A Spousal Nightmare – Jonathan Baker from ‘The Amazing Race 6’

In my recap of The Amazing Race each week, I referred to Jonathan as "Crazy" because there was no better word to describe him. Well, psychotic, abnormal, and emotionally unstable might have sufficed, but "Crazy" worked well enough. To those who haven't read my recaps from week to week, I'll just refer to him as Jonathan in this article – although it does break my heart to stop using his nickname. It fit him so well!

Anyway, you knew this article was coming, and we have been keeping a seat nice and warm here for Jonathan in the Reality TV Hall of Shame. He brought the word "shameful" to a whole new level with his performance on The Amazing Race 6. I've seen some bickering teams on this show, but never in my life have I seen someone treat their partner the way Jonathan treated Victoria – to add insult to injury, they are married. Think about it. If you can do half the things Jonathan did to Victoria, the person in the world you are supposed to "love the most," then you have issues. What did he do that was so bad, you ask? Let me take you on a rundown of the list.

It all began in episode one, right from the beginning. You knew that Jonathan had something wrong with him from the start, since teams were already plotting his demise. Avi & Joe, Gus & Hera, and Hayden & Aaron all made a pact that they would try to have him eliminated as soon as possible, as we got a camera shot of him screaming on the train and shouting to the camera. Of course, Jonathan outraced two of these teams, but looked like an ass while doing it. Also during the first leg, Jonathan tried to tell Bolo that the two of them were "superheroes." Bolo was confused, viewers were confused, and most importantly, I was confused too. What the hell was he talking about? Just because your mullet-in-training is blue doesn't make you a superhero. Besides, his actions were anything BUT!

In Iceland, on the way to the largest glacier in the country, Jonathan screamed at his wife Victoria for not navigating properly, according to him. Victoria didn't seem to mind at first, so the viewer didn't really mind either. All teams get into a little scuffle now and then. When they checked in at the first Pit Stop, Jonathan began to jump up and down and scream like I've never seen a person act before. They weren't even in first place! This was the first sign to me that something was wrong with him, and things were only going to get worse.

And get worse is what they did. In episode two, after leaving the Pit Stop in Iceland, Jonathan had to get out of a car and ask someone for directions. When Victoria went over to tell him to make sure he wrote them down so they didn't get lost, not only did he yell at her to get away, but he pushed her as well. Any kind of physical altercation – if it's a nudge, push or shove – is not good, and that was just the first time that Jonathan got physical with Victoria during the race.

Later on, during that same leg, there was a point where teams had a chance to rest before they had to head out for another clue. Jonathan insisted to Victoria that they were first, but Victoria figured that it was impossible. They ended up getting to the designated site, and Victoria was right – they weren't first. Sisters Lena & Kristy were the first to the destination, but Jonathan still yelled at Victoria in front of them, telling her that she was wrong and making HER apologize to HIM. Lena & Kristy looked very nervous and told the camera that they like Victoria but Jonathan is crazy and is way harsh on her. At this point, I figured that Jonathan was a bit insane, but the best was still yet to come.

Still the second leg, but the next day, teams had to join up and row a boat together. During the row, not only did Jonathan yell at Victoria, as usual, but started yelling at Meredith – from another team – as well, bringing her to tears. This was proof that Jonathan's verbal abuse had no boundaries.

In Norway, during the third leg of the race, Jonathan once again screamed at Victoria for not hustling to find out train times, when it was obvious to everyone that rushing didn't need to be done since the train station was closed and there was nobody there! Later on the same leg, Jonathan once again began to scream at Victoria while they were completing a Detour and building a desk together at IKEA. Not only was his yelling starting to bother Victoria, who continued to take the verbal abuse, but it prompted Hayden to tell Jonathan to be quiet. This goes to show that other teams beside Lena & Kristy saw the way Jonathan treated his wife.

Leg four was another shameful leg for Jonathan. It began in Sweden when Jonathan told a cab driver to go through a red light. The driver didn't, since he is sane, but Jonathan got mad about it! When Jonathan arrived in Senegal, he demanded to the cab drivers outside that he would only take an English-speaking driver. He found one, but the way he went about it was just so obnoxious. Then, as he and Victoria were waiting for a ferry, he tried to talk the gentleman loading the passengers into having Lori & Bolo (who were the only other team waiting for the same ferry) to be detained! I'm sorry, but this was truly an act of shame. If you lack that much confidence in yourself that you have to try and have another team detained, you have issues. It's no secret that Jonathan has issues.