Despite their negative experiences, Dearinger and Glazier both shared a fondness for their experience on the show. They did after get to appear on a TV show that was popular among their peers at the time. Indeed, they both admitted that they missed watching it after it stopped airing.
Martino was a little less captivated by the show after what transpired, but he still tried to keep positive about it.
Fat Shaming
We could argue that Martino got the worst of it, as he elaborated on his experience on Reddit. "I know that I'm overweight," he admitted. "But the show made a big effort to make me appear like a lazy, fat person by telling the camera that I kept candy hidden in my car, making me look bad."
Then to make matters worse, the crew determined it might be a good idea to give him a cotton candy machine in his trunk!
Now That's Just Mean
In his interview with HuffPost, Martino told them that at the time, he just went along with it because it was an exciting experience and didn't question anything. He knew it was mean and done to get more ratings, but he didn't feel like he could object to it as he was a contestant on the show.
On second thought, the show probably had the idea to use a cotton candy machine, so why not make it seem like it was meant for the full-bodied contestant.
Not as He Had Hoped it Would Be
Martino told HuffPost that the situation was not at all how he hoped it would be, and at times, he wanted to give the car back because of all the problems it still had. But nowadays, he's able to look back at his time on the show and take the best from it.
Martino realized that he had an opportunity that only a small handful of people can say they experienced.
Dump His Girlfriend?
Jake Glazier also remembered one of the producers suggesting that breaking up with his girlfriend would be good for the show. As Glazier explained, the apparent producer said something about how it would be a better storyline if he was single with a terrible car.
The reasoning behind this is that if he had a better car, he would be able to get a girlfriend, and he would no longer be lonely.