrives, and the chance for her to have, meet new family is I'm sure exciting for her.

Geselle: It just feels surreal, like, to be able to finally see, like, blood relatives.

And, uh, I just, like, okay, I got, you know, you're my cousin, but I'm like, I'm like, I got a little sister now, you know, that I can look out for.

'Cause that's what, that's how I'm looking at you.

- [emotionally] Stop it.

Geselle: [laughingly] Yeah, I'm sorry.

I'm not tryin' to make you cry, but I'm serious.

I'm serious.

Aura: Can I hug you again?

Geselle: Yes.

Aura: Hearing that she wanted to be more like a big sister to me or felt like a big sister to me was really, really nice 'cause that's what I felt too is I felt so loved immediately, and it was, it was beautiful.

♪ Andy: Well, I think the first thing I'd love to know, I know that you are, you're the sister of my dad.

- John.

- John.

- Yes.

- Your dad's name is John.

- My dad's name is John.

What is John's full name?

- It's John Wayne Burger.

- John Wayne Burger.

Robin: Yes.

We're Burgers.

- Uh, I'm a Burger.

- You're a Burger.

Andy: My dad's name is John.

That's something that I've went 48 years of my life without knowing until that moment, and, uh, this is something that's important.

- I'll just show you a picture of my brother.

- Oh, okay.

- So you can see what he looks like.

- [laughs] Robin: That's me and my brother.

And I'm pretty sure it's New Year's Eve.

Mhmm.

Andy: You are so cute.

Both of you.

Robin: [laughs] Yeah, I don't know what happened.

Andy: [laughs] Just got cuter.

Robin: Yeah, yeah.

Andy: That is so cute.

- That's my dad.

- That's your dad.

That's your dad as a baby.

- See?

Lizzy: And your aunt.

Andy: And my aunt.

Lizzy: You have an aunt.

- Looking at my dad's pictures when he was a child, in a way it was very weird at first just because you go 48 years and you tell yourself, You know what, this is something that's just never going to happen.

I'm never gonna actually know what my father looked like, what my relatives looked like, who they were.

I could feel it.

I could understand it for the first time in my life and the power that it actually has.

- Having somebody look at a photo and be so joyous to look at a photo, it's surreal.

He's happier to look at the photos than I am, and I was happy to find 'em again 'cause I hadn't looked at 'em in a long time.

[laughs] Andy: I am ecstatic right now.

Thank you so much for sharing this with me.

Thank you so much.

- I'm glad I can.

I'm glad I can.

Andy: Thank you for being my aunt.

- [laughs] Oh, thank you for being my nephew.

Andy: [laughingly] You're very welcome.

Robin: Meeting Andy after all these years, in one hand it's very calming, and in the other it's like you're in a candy store.

It's just, like, everything.

And I think it's because I have known of him or someone all their life.

I'm glad he took the initiative to find us.

'Cause I've always wondered.

♪ - Did you know that I was given up for adoption?

- No.

Patrick: Okay.

And so my dad never... Did you even think my dad knew that I was... - Mm-mm.

We didn't know about Patrick.

He was a surprise to us when we found out, and it's just a really incredible thought and idea to not know that there's somebody out there who shares genes with us or family with us and is so close.

Have you seen pictures of your dad?

- I haven't.

- No, we know nothing.

Katie: These are how, uh, how just how much, uh family.

So there's your dad.

- Oh wow.

Katie: Obviously not up to date as you can tell by the-- Callie: No, no, the hair!

I don't-- His hair.

You guys have the same haircut.

Katie: Yup.

Patrick: Does he have curly hair?

Callie: Um, I think he did.

All: [laughing] - Oh there you go.

Good for you.

[laughs] - Seeing photos of my dad, Mark for the first time is crazy.

He looks so much like me.

Um, it's just like they did a Photoshop swap.

Katie: Your dad was a huge part of my life - Wow.

- growing up.

There's your dad, who used to babysit me when I was little.

He used to come over and babysit us and that I babysat his two daughters.

Callie: [gasps] Michael: And then in turn, his daughters babysat me.

Katie: Yes.

- All right.

All right.

- So you have two sisters.

- Ah.

How old are my sisters?

- Your sister, Stephanie is, um, I think she's in her 30s.

- Okay.

Katie: And then your sister Lindsay is in her late 20s.

- Finding out that I have two sisters, two little sisters is amazing.

Honestly, I cannot wait to meet them and start a relationship with them.

My family is growing so fast.

Katie: Our last name is Reichenberger, um, which is 13 letters long, from one sleeve to the other sleeve.

And, um, with there being 10 children and 25 grandchildren, and 52 great grandchildren.

So there's a lot of us, so I had made something for you.

Michael: Yeah, let's show you guys.

Callie: Oh, cool.

- So, this is how you spell our name.

And this isn't even everybody.

A lot of family just write their name, and, um, their kids have written their name.

- Ah, I just, it's just so much.

I'm just, like, so overwhelmed is sorta my key word tonight 'cause I'm overwhelmed, and I just don't have enough words.

Callie: I feel like I'm gaining just as much family.

They've just instantly embraced my brother, but they also embraced me, and I think that's really, really special.

♪ Dan: After a very full, powerful and emotional day, all of our teams anxiously await for Day 1 results.

- Thinking in my head about all of the things, like, just how much that affected us.

I feel like once we got into Nashville, that was pretty smooth.

- Yeah, I'm just hopin' that the other teams may have had a couple more twists and turns that cost them a little bit more time than we did.

Mitchell: Let's find out.

Trinesha: All right.

♪ - Hi, friends.

- Hi, everyone.

- Where's Dan?

Patrick: So, we log into the Skype call and we see the other teams, but yet we don't see Dan, so we're not quite sure what's goin' on with that.

- Are we just hangin' out then?

Trinesha: Yeah.

Taquida: I guess so.

- Did you guys run into any hiccups?

- On the way out of Savannah we had, we had a smidgen of one, but we got it pretty quick, which was very impressive for us.

- Like, two or three blocks out of the way and then we were able to get back on.

And then today finding our address, ooh y'all, it was like butter.

- We'd love to tell you, but you gotta watch it.

- You know who we found?

A mailman.

- Oh yeah.

Found a mailman.

Taquida: So y'all found-- yeah.

Y'all got lucky.

All: Hey!

- Hiya.

Dan: Maybe I just wanted to listen in on y'all.

Welcome to the end of Day 1 of Relative Race.

So, Geselle, Taquida, it's very clear you wound up in Panama City, Florida.

Who was waiting for you, Geselle?

Geselle: My first cousin, Aura.

- Hi.

Dan: Who's, who's the guy?

I'm seeing another guy over there too.

Who's that?

- This is my dad, my adoptive father.

Dan: Oh my gosh!

Wait, Aura, you're adopted too?

Aura: Yeah.

- I, I definitely did, wasn't expecting this, um, but it's just been such a joy today just to be able to meet her and then to see the similarity in our personalities.

Dan: That's fantastic.

Team Black, you guys wound up in Nashville, Tennessee.

Whose relative was it waiting for you today?

Patrick: We met my relative on my Dad's side, my first cousin, Katie and her son, Michael.

Dan: Oh, welcome to the show guys.

Thanks for being there for your cousin.

Let's put it this way.

A little mouse told me that you've got a family out there, and it's, uhhh, a pretty big family.

Patrick: The big thing is I found out my dad is 1 of 10, and Michael over here is one-- Katie: He's the oldest.

Patrick: Oldest grandchild of 52 grandchildren.

- What?!

- Great grandchildren.

Dan: I'm so happy for both of you.

I wanna turn my attention to Team Green.

Who was waiting for you?

Andy: Waiting for us in West Virginia was my aunt, Robin.

- Hi, guys.

Dan: Oh wow.

Andy: Well, it was amazing because she is the first blood relative that I've ever met.

♪ - And that's what this show is all about.

Mitchell and Trinesha, who did you meet?

- I got to meet my great aunt, Yvonne.

And she is the first person I have met on my father's side.

- Hello.

Both: [laugh] Dan: Well, it's been a great day.

It started by getting to know more about each of you, and then it got real.

You had to find the keys so you could find your family, and now Day 1 is officially done.

And so it's that time.

♪ One team is going to pick up the first place benefit that should help them tomorrow.

And one team is about to earn their first strike.

Finishing 19 minutes over their allotted time...

Team Red.

You finished in first place.

- Yeah!

Dan: Finishing 27 minutes over their allotted time... and safe... is Team Black.

- Yeah!

- Ahh.

Dan: And so it comes down to Team Green and Team Blue.

One of you finished 29 minutes over your allotted time, just 2 minutes behind Team Black.

One of you finished 55 minutes over your allotted time.

Safe on this day...

Team Blue, you finished in third place.

Team Green, you picked up the first strike of this season of Relative Race.

Team Red, you finished in first place, and with that comes a first place benefit that should help you in tomorrow's race.

Does that sound good?

- It sounds good.

- Yeah, sounds good.

Dan: Fantastic.

Well, as you know, I tell you what that first place benefit is, right?

- That's right.

Dan: Wrong.

Things are changing this season.

That's right.

From now on, every team that finishes in first place will get to choose their own first place benefit.

And there's a lot to choose from.

And so, Giselle and Taquida, Team Red, now is the time for you to look at-- Let's just say it's kinda like our top 10 list.

[click] Team Red, Team Black, Team Green, and Team Blue, this is how it's gonna work from now on.

Now I will point out that three of the prizes are locked.

You don't have an option to open those up until Day 3, Day 7, and Day 9.

They will remain locked until that day of the race.

If you don't choose that locked prize on that day, then that prize becomes available to any team that finishes in first place from that point forward.

Make sense?

- Yes.

Dan: Great!

Team Red, you were the first ones to finish in first place, so you get your pick of the litter.

Which prize looks good to you?

Geselle: We don't even know what fuzzy dice is.

Taquida: Get out of town.

- Well, what is get out of town?

- [laughingly] Maybe get out of town, like directions out of town.

- So what's the decision, ladies?

Geselle: Fuzzy dice.

Dan: I promise you that tomorrow morning you'll find out that your fuzzy dice may help you all the way through Day 2 of Relative Race.

Team Red, congratulations once again.

And for the rest of the teams, you now have got a sneak peak at what awaits each and every day when one of you finishes in first place.

I look forward to talking with each of you tomorrow.

Patrick: Good job, Team Red.

- Good job, you guys.

- Thank you.

We love y'all.

Aura: I'm so excited for you.

I was so nervous.

- We were nervous too.

We were nervous too.

She rockin' and cr-- - And to find out 19 minutes.

Geselle: When we looked at the benefits or those things that we could choose from, I was just a little concerned about what those might be.

I was thinking, rather, let's just roll the dice and believe for the best.

- What they could be is anything.

- I think it could be that they get... - I'm thinking time stuff.

- Yeah, time being shaved off or getting a head start.

- I mean, it's kinda like they won something, but they didn't 'cause, 'cause they don't even know what it is.

For all they know, he gonna just throw some dice comin' at 'em, be like, Here you go.

- [laughs] - Well, it sounds like one of those ones that no one's going to choose, but because no one's going to choose it it's probably the best one.

So, like I said, those church ladies are silent assassins.

They just know.

♪