Lauren Speed-Hamilton, Joey Sasso, and Tayshia Adams on Competing In ‘The GOAT’ [Interview] (2024)

What do Love Is Blind, The Circle and The Bachelorette have in common? They are all reality series focused on building relationships. There may be a competitive element to The Bachelorette and The Circle, but they do not necessarily involve the cutthroat personality and strategy necessary for different competitive series like The Challenge and Survivor.

This is something that Lauren Speed-Hamilton, Joey Sasso, and Tayshia Adams learned very quickly during their experience on The GOAT. Lauren came to fame in Love Is Blind in its premiere season on Netflix, where she met and fell in love with her husband, Cameron Hamilton. Viewers became easily enamored with her love story, and they are arguably the most successful couple from the experiment. Joey also came to fame in the freshman season of a Netflix reality series. He rose to fame on the social media experiment The Circle, where he socialized his way to the end of the game and took home the cash prize. Tayshia hails from Bachelor Nation, having appeared on The Bachelor, Bachelor In Paradise, and even became The Bachelorette in Season 16. All of the series these three came from did nothing to prepare them for the challenge The GOAT threw at them.

Collider had the opportunity to speak with Lauren, Tayshia, and Joey about their time on The GOAT and how the experience affected them.

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The GOAT (2024)

Reality-TV

Release Date

May 9, 2024

Cast

Daniel Tosh , Kristen Doute , Joey Sasso , Teck Holmes , Reza Farahan , Jill Zarin , C.J. Franco , Alyssa Edwards , Tayshia Adams

Main Genre

Reality-TV

Seasons

1

Streaming Service(s)

Amazon Freevee

Directors

Michael Shea

Showrunner

Bill Dixon

Lauren Speed-Hamilton, Joey Sasso, and Tayshia Adams Were Unprepared For the Challenges In 'The GOAT'

When speaking with Collider about their time on the show, all three of the reality TV stars shared just how much the competitive element took them by surprise on The GOAT. When asked if they came into the game with any strategies planned, they all had similar responses. “You know what? I wish that I had more tactics. I was having fun,” said Lauren, adding, “We tried to form alliances, but that did not work to my benefit. But I think that my tactic was to go in, have fun, meet some amazing people, and see how far I can get.”

Joey certainly echoed Lauren’s sentiments, saying, “I mean, similarly, I think because this show for me was so much of, ‘I just want to go have some fun and see what happens.’ If I were to think of it differently, I think I could have had a much better outcome.” They all seemed to wish that they had come in with a different mindset or at least came with a strategy in place, especially up against true gamers like Da’Vonne Rogers, Wendell Holland, and Teck Holmes. When asked about who their biggest competitors were, Lauren said, “I would definitely say, you know, Da’Vonne and Wendell, just because they came from competition game shows,” adding, “So, you know, I'm like, okay, these are strategists. So they're here to play.”

Joey, however, didn’t feel thinking about who his competition maybe wasn’t necessary. “I honestly didn't know who was gonna be a threat or what, cause you they say in TV time, one day is like a month, and it is,” said Joey. He added, “[When] we first met each other, I was just like, ‘Yo, everyone is so awesome and dope.’” Unfortunately, this shifted after the competition began. Joey said, “When it came time for the competition, you felt the change in the air, and you're looking at everyone differently.” He added, “And at that point; I come from a background of being a boxer, so I don't ever look at anyone and size them up because the skinniest, smallest guy is usually the guy who will hurt you the most.”

Being the First GOAT Was a Gift and A Curse for Tayshia Adams

Unlike Lauren and Joey, Tayshia was the first person to win the title of The GOAT in the season, putting a target on her back that she did not see coming. “You know, for me to echo their point, I thought it was going to be super fun, lighthearted, and easy, but I did notice a shift after I became the GOAT,” Tayshia shared, adding, “It was the first go and, you know, coming from like Bachelor; let's just say you were the girl that stood out so you won like the date.

Usually, that's like a great thing, and it's competitive, but people are still kind of happy for you.” Tayshia went on to share the stark difference between her Bachelor experience and The GOAT, saying, “Well, it didn't feel that way immediately after becoming the GOAT. You can see people's kind of like talking, and I'm like, ‘Why isn't anybody speaking to me?’” Tayshia’s win changed the dynamic within the house immediately. “I'm like, ‘Oh, cause they're all starting to form alliances, and they're all starting to be strategic. So like, the game flipped very quickly. And I was scared. I was like, ‘What did I just sign myself up for?’” said Tayshia, adding, “It was totally new for me.”

To hear more from Lauren, Joey, and Tayshia about their time on The GOAT, be sure to watch the full interview with Collider above.

New episodes of The GOAT are available to stream weekly on Thursdays on Freevee via Amazon Prime. Those without streaming access can mark their calendars for its TV premiere on Monday, June 3, 2023, at 9 PM ET, on FOX.

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