Melinda & Erika

Melinda Papadeas and Erika Papadeas are a Mother/Daughter team on The Amazing Race 37.

Despite being seen as one of the physically weaker teams due to Melinda's age and some accidents she suffered prior to the race, the mother-daughter duo kept up with the stronger teams in the race thanks to their quick thinking and good performances in individual challenges, often finishing in the middle of the pack. In the eighth leg, they made a series of mistakes that sent them behind the other teams such as struggling with directions, taking taxis despite being instructed not to, and being the last team to translate two book pages from Cyrillic to English, making them the ninth team eliminated from the race in 6th place.

Profile[]

Retrieved from parade.com

Relationship: Mother and daughter
Age: 66 & 32
Occupation: Administration & Client engagement specialist
Current Town: Chandler, AZ & Englewood, CO^[2]

The Amazing Race 37[]

Race History[]

Melinda & Erika's Race History
Episode	Leg	Destination(s)	Detour Choice (underlined)	Roadblock Performer	Placement	Notes
1	1	United States → Hong Kong	Dance / Sing	Erika	6 of 7	^[1]
2	2	Hong Kong → Japan	Mochi / Mawashi	Erika	5 of 12
3	3	Japan	Fold It / Fling It	Erika	4 of 11
4	4	Japan → Indonesia	Penjor / Pajegan	Melinda	4 of 10
5	5	Indonesia	Coconuts / Coral	Erika	6 of 9
6	6	Indonesia → United Arab Emirates	No Detour	Melinda	6 of 8
6	6	Indonesia → United Arab Emirates	No Detour	Erika	6 of 8
7	7	United Arab Emirates → Bulgaria	Haystack / Woodstack	Melinda	5 of 7⊂
8	8	Bulgaria	No Detour	Melinda	6 of 6	^[2]
				Average	5.25
Legend: The team finished in first place The team finished in last place and was eliminated from the race The team finished in last place in a non-elimination leg or continue racing in a no-rest leg The team that won The Amazing Race The team that crossed the Finish Line second The team that crossed the Finish Line third ► The team used the Fast Forward pass ϵ The team used the Express Pass somewhere during the leg ⊂ The team used the U-Turn ⊃ Recipient of the U-Turn ⋐ The team that used the second slot of the "Double U-Turn" ⋑ Recipient of a second U-Turn due to the "Double U-Turn" twist ∇ The team that lost the Double Battle
Notes: 1: Leg 1 featured a Fork in the Road instead of a Detour. Melinda & Erika checked-in 12th overall. 2: Melinda & Erika were subject to four 30-minute penalties for taking taxis to four different Route Markers (first, for taking a taxi from Lake Ariana to Russian Monument Square; second, for taking a taxi from the square to St. Kliment Ohridski Central Library; third, for taking a taxi from the library to the Museum of Socialist Art; lastly, for taking a taxi from the museum to the Central Military Club), all of which were explicitly prohibited in their clue. Already in last place, they arrived at the Pit Stop and were eliminated without the penalties being applied.^[3]

Post-Race[]

Trivia[]

Melinda & Erika are the oldest mother/child team to compete in the Race, with an average age of 49.

US[]

Melinda & Erika have the highest average placement of a mother/daughter team, 5.25.

External links[]

Interviews[]

Mike Bloom at Parade (04/24/2025): "'The Amazing Race 37's Melinda and Erika Papadeas Say a Preseason Accident Changed Their Whole Race Approach"
Kaitlyn Simpson at US Magazine (04/24/2025): "Amazing Race's Melinda and Erika Papadeas Reveal Penalty They Could Have Faced for Taxi Mistake"
Jessica Liese at Rob has a Website (04/24/2025): "The Amazing Race 37 Ep 8 Exit Interviews"