Husband-and-wife duo Zainib and Mobeen star in Race Across the World season 3 (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert)
Race Across the World recently returned for its third series and is, without doubt, one of the best reality shows going.
The premise? Teams of two must race across Canada without flying or using smartphones on a tiny budget.
The first team to make it from Vancouver to St John’s (that’s an eye-watering 16,000 kilometres) wins a £20,000 lump sum.
Season three of the BBC One show has introduced viewers to contestants like Monique and her dad Ladi, best friends Tricia and Cathie, and Claudia and dad Kevin.
But husband-and-wife duo Zainib and Mobeen have proved perhaps the biggest hit among fans, with some even calling for the couple to be given a reality show of their very own.
This week, Metro.co.uk had the pleasure of catching up with 32-year-old psychiatrist Zainib, who revealed exactly how the show has affected her and 31-year-old surgeon Mobeen’s marriage.
This week, Metro.co.uk had the pleasure of catching up with 32-year-old psychiatrist Zainib (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert)
‘We’ve been married nine years now and [the show] has made us stronger,’ Zainib shared, adding: ‘It’s made me realize how glad I am that he’s my person.’
As for whether the stress of racing across a continent sans credit cards and internet sparked many arguments, Zainib gave an impressively level-headed response.
‘Like with any relationship, there are going to be times when you get on each other’s nerves and have a bit of a falling out because you disagree or whatnot, but nothing major.’
Race Across the World recently returned for its third series (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert)
She added: ‘We’ve always managed to work through it and remain respectful to each other’s opinions.’
Now for the question on everyone’s lips: how many bears did Zainib and Mobeen encounter and how scary were they?
‘We saw a lot of bears,’ Zainib coolly replied.
‘Some of the bears were so cute, like little babies. But usually when there’s a baby there’s a mama bear, and you don’t want to mess with her.’
One of episode one’s most poignant moments saw Zainib and Mobeen hitch a ride with a man named Corey (Picture: BBC)
While Mobeen took a dip with Corey, Zainib watched from the shore (Picture: BBC)
One of episode one’s most poignant moments saw Zainib and Mobeen hitch a ride with a man named Corey, who told them about his late ‘best friend’ – a pet dog that he’d lost.
Explaining that he and his dog used to jump into the same BC lake every year, he convinced Mobeen and Zainib to stop by the beauty stop in honour of his pooch.
While Mobeen took a dip with Corey, Zainib watched from the shore.
Asked whether she’s still in touch with Corey, Zainib shared: ‘We are in touch, we’ve exchanged emails. I actually got one from him yesterday. He’s a great guy.’
Were there any particularly hairy situations that stand out in Zainib’s memory?
‘There are so many hairy situations Veet could sponsor us. There’s lots of excitement still to come.’
Of course, we couldn’t let her go without asking what she’d spend the £20,000 on if she and Mobeen scooped the prize.
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Zainib told us: ‘It would be nice to buy something superficial, like a handbag for myself.’
She quickly added: ‘But I know Mobeen would decide on something far more sensible. Our focus was never the money, it’s not like we’d be able to retire and live off it.’
Race Across The World continues next Wednesday at 9pm on BBC One.
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Metro.co.uk caught up with Zainib…