Chip and Reichen did us proud. They not only portrayed a gay couple that was essentially no different than any other couple, but they won the million-dollar prize, proving that a gay couple could win and command a massive amount of media attention even at a time when a massive extreme right wing political machinery had established itself using the gay community as its primary scapegoat. Like "Will and Grace," Chip and Reichen's celebrity status as a gay couple demonstrated that popular culture continued to move past divisive politics. Only Chip and Reichen were actually a REAL gay couple, not fictional characters, and millions of non-gay people were rooting for them to win! The reflected that popular culture was changing, but they simultaneously were responsible for moving that change forward. Recall, that was back when reality television was relatively new. Millions of viewers followed Chip and Reichen as they raced around the world always designated on the show "married," something for which they had to fight all the way up the chain of command at CBS and ultimately achieved. It was a win for every gay and lesbian person in America that these two men were portrayed as a married couple, years before San Francisco's Mayor and Massachussetts courts moved legal gay marriage into the spotlight.

Reichen and Chip split up, and as most readers of this blog know Reichen has been all over the news as half of a very public relationship with former NSync member Lance Bass. Reichen's book about being gay in the Air Force, "Here's What We'll Say," is set for an October release. The couple will be receiving the Human Rights Campaign's Visibility Award at the National Dinner in Washington, DC in October.

Meanwhile, Chip has been working hard on issues that are important to him including HIV/AIDS, gay and lesbian youth, and followed his career in investment banking with an executive position at a Miami based eCommerce software company. Chip has given countless hours to gay charities as a tireless fundraiser and organizer and has been involved in local Democratic politics, recently elected the head of his local Democratic club. He continues to parlay his win on The Amazing Race into a platform for pursuit of social change. He has endured over the years as an admirable role model for all of those who know him well. Read more about Chip, "Local Gay Hero," here.

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