A-list Confidential: Why a Brisbane Amazing Race contestant quit his job for reality TV
When a Brisbane finance worker couldn’t get leave approved to go on The Amazing Race with his wife, he decided to quit his job and sell their unit for a chance at the prize money.
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Brisbane’s Chris Peever DiLoreto was so determined to take the opportunity to go on The Amazing Race with his wife Aleisha that he quit his job.
The couple, high school sweethearts from Kelvin Grove State College, are among the contestants traversing Australia in the new season of the Channel 10 show in a bid to win $250,000.
“I didn’t get the leave approved for the race, so I no longer work in finance,” Chris said. “It was definitely a sacrifice, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“We sold our tiny unit and we are living with Aleisha’s mum, so it (the prize money) would really help to start our lives.”
Chris plucked up the courage to ask Aleisha to the school formal in Year 12 and when she left for Hong Kong the following year to work as a princess at Disneyland, they dated long distance for almost eight years.
“We could probably write a book on long-distance relationships. Video chat wasn’t a thing,” Chris said.
“I’d have to get an international calling card and dial it in, it was very hard,” Aleisha added. “At least later what helped us was playing video games together.”
Now she is back in Brisbane, the couple finally married in 2019 and are living their dream by competing on The Amazing Race, which they also applied for in 2009.
“It’s been a bucket list dream,” Aleisha said. “I like how much time we got to spend together and I’m pretty proud of Chris. He really stood up to the challenge.”
Aleisha is weighing up offers of more performing work overseas with the current risk of international travel and says the prize money “would make a big difference”.
Because of state border closures and hot spots at the time of filming late last year, the teams filmed the first six episodes in Queensland, showing off the Daintree, Gold Coast, Longreach, Palm Island, Magnetic Island and the Great Barrier Reef, as well as Townsville, the Glass House Mountains and Brisbane.
“We were definitely more acclimatised. I think a lot of teams were struggling with the tropical heat,” Aleisha said.
The Amazing Race premieres Monday on Channel 10.
A TIMELY HOMECOMING
Brisbane-raised actor and writer Josh Lawson is celebrating the release of his new film in his own backyard.
Lawson wrote and directed new romantic comedy Long Story Short, and before it hit cinemas on February 11, he will attend two Q&A screenings in southeast Queensland next week.
The Hoges and Anchorman 2 star, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his short film The Eleven O’Clock in 2018, will appear at Palace Barracks in Brisbane on Sunday followed by a screening at Event Cinemas Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast the following night.
Born out of his own existential crisis, Long Story Short follows a man who wakes up the morning after his wedding to discover every minutes he jumps forward to the next year in his life, leaving him figuring out how to use every moment to keep him from losing the love of his life.
It stars Rafe Spall, Noni Hazlehurst, Zahra Newman and Ronny Chieng.
“Every human can relate (to romance) in some way,” Lawson said. “We all struggle to love and be loved.”
“It is a great mystery. It’s perhaps the most fulfilling thing of all and the hardest thing to get and to keep. I certainly learn from my own relationships. I fantasise about romance in my own life, and I put that on the page. Disney has a lot to answer for. We grew up thinking that princes and princesses and that kind of love was real, and I think it can be, but it certainly should be real in movies if nowhere else.”
Tickets to each Q&A screening are on sale via palacecinemas.com.au and eventcinemas.com.au respectively.
TO A FINE ART
It seems there’s even more talent in the Bernard Fanning family.
Fanning’s wife Andrea Portela Moreno has graduated from the Byron School of Art with a final exhibition showing her geometric artwork.
Her pieces are now adorning the walls of Byron Bay’s popular breakfast and coffee haunt, Bayleaf Cafe – the local celebrity hot spot – as well as Bangalow’s Pack Gallery Studio.
Moreno married the former Powderfinger frontman in Brisbane in 2006 and the pair have performed on stage together when he was touring as a solo artist.
“Just want to say congratulations to my beautiful wife,” Fanning wrote to Instagram during the week about his wife’s new collection.
The couple have been living in Byron Bay since 2015.
IMPOSTOR SYNDROME
Queensland stars are continuing to be targeted by online scammers harvesting their images on impostor accounts.
During the week Gold Coast model and former Miss World Australia Taylah Cannon reported an Instagram account claiming to be her that was redirecting followers to a suspicious Just For Fans link.
The account used her name and images.
It was a similar profile to the one reported by Townsville influencer Taylor Brunton, the partner of rugby league star Coen Hess, in November.
At the time the suspicious account, which followed Hess and many of Brunton’s friends, claimed to be her “backup account” and asked followers to click a link to “see all my exclusive adult content”.
Meanwhile actor Lincoln Lewis also alerted his fans during the week to two separate Instagram accounts purporting to be him, clarifying he had only one verified Instagram account and any other account was an impostor.
FOR THE FANS
Brisbane band Sheppard will perform songs from their upcoming album live for the first time in front of their local fans.
On February 26, the same day the band plans to release their third album Kaleidoscope Eyes, Sheppard will perform a one-off show at the Fortitude Music Hall – a live event that will be broadcast simultaneously around the world.
“Brisbane has played such a monumentally important role in not only our career, but also our music” said singer George Sheppard while announcing the show on Friday.
“We couldn’t think of anywhere on earth we’d rather celebrate the release of our new record than in our hometown, with our fans”.
“We didn’t want anyone else to miss out on the show though, so we’re going to be streaming the entire performance online for anyone in another state or country.”
They will be joined by upcoming artist Mason Watts.
10 QUESTIONS WITH … John Butler
1. Who was your teen idol/ crush?
Molly Ringwald or Demi Moore maybe … oh wait, Cindy fricken Crawford!!!!
2. Who are your three ideal dinner guests?
Jim Jeffries, Jack Black, Anderson .Paak, Leonardo DiCaprio and my dear friends Bo and Ricky.
3. What’s your worst date experience?
Planning to go to a nightclub with a woman I’d just met and finding out right when we were about to enter the club that I didn’t have any ID, which basically blew any chance of me getting in. So the said woman and friends went in anyway and I went home. That sounds fairly average.
4. What’s the movie that made you cry?
So many, but Dances with Wolves KILLS me. Which I think is worthy. What’s not worthy is We bought a Zoo!!! Eeeek. It’s just that bit where he’s telling his kids where he met their mum, who had since passed away. Kills me.
5. Which song do you sing in the car?
Usually Beyoncé songs.
6. What’s your favourite movie or TV series you never admit to loving?
Twilight Series. Gaaaaaahd, it’s embarrassing to say this.
7. What’s the most sentimental thing you own?
My grandfather and great grandmother’s slide guitars.
8. What was the last thing you Googled?
Jim Jeffries.
9. What’s your most embarrassing moment?
There’s actually too many. For real. One would be thinking I’d been unfairly kicked out of class in grade 4 and running out crying and screaming something like “Fine!” only to be asked back in a twenty minutes later and the teacher telling me she’d never told me to go outside. Felt like crawling into my own ass and disappearing after that.
10. What’s on your bucket list?
Going to West Africa; Mali or Gana. Learning how to get the best vocal and guitar tone whilst recording, writing the ultimate song, growing four inches (in height!!!), every day finding a little more presence, trust and joy and a little less fear and doubt.
John Butler will kick off Cairns Summer Sounds with two performances at the Cairns Performing Arts Centre on Thursday and Friday.
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