Race Across The World viewers have declared an emotional scene from this week’s show “the most moving TV moment of the year”.
During Wednesday night’s episode, contestant James broke down after his “brave” sister Betty opened up about her health battle that left her “without a uterus.”
Betty, 25, opened up about her condition, known as MRKH, and revealed to viewers that she discovered at age 16 that she had no uterus or womb and only had one kidney.
MRKH is a Rare congenital disorder that affects the female reproductive system and is characterized by an underdeveloped vagina and uterus.
Betty and James, 21, who admitted they weren’t that close before appearing on the show together, bonded while traveling in East Asia.
Race Across The World viewers have declared an emotional scene from this week’s show “the most touching TV moment of the year” (pictured by James)
Betty and James, 21, who admitted they weren’t that close before appearing on the show together, bonded while traveling in East Asia.
During Wednesday night’s episode, contestant James broke down after his “brave” sister Betty opened up about her health battle that left her “without a uterus” (pictured Betty).
During a particularly candid conversation, Betty confided in James about how living with MRKH and her way of seeing the world has affected her.
Speaking to the camera after their conversation, James broke away and asked the cameraman for a hug, as he admitted he had no idea his sister felt that way.
The brothers, who are part of a group competing for a £20,000 prize, were on the penultimate stage of the race, traveling from Bukittinggi to Jakarta.
They endured a nightmarish bus ride before reaching Muara Enim, South Sumatra, where their bad luck only continued because they left their travel documents on the bus and suffered a tire explosion on their taxi.
Revealing his frustration at the situation, James said: “We haven’t showered, we haven’t eaten, we’re hot and sweaty.” Everything adds up.’
As they start working in a family restaurant, he says: ‘For me it hasn’t been all this stretch of Sumatra. Maybe because it is out of our control sometimes it becomes a little more frustrating. “I just feel like mentally I’m not right in this anymore.”
Recognizing the change in her brother, Betty says, “I could sense that James was getting really frustrated today… Things have definitely changed in that regard because usually I’m the one whining and he’s like, ‘Live in the moment and find out!'” something positive!’
The brother and sister talk about their journey so far and reflect on how it has made them closer and able to open up more to each other.
Betty, 25, opened up about her condition, known as MRKH, and revealed to viewers that she discovered at the age of 16 that she had no uterus or womb and only has one kidney.
They endured a nightmarish bus ride before reaching Muara Enim, South Sumatra, where their bad luck only continued because they left their travel documents on the bus and suffered a tire explosion on their taxi.
Revealing his frustration at the situation, James said: “We haven’t showered, we haven’t eaten, we’re hot and sweaty.” Everything is adding up’
James said: “And it helps a lot and now we can easily call each other on the phone and talk about anything.”
Betty then opened up about her health battle and how it made her feel negative about her body and her life in general.
Breaking down into tears, she said: “My frustrations and moments of depression come periodically, I want to be resilient and brave and whatever, but I think my condition has made me have this mentality of being negative and not really liking the person I am.” .’
She continued: “It means I don’t have a uterus, I don’t have a womb and I only have one kidney too.”
“I think when you’re young, they tell you that you’re going to get married, that you’re going to have a family, and from a very young age, when that’s taken away from you, you have doubts. You have doubts about your purpose as a person, I guess.
After offering Betty some comfort and rubbing her knee, James said, “It’s okay, you know, honestly, I forget you can’t have kids.”
She replied: ‘You and I have never had a conversation about it, have we? I definitely think it made me develop a lot of the negative attributes that I have, like overthinking and wanting to feel in control, because I feel like at 16 something was taken away from me that I couldn’t control.’
“So when you say ‘everything happens for a reason,’ I can’t believe it.”
The brother and sister talk about their journey so far and reflect on how it has made them closer and able to open up more to each other.
James said: “And it helps a lot and now we could easily phone each other and talk about anything.”
Betty then opened up about her health battle and how it made her feel negative about her body and her life in general.
Later, speaking on camera, she fought back tears and said, “Hearing that was hard.” It was the first time we talked about it, and I’ve heard it from Betty herself and only now do I realize how much it affects her and… Excuse me, I have a toad in my throat.
“Unable to stop her tears, she said: ‘Brave now is probably an understatement, I’ll have to think of a new word for her,’ before saying: ‘Can someone come and hug me please?’
He replied: ‘Yes, that makes more sense now. I understand that my philosophy is “everything happens for a reason”, but for you, obviously not. And that being positive is not always the best way to deal with things.’
Later, speaking on camera, she fought back tears and said, “Hearing that was hard.” It was the first time we talked about it, and I heard it from Betty herself and I’m only now realizing how much it affects her and… Excuse me, I have a toad in my throat.’
“Unable to stop her tears, she said: ‘Brave now is probably an understatement, I’ll have to think of a new word for her,’ before saying: ‘Can someone come and hug me please?’
Viewers were incredibly moved by the moment and shared their thoughts on X after watching the episode.
They said, ‘My God, Betty and James every week make me love them even more, like I’m their father. It’s strange to say that I know. They are fun, the most charming, kind and strong brothers. Emotionally there for each other… I hope they win this’;
‘I think this will be the most moving television moment of the year’; ‘This made me sob’; ‘How brave of Betty to tell everyone about her health. Oh, and James asking the cameraman for a hug’;
“Can someone come and hug me please? (Crying emojis). James and Betty are my winners.”
Viewers were incredibly moved by the moment and shared their thoughts on X after watching the episode.
WHAT IS MAYER ROKITANSKY KUSTER HAUSER?
Rokitansky syndrome, or MRKH (Mayer Rokitansky Küster Hauser), is a congenital anomaly characterized by the absence of the vagina, uterus, and cervix.
Women with this condition will have normally functioning ovaries, so they will experience the normal signs of puberty, but will not have periods or be able to conceive.
External genitalia are completely normal, so MRKH is not usually discovered until women are teenagers.
Rokitansky syndrome, or MRKH (Mayer Rokitansky Küster Hauser), is a congenital anomaly characterized by the absence of the vagina, uterus, and cervix.
Many women can create a vaginal canal through dilation treatment, which uses cylinder-shaped dilators of different sizes to stretch the muscles.
However, if this is not successful, surgery will be used to stretch the vaginal canal.
After treatment, women can have sexual relations and their eggs can be removed and fertilized for use in surrogacy. However, those without ovaries will never be able to have children because they do not produce eggs.
It affects one in every 5,000 live births to women, according to a 1985 article in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine.
Fountain: Center for Reproductive and Adolescent Developmental Disorders
