‘The Amazing Race’ 37’s Jonathan Towns Says Calling Ana a ‘Terrible Partner’ Was ‘Inexcusable’

The Amazing Race star Jonathan Towns is addressing one of his most controversial moments of season 37.

“I called you a terrible partner, which is inexcusable and awful,” the software developer, 42, told his wife and Amazing Race teammate, Ana Rivera Towns, during a Wednesday, May 14, video on their YouTube channel, “The Road Less Traveled.”

“In actuality, you were a great partner,” Jonathan continued.

Jonathan and Ana, 35, were discussing a tense moment during the May 7 episode where they struggled with navigation and fell behind in the race. After the dad of two made a few negative remarks directed at his wife, she told him that he was being mean to her, which prompted him to tell Ana that she was a “terrible partner.” His comment sparked outrage among many viewers.

“JONATHAN WTF MANNNN ?!!!! THAT WAS SO UNCALLED FOR SMH,” one person wrote on X at the time.

“Jonthan and Ana have to be actors this cant be real life for her. This cant be their kids road map to treating people let alone people you love. You are a terrible partner?” another critic added.

Despite his treatment of Ana during the race, Jonathan praised his wife in their latest YouTube video.

“I wanna say that out of everybody in this race, nobody came further outside their comfort zone than my wife,” he added. “She comes from nothing, essentially. She has not been exposed to any of this stuff. And she has never been placed in a competitive environment.”

Jonathan continued, “And here we are on the Amazing Race, a hyper-competitive environment full of a lot of impressive people, and she’s keeping up with them, and not only that, she has to deal with this. She has to deal with my unpredictability and my anger and all those things, and she is just taking it all in stride, so shout out to the MVP of Team Fast and Furious, Anna Towns.”

The “terrible partner” scene was just one of many moments for which Jonathan has received a wave of backlash during the race, which premiered on March 5. He and Ana addressed the criticism in their April 8 YouTube video, revealing that they, too, were alarmed by Jonathan’s behavior and sought help after filming wrapped. Jonathan was ultimately diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

“Looking back at what I was seeing, and knowing what I know about myself now, it’s so hard for me to be supportive and helpful to somebody when my brain is in this overheated state,” Jonathan said, explaining that his “hyperactive brain” was triggered during the show.

“When I’m on The Race, unlike when I’m at home, I cannot control the external factors. I have no control – my routines are completely non-existent. And we rely on – people like me rely on routines in order to help us regulate our emotions and to control the amount of stimulus that we can get at any given time,” he continued.

In their latest video, Jonathan admitted that his behavior in the May 7 episode was “terrible” and that there was “no excuse” for it.

“I mean, we could talk about generational trauma, we could talk about childhood programming and in your upbringing, we could talk about autism, but ultimately, none of that stuff matters, OK?” he said. “I am, at the end of the day, 100 percent responsible for how I direct my anger and who I direct it on, and in this case, I directed that anger onto my wife, which should never, ever happen. That’s on me.”