Newlyweds Tim Sattler and Rod Jones, 29 and 28, both grew up in Lake Macquarie and at one point lived around the corner from each other in Charlestown.
They did not cross paths, however, until their late 20s when they befriended each on social media.
"We had mutual friends but we hadn't met in our entire lives," Tim said.
"It sounds corny but as soon as I met Rod I thought, 'Wow, I want this guy in my life for the rest of my life'. I found everything I was searching for."
"Tim asked me out three times on Facebook and I kept thinking, 'He's way too good looking, he won't be interested in me,'" Rod said.
"I made some excuses but finally I said 'Yes'. I remember I told my mum, 'I think I just found my husband.'"
We went to insane places I never thought in my wildest dreams we'd go.
Tim Sattler
With that navigational challenge behind them, the Teralba couple have signed up for an epic journey across the globe competing against 10 other duos in an all-Australian reboot of reality television classic The Amazing Race.
The show will premier at 7.30pm tonight on WIN.
Tim and Rod, both personal trainers, described the adventure as "Honeymoon 2.0".
"We thought as a couple's adventure what better way was there to test the relationship and do something out of the box," Rod said. "We grew up as fans of the show and it was a great goal for us."
Tim and Rod said they were excited to watch the race, which they have already completed, on telly.
"We're going to bring two genuine best mates in love. I think it's going to be iconic," Tim said.
"Growing up we didn't really see people like us on television," said Rod.
"Hopefully people see there's all sorts of different gay people out there and you can just be yourself no matter your sexuality."
Rod, who grew up in Caves Beach and Belmont, said the show proved that he and his husband could "go through anything together".
"I am so proud of Tim, how he battled through and was so encouraging of me when I was stressing out. It's great to know we can handle really stressful situations."
Tim said their fitness and the fact they did know how to handle conflict were advantages in the race, however, he described the competition as fierce.
"Right off the bat there was big threats and who they turned out to be definitely provided surprises," he said.
"I think people are going to be shocked to their core at some of the situations we end up in. We went to insane places I never thought in my wildest dreams we'd go to."
The pair said they were impressed with the diversity of teams on the show, including nuns, social media "influencers", farmers and firefighters.
"There's a really broad range of people from all different parts of Australia, people of different races and religions," Tim said.
"I think every Australian will be able to relate to at least one of the teams."
In the news:
- Mixing it up should be the Lake' grand plan
- Newcastle Anglican diocese supports same-sex marriage amendments
