"The Amazing Race" 12 to Include the Show's First Lesbian Couple

The 12th season of the Emmy-winning CBS reality series The Amazing Race will include a lesbian couple for the first time in the show's history. Described by CBS as "married ministers," 49-year-old Kate Lewis and 65-year-old Pat Hendrickson of Thousand Oaks, Calif., "dated for seven years before tying the knot three years ago.  Kate and Pat are ready for the adventure of lifetime — but don't let the collars fool you — they can play dirty too."

Here's how their official CBS bio describes them:

Kate and Pat dated for seven years before tying the knot three years ago. These well traveled Episcopal clergy are ready for the adventure of lifetime — but don’t let the collars fool you — they can play dirty too.

Kate is an Episcopal priest and has one grown son. She claims that the biggest difference between herself and Pat is that she avoids conflict while Pat dives right in. Kate describes herself as passionate and sarcastic while Pat says she is persistent and dependable.

Pat is a vocational deacon in the Episcopal Church and her ministry in the community is to people with disabilities. She is also the mother of two sons and grandmother of three. Pat’s biggest pet peeve about Kate is that she constantly misjudges her time, an issue that could surely cause problems on the Race.

Both are out to prove that they are not afraid to compete with anyone and they are extremely confident that their years of experience will help them combat the physical prowess of the younger Teams.

This season's 11 teams also include a dating Goth couple, an Asian-American father-daughter team, and a grandfather and grandson. The teams will travel 50,000 miles and hit five new countries for the race, including Ireland, Lithuania and Croatia.

In a February 2007 interview with the Ventura County Reporter, the women talked about their decision to marry and the wedding itself, which was held during an Episcopal service. According to Pat: "We’re not in your face. But just by being who we are, it knocks down stereotypes."

Neither woman had been in a relationship with a woman before when they met at a weekend church retreat in 1997. They quickly became close friends, then realized it was something more. They moved in together six months later.

Kate, formerly a script supervisor in Hollywood, now works as a priest at St. Cross Episcopal Church in Hermosa Beach, and Pat is a deacon at St. Augustine by the Sea in Santa Monica.

The Amazing Race, which averaged 10 million viewers in its previous seasons, has had several gay male couples as well as an out lesbian on a father-daughter team in its 10th season, but Pat and Kate will be the first lesbian couple competing in the race.

The new season of The Amazing Race kicks off on Sunday, Nov. 4, at 8 p.m. ET.