Fort Lauderdale couple kept The Amazing Race secret for nearly a year before season premiere

Fort Lauderdale residents Erin Taylor and Javi Vintimilla are competing for a $1 million prize on the 39th season of "The Amazing Race," which premiered Wednesday on CBS Miami.

The South Florida natives and newlyweds set off on the competition nearly a year ago, keeping their participation secret until the official cast announcement.

Auditioning for the show began as a birthday request from Taylor to Vintimilla.

"I don't want you to get me anything," Taylor recalled telling her husband. "All I want is for you to sit in front of the phone and take an audition video. And I think even that took three months. But we got there."

Both Taylor and Vintimilla were born at Baptist Hospital and returned to South Florida after graduating from Florida State University. Both work in the travel industry.

Running the race as newlyweds presented unique challenges.

"It was definitely harder than I thought it would be," Vintimilla said. "You totally just like forget what you're doing or what you should do. Common sense is out the window, and you're just tired… it's a lot easier to judge from the comfort of your home."

Nearly two years into their marriage, the couple is preparing for their next adventure: parenthood. They are expecting a baby boy in two weeks.

The couple says the high-stress experience on the show helped prepare them for raising a child together.

"As we've been prepping, as we've been talking about life decisions, it's had a big impact," Vintimilla said.

As the season airs, both are eager to watch the other contestants' journeys unfold.

"Sometimes you have no idea what somebody went through to get there," Vintimilla said. "So I'm really excited to see what these people went through alongside us."

Taylor added, "That'll be really exciting."