Rob Mariano
Rob Mariano (born
December 25,
1975 in
Canton, Massachusetts), better known as "Boston Rob". He was a contestant on
Survivor: Marquesas,
Survivor: All-Stars and the
seventh season of
The Amazing Race.His mother is African American and father is Italian.
During the Marquesas season, he fronted a highly successful opening alliance. A tribal swap in the fourth episode effectively denied him the control he enjoyed in his old tribe, leaving him at the mercy of a new tribal order. This situation continued into the seventh episode, where he was voted out.
During
All-Stars he developed a romantic relationship with fellow contestant
Amber Brkich. He was able to form a dominant long-term alliance with
Rupert Boneham and
Jenna Lewis, taking them all the way to the final four. Rob dominated this season physically and strategically. He single-handedly won challenges for his
Chapera tribe. Although most fans felt that Rob was much more deserving as a winner than the coattail riding Amber, the jury did not award Rob the money.
Jeff Probst called
Survivor: All-Stars Rob's Season.
In the season finale several months later, the couple revealed they were still dating long after the show had ended, and Mariano proposed on live TV. Brkich accepted and moments later she was revealed as the million-dollar
All-Stars winner.
Subsequently, as a couple, Mariano and Brkich later participated in the
seventh season of
The Amazing Race and came in second place. The duo fell into disfavor with viewers when they drove by the car accident of their fellow racers, brothers Brian and Greg, without stopping. Their fellow competitors all checked in with the brothers prior to continuing on to the next stage of the race. Also, in South America Mariano pooled his money with some other racers to bribe the bus driver to let the teams that contributed off earlier. When he did bribe the driver, Mariano used none of his own money. Mariano was savaged by the show's fans as a "sore loser" when he suggested that the show was fixed to favor ultimate winners Uchenna and Joyce who were able to make their way onto the same plane as Mariano and Brkich when the pilot agreed to allow them board the flight. CBS representatives repeatedly stated in the following weeks that the decision to allow Uchenna and Joyce onto the plane was ultimately up to the pilot.
On
April 16 2005 Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich were married in a private ceremony in the
Bahamas. The U.S. television network
CBS aired a 2 hour special about the wedding on
May 24,
2005. [
1]
