Destination X: Tai Lowry Interviewed

What made you decide to do Destination X?

​I was contacted out of the blue by a casting director who had seen my Instagram page.

At first, I thought it was a hoax, so I did my research on that person and confirmed that he was in fact, a legitimate casting director.

I think the fact I was both an attorney and a flight attendant at the time is what made me stand out. But how he even found my Instagram, I have no clue. I never have had a large social media following. I love reality television, so I was delighted to be considered and selected for a role on Destination X. It was a dream come true for me!

 

​What were the biggest challenges?​

​Living on a bus in close quarters with nine or 10 people was definitely a challenge. I wanted space to myself. I wanted quiet and for everyone to stop talking non-stop.

Having to hold in my emotions was a challenge at times when my patience was thin but I kept it together.

Also, just the conditions of filming this type of show was a trip! Sometimes we had pure “travel days” just to get to the next destination without stopping to do challenges.  We didn’t

know how long we were actually riding, I would ask every person and each had a different answer.

Had we been riding for 3 hours? 6? 10? You lose sense of time in there, of reality.  There were no clocks and no natural light.

It felt really good to finally step off the bus, and feel fresh air, grass under our feet, sunshine, and even snow in Switzerland.  It made me really appreciate nature even more! The bus felt suffocating at times, like a prison.

We could not stand up or change seats until the bus made an official stop, which was not often. The game is very much a social game, so being struck in one seat for hours and hours at a time was frustrating and limiting.

Tell me about working with the other contestants.  What was the experience like?

​I really enjoyed getting to know my cast mates.   We learned so much about each other

and at times, had some really good laughs and inside jokes.  Just think about it….no electronics, no books, no distractions, literally nothing else to do but sit there and talk.  I’m a social person and I love meeting new people, that was one of my favorite parts of being a flight attendant. The hard parts were sharing showers, the girls squeezing in to try and do our hair and makeup together, and not having much space for our clothes or toiletries. But I am very adaptable, I’ve backpacked in Asia and stayed in hostels so I can make do in any situation.

 

Was there someone that you wanted to get to know better or work with more?

​Yes.  That would be Rachel.  I liked her the very first time I saw her on the plane with her huge hair and pink! She has a powerful magnetic energy about her! She’s also extremely sweet, down to earth, and genuine. Plus she’s funny as hell.

If I wasn’t wrong about Cannes, I would have traded my alliance in because Shayne and Ally were a liability and bad for my game. I considered Rick too, and we did begin a friendship but I could tell Rick was holding a lot of information back and was not willing to share, so that was that but we did have good talks about other things not related to the game! I also wanted to get to know Josh, Peter, and JaNa a lot more. They are veterans and I wanted to learn from the best!

I actually really respected Peter’s gameplay in Episode 4. It was masterful. He could tell I was outcast, alone, and desperate from the fall-out after my lie, and I fell right into his trap. I was entertained watching him play me! I watched him on Traitors, so I knew he would be good at this game. He’s a very sharp player, and I wish I didn’t mess up our introduction!

 

What would you have done differently?

​That would most definitely be denying meeting a new cast member (JaNa) in Paris after I won an advantage.  I should have just admitted it with Shayne! It was a tense moment, and I just panicked and blurted out “no” so quick! Shayne and I weren’t supposed to tell the cast about the new players ahead of time,plus I also devised a plan to try and build a secret alliance with JaNa because I wanted to keep her in the game. It was such a silly mistake and obviously, poor gameplay.

That one lie sealed my fate in the game and I never recovered. I also regret trusting Ally instead of my own intuition. I told her about my concerns regarding Biggy and Rick’s “clue” way before I ever told Peter,and asked for her help to play double agent for me for once.

I thought since I came clean to her first (and right away), plus comforted her in her emotions about Shayne lying, that she would forgive me too. Shayne smashed her vase and she still lied to my face! I was seeing her as a friend, instead of a contestant and competitor (with a boyfriend at that!). I had no reason to trust her anymore, and even though I knew in my gut something was wrong, she kept reassuring me that morning before I went into the map room. The next thing you know Jeffrey was kicking me off the bus! My emotions got in the way the entire Amsterdam episode. I was a mess internally.

 

​What was the biggest standout moment of the experience?

​I would have to say winning three challenges back-to-back! I had so much momentum, and my threat level was rising. I wanted to play a low-key game, but once you hit a winning streak, people pay attention to you more. I really wanted to win, and in Paris, I felt like I had the game in my hand.  I was so proud of myself, because coming in I had a little self-doubt. Not anymore! I walked off of that bus feeling like I could conquer anything.

Do you plan on keeping in touch with your fellow contestants?

Absolutely! I reached out to everyone after leaving the bus and we have a group chat. I wanted to get to know everyone outside of the game, because I certainly was not my true self on Destination X, that was game-Tai!  Rachel, Mack, Ally, Jonah, Shayne, and I have spent time in Texas, I met up with Rick and his wife in New York to see our billboard, and I still speak to Josh pretty frequently and in general try to check in with everyone.  At the end of the day, we were playing a game. I’m a huge lover of social-strategy competition games, so I respect good gameplay even at my own expense.

No one else in the world will ever experience playing Destination X for the first time, and for that reason they’ll always be special to me no matter what. I am hoping that NBC has a reunion planned for us, because we are so spread out all over the country. We are all good, but there’s still some things that need to be aired out too! I hope all twelve of us can reunite soon.

 

Tell me about working with Jeffery Dean Morgan.

​I loved working with Jeffery! He’s such a great guy, and he constantly kept us challenged and entertained.  I could never figure out what he was going to do or say next.  He really kept us on our toes, and he was so hilarious at times.

Jeffrey is the perfect host for a twisted game like Destination X. He was also very sweet and encouraging when I got eliminated and gave me props. That meant a lot to me because it affirmed despite that mistake, I still played an incredible game.

 

What’s next?

​I’ve been quite busy since the show aired.  I filmed several segments on the NBC-4 Quiz

Show as a guest co-host, I’ve been hosting local events in the DC area, I started a podcast named Talk About It With Tai (and Kiki!) and have been receiving numerous offers for modeling and other opportunities in entertainment. What’s next? Something big for sure. I feel that Destination X was meant to prepare me for something else. I learned those hard lessons for a reason. I absolutely want to apply what I learned on Destination X on another competitive reality show like Traitors, Survivor, Big Brother, The Amazing Race, anything! I provide legal consulting services for small businesses and am preparing to get my real estate license as well, so I’m always busy doing something! I’m very multi-faceted and wear many, many hats!

 

What’s something you wanted people to learn about you while on the show that they didn’t see?

​I don’t really know how to answer that! I wanted to just win the money and bragging rights to be honest!

​On a serious note, there were a few things about me that I discussed on the show that didn’t make the edit. I am fluent in American Sign Language, and utilized ASL in the Switzerland “bell” challenge to memorize the order. I also shared with my castmates that I am a proud living kidney donor for my father.I’m also very free-spirited, silly, and adventurous. I don’t think those parts of my personality were shown a whole lot because I was vey serious in the game!