Viewers of The Amazing Race 37 applaud Ana for confronting Jonathan

The Amazing Race season 37 fans are praising Ana Towns for standing up to husband Jonathan Towns amid backlash for his controversial behavior toward her on the show.

The reality show’s cameras captured the stay-at-home mom, 35, asking the software developer, 42, why he was “being so disrespectful” while they were working together to paddle a boat across the Douro River in Portugal during the penultimate episode on Wednesday, May 14.

“Because I need you to listen,” Jonathan replied, to which Ana said with a laugh, “I am listening, I’m literally not doing anything.”

Ana also encouraged her husband to lighten up and enjoy the view, even though they were in last place.

“So you only have fun when you come in first? Look around you. It’s so pretty,” she said.

Later, at the Campanhã railway station, Jonathan lashed out at Ana for “cutting in front of her” in the line to get their train tickets.

“I feel like he overreacted. I feel like it started with the navigation,” she said, referring to their earlier troubles with getting lost on their drive to find the first clue.

The couple argued about Jonathan’s behavior while waiting for the train, with Ana saying, “Why are you treating me like I did something wrong? You’ve been treating me like this for the last two hours.”

As viewers watched the scenes unfold, many praised Ana for defending herself.

“Ana finally realizing Jonathan is being a bully/jerk,” one fan wrote on X, while another user added, “Ana giving attitude back FINALLY don’t let this loser talk to you like that.”

A third person shared, “Ana coming to realize finally that her husband is the problem!”

Viewers have been calling out Jonathan on social media all season long for the way he has spoken to Ana throughout the race. Some of his most notable negative moments have included telling the mom of two to “stop whining” when they lost their lead and calling her a “terrible partner” when she said he was being mean to her.

The pair addressed the backlash in a YouTube video on April 8, explaining that Jonathan sought help because he and Ana were concerned about his abnormal behavior on The Amazing Race. He revealed that he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and had a “hyperactive brain” that was triggered on the show.

“Looking back at what I was seeing, and knowing what I know about myself now, it’s so hard for me to be supportive and helpful to somebody when my brain is in this overheated state,” Jonathan said.

He continued, “When I’m on The Race, unlike when I’m at home, I cannot control the external factors. I have no control – my routines are completely non-existent. And we rely on – people like me rely on routines in order to help us regulate our emotions and to control the amount of stimulus that we can get at any given time.”

In a May 8 YouTube comment, Jonathan also admitted, “I treated Ana very poorly while we were on the show, and I understand how that can trigger a lot of strong emotions in people, but yes, we have come a long way since then. Thank you for your support.”