Camille Kostek excelled against formidable competition to become an NFL cheerleader and the 2019 Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model.
But as the field host in Thursday’s TBS reboot of “Wipeout,” Kostek, 29, realizes a childhood dream.
“It’s so cool to have grown up watching the show, always dreaming of one day being able to be a television host. It’s something that I studied and have admired from afar for so long and have been a part of as well,” she said in a phone interview.
“I’m really excited my debut on national television is with ‘Wipeout.’ I get to be myself and really get to know the contestants.
“There’s times when I get really emotional because you see these kids or adults going through these courses and it’s really cool to see the moment they realize, ‘I’m going home with $25,000 with my partner!’”
Back after seven years, “Wipeout” pits teams of two against each other in an elaborate obstacle course. We laugh as they get dunked, dropped, flipped — but should we feel guilty laughing at people having one of the worst days of their lives?
“Honestly, I think it’s one of the best days,” she laughed. “What’s so great about the show and being all in on the action is that there is no preparing.
“It’s just spontaneous, in the moment, action that you just cannot prepare for. No matter how many times people have told me that they trained for it or created their own obstacle courses.
“It doesn’t even matter how athletic you are. Sometimes stuff will bop you around, surprise you and toss you into the water before you can even think about strategy.
“So they have a great time but I definitely think we laugh a lot more. Almost everyone says after they failed that it looks a lot easier on TV than it is in real life.”
In her real life six-year relationship with Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski, can the couple ever go out without being photographed or mobbed?
“We were just talking about how we love the New England fan base because everywhere you go and everything you do is football and Patriots.
“In Tampa, it’s very relaxing because the Buccaneers’ fan base is not as crazy. We definitely miss our New England fans but we also love being able to take a walk, go out to eat, do regular errands. Everyone’s just really chill.”
