Robert Carlo "Boston Rob" Mariano (b. December 25, 1975, Canton, Massachusetts) is an American television personality, best known for appearing in several reality shows, including The Amazing Race and Survivor: All Stars, with his wife, Amber Brkich.

Biography

Personal life

Born and raised in Canton, Massachusetts, Mariano attended Xaverian Brothers High School, where he played golf. In 1999, Mariano graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Boston University.

In 2005, Mariano and Amber Brkich, his Survivor sweetheart, were married. CBS aired a two-hour special about the wedding. In July 2009, the couple welcomed their first child; a daughter named Lucia Rose.

Survivor

In 2002, Mariano appeared on Survivor: Marquesas, the fourth season of Survivor, where he finished in tenth place. After his appearance on Survivor: Marquesas, he acted as a host for the Hawaiian Tropic Model Search Competition in Boston and threw out the first pitch at the Red Sox game on Labor Day of that year.
In 2004, Rob returned to compete in Survivor: All-Stars, where he formed an early alliance with fellow Chapera tribemate Amber Brkich that developed into a romantic relationship over the course of the show. In the season finale several months later, Mariano proposed on live TV, and Brkich accepted. He finished as the show's runner-up and Brkich was crowned the Sole Survivor.

The Amazing Race

Rob and Amber competed as an engaged couple on the seventh season of The Amazing Race, where they finished as runners-up. On April 16, 2005, they married in a private ceremony at Atlantis Paradise Island, in the Bahamas. CBS aired a 2 hour special about the wedding on May 24, 2005. After their marriage, the couple moved to Pensacola, Florida. In 2006, Mariano decided to work toward becoming a professional poker player. He and Amber took up residence in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Rob began taking poker lessons from Daniel Negreanu.

In 2007 Mariano and Brkich competed in The Amazing Race: All-Stars, where they finished in eighth place. According to a post-race interview conducted by TV Guide, the couple announced that they were in the process of planning a secret, new project.{{cite web | title =The Amazing "Romber" Q&A You Just Have to Read! | work =TVGuide.com | publisher =TV Guide| url =www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Interviews-Features/Article/default.aspx?posting={1B0CD440-BC65-484D-91B3-915D997A4ECC} | accessdate =2007-04-30}}

Tontine

"Boston Rob" revealed in a June 19, 2007 press release that a new reality show, Tontine will follow 15 contestants competing for keys on all seven continents, over 100 days. The winner will receive $10,000,000. Contestants have to be mentally and physically fit to last the entire time. As of September 11, 2007, all casting calls have come to a close and 50 contestants, out of thousands who have auditioned, will be selected to attend a final interview in Hollywood. Casting director Tad Frank, along with the series' key creative staff, will make the final decision regarding the fifteen cast members. Tontine will be notable in that its destinations will include the South Pole at the Amundsen-Scott station. The website TontineNation.com was a social website dedicated to the new show and offered a forum for potential contestants and fans alike to share ideas and predictions on who would be cast for the show.

The makers of Tontine claim it will offer the largest prize in television reality show history. Filming was scheduled to start in January 2008 with the show airing in the fall of 2008, however filming has yet to begin.

Survivor

Survivor: Marquesas

During Survivor: Marquesas, Rob Mariano fronted a highly successful opening alliance in his initial Maraamu tribe. A tribal swap in the fourth episode effectively denied him the control he enjoyed in his old tribe, as he was switched to the "new" Rotu tribe in which he was outnumbered by former Rotu members 5-3. Ultimately he was the first person voted out of the game when the tribes merged in the seventh episode. His original Maraamu tribe was outnumbered by members of the original Rotu tribe 7-3. Since the Rotu tribe thought that Mariano caused too much drama in camp, he was the first Maraamu tribe member targeted. Prior to his elimination, he provided information to Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien about possible betrayal by former members of Rotu who were not switched during the tribal switch. This may have later impacted Kathy's decision (along with the decisions of Paschal English and Neleh Dennis) to "turn" on their former tribemates, ultimately impacting the winner of the game.

Survivor: All-Stars

During Survivor: All-Stars, Mariano developed an early alliance which eventually developed into a romantic relationship with fellow contestant Amber Brkich. He was able to form a dominant long-term alliance with Rupert Boneham and Jenna Lewis, taking them all the way to the final four. Mariano had dominated this season with the physcial challenges and strategic moves. In the Survivor: All-Stars reunion, Jeff Probst called Survivor: All-Stars "Rob's Season".

In the season's premiere episode, Mariano and Brkich agreed to form an alliance, with Rob citing his reasoning as: "She's beautiful; any idiot can see that." The group faced its first Tribal Council in the fourth episode. Mariano and Brkich's relationship was a matter of discussion at the Tribal Council; Brkich claimed that she had come come to play Survivor, not "The Dating Game". In the next episode, due to a twist that "absorbed" one of the three tribes, Jenna Lewis and Rupert Boneham joined the Chapera tribe. Rob and Amber quickly fortified a long-term alliance with the tribe's two new members, one of many of the pair's "agreements". The Chapera tribe then enjoyed a lengthy winning streak, winning immunity the next three times. The group did lose one member, however, when Sue Hawk opted to leave due to an unpleasant encounter with Richard Hatch.

In the season's ninth episode, a tribal shuffle managed to merely make each contestant switch buffs, with the exception of Amber Brkich, who remained on the Chapera tribe with Lex van den Berghe, Shii Ann Huang, Jerri Manthey, and Vavrick-O'Brien. The tribe went on to lose the next challenge and, in one of the season's more infamous moments, Mariano told Lex van den Berghe, "If you take care of her, I'll take care of you." In perhaps an ironic twist of fate, it came down to Amber and her former Outback ally Jerri at that night's Tribal Council. Van den Berghe was true to his word and Brkich was spared, while Jerri Manthey was eliminated.

In the following episode, the merge occurred, and Mariano voted to eliminate van den Berghe, despite having promised to "take care of him" in return for sparing Amber at the previous Tribal Council. In the episodes following, Mariano and Brkich managed to maintain several "alliances," including their agreement with Rupert Boneham and Jenna Lewis, an agreement with Tom Buchanan, and an agreement with Alicia Calaway. With all these castaways believing themselves to be safe, Mariano and Brkich proceeded through the game, eventually finding themselves in the final four with Lewis and Boneham.

In the final four, Brkich won her first individual Immunity challenge, and she and Mariano convinced Jenna Lewis to vote out Rupert Boneham, her "ally", rather than forcing a tie. In the final three, Mariano won immunity and chose Brkich to continue with him to the final two. Facing the jury, the couple met much criticism for their aggressive and underhanded gameplay.

In the season finale several months later, the couple was still dating; Brkich was wearing a yellow "I Love Rob" shirt. Just before the votes were read, Mariano proposed to Brkich and she accepted. Moments later, it was revealed that, in a 4-3 decision, Amber Brkich was the Sole Survivor.

The Amazing Race

Season 7

As an engaged couple, Mariano and Brkich participated in the seventh season of The Amazing Race and came in second place. The duo became known for their cutthroat/strategic gameplay.

During a Roadblock challenge in Mendoza, Argentina, in the third leg of the race, contestants had to eat four pounds of meat. Mariano began the roadblock but very quickly determined he would not or could not eat that quantity. The penalty for not finishing the Roadblock was a 4-hour delay. By convincing several other contestants to refuse to participate, he ensured that several contestants were on the same timetable as he and Brkich. Also in South America, Mariano pooled his money with some other racers to bribe the bus driver to let the teams that contributed off earlier. When he did bribe the driver, Mariano used none of his own money.

In Botswana, during the sixth leg of the race, the couple was criticized by fellow racers, as well as host Phil Keoghan, when they drove by the car accident of another team, brothers Brian and Greg, without stopping. Their fellow competitors all checked in with the brothers prior to continuing on to the next stage of the race. In southern Africa, Mariano and Brkich saw their own photo on a magazine cover. They were also recognized in countries all over the world and assisted by locals who recognized them, helping to keep the team in the race until the last leg.

Mariano and Brkich ultimately finished in second place behind married couple, Uchenna and Joyce. Amongst fans, there has been much speculation surrounding the final leg of the race. It has been argued that the production crew had intervened with the airport authorities and aided Uchenna and Joyce onto the same, earlier plane as Mariano and Brkich. In the "Revisiting the Race" special feature on the Season 7 DVD, Mariano, along with Uchenna and Keoghan denied these accusations. Mariano describes Uchenna running around frantically trying to get onto the flight, which the final edited version of the show does not portray. Phil cites the fact that the decision to re-open the door rested solely with the pilot, and that intervention by the production crew would have resulted in someone leaking such information out. Although the couple lost the final leg of the Amazing Race, they managed to place 1st in the 2nd, 4th, 7th and 10th legs.

All-Stars

Rob and Amber Mariano later competed in the All-Stars season of The Amazing Race, which began airing in February 2007. Their racing status was listed as "newlyweds". While they had set a record for the Race, coming in first place for the first three legs, they were eliminated on the fourth leg.

Rob and Amber: Against the Odds

Between their two appearances on The Amazing Race the couple filmed a 10-episode show for the Fox Reality Channel, Rob and Amber: Against the Odds in 2006, which aired the following year. Set in Las Vegas, the program follows Mariano's attempts to become a professional poker player and features professional player Daniel Negreanu tutoring him. The series ended abruptly after Rob and Amber Mariano accepted the offer to appear on The Amazing Race: All-Stars.

Additional television appearances

Title	Date	Type	Role	Finish	Description
The Player	2004	Reality show	Narrator / player operator	--	In 2004, Mariano was the narrator/player operator of a short-lived reality series on UPN titled 'The Player'.
Rob and Amber Get Married	May 24, 2005	Reality show special	Himself	Husband	On April 16, 2005, Mariano and Brkich were married in a private ceremony in the Bahamas. CBS aired Rob And Amber Get Married, a two-hour special about the wedding, on May 24, 2005. [1]
Calvin Ayre Wild Card Poker	2006	Poker competition	Himself	Eliminated in Episode 4 and in the final episode	Mariano appeared on Calvin Ayre Wild Card Poker in 2006. He was eliminated in Episode 4, but came back to win the second-chance celebrity table. He was eliminated once again in the final episode.
Sci Fi Investigates	October 2006	TV series	Co-host	--	Mariano was a co-host of the six-week Sci Fi series Sci Fi Investigates. The show investigates subjects such as Bigfoot, Mothman, Paranormal Hotspots, Roswell, The Afterlife and Voodoo. [2]
Poker Dome Challenge	October 8, 2006	Poker competition	Himself	Runner-up	Mariano appeared on the October 8, 2006 episode of Poker Dome Challenge where he finished in second place.

Notes

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