Fans of CBS’s “The Amazing Race 4” tuned in last week to watch the much anticipated season finale and witnessed the triumphant victory of Reichen Lehmkuhl and Chip Arndt, the self-described married gay couple from Beverly Hills. As winners of the latest installment of the reality TV series, Reichen and Chip received a one million dollar purse for their efforts.

For those unfamiliar with “The Amazing Race,” considered by many to be the thinking man’s reality program, the plot is as follows: 12 teams, consisting of two members each, compete in a race across the globe. The first team to cross the finish line gets $1 million. The contestants come from all walks of life and this year included circus clowns, female models, air traffic controllers, surfer dudes, dating virgins, NFL wives and, of course, the two married gays from Beverly Hills.

While many reality programs rely on bikini-busting buxom blondes and a midnight quasi-romantic rendezvous to grab ratings, “The Amazing Race” prides itself on rising above the sophomoric sleaze, offering viewers a taste of numerous cultures around the world while they dish out delicious reality gold. This year’s race was no exception — viewers watched contestants race through exotic locations such as Austria, Australia, France, India, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands and South Korea.

While jumping through hoops in the frenzy to complete each leg of the race, contestants are given a healthy dose of regional traditions and cultures — whether they like it or not. For example, while in South Korea, Reichen and Chip chose an eating challenge over a physical strength competition when faced with a roadblock — a task that must be completed before teams can move on to the next phase of the race. The task: devour bowls of live miniature octopus, a local delicacy. While repulsed at the time (Chip asked if they would be disqualified for vomiting), the hardships endured during the competition were made worthwhile when they received their check for one million dollars on CBS’ “The Early Show” the day after the finale aired.

But while only a few hours had passed for viewers between the race’s finish and the check-giving ceremony, Reichen and Chip experienced a much longer wait — over six months. In fact, the struggle to keep their victory a secret from everyone nearly tore their relationship apart.

“ Keeping secrets from our friends was so stressful on our relationship,” Reichen told in newsweekly in an exclusive phone conversation only hours after their televised appearance on “The Early Show.” “We’re still together but we’re working on it; whatever happens to us in the future, the most important thing to us now is making sure the other person is happy.”

While news of their troubled relationship may sadden some, fans of the couple shouldn’t lose hope — the foundation of Chip and Reichen’s relationship is making sure the other person is happy and both are firmly committed to the other’s well being. This resolve, in fact, is perhaps at the core of their success on “The Amazing Race.”

“ We’re very understanding and work well with each other; at times we’re almost too considerate,” they chuckle when reflecting upon their strengths as both a competitive team and as a couple.

During the entire race, though things got heated, Reichen and Chip rarely lost their cool toward each other, unlike some other teams. Take, for instance, when Chip ran over Reichen’s foot at Ellis Beach in Australia. “It didn’t really hurt,” explained Reichen. “The road was sand and my foot just sunk in. But I needed to blow off some steam because at that point [the race] was so frustrating.” While Reichen snapped at Chip for his carelessness, after the incident the couple shrugged it off and went on to finish that leg of the race in second place, proving they’re no slackers when it comes to forgiving and forgetting.

While the million-dollar prize certainly made their troubles worthwhile, the race itself is a source of experiences the two are certain never to forget. Certainly one of the best fringe benefits of being a contestant on “The Amazing Race” is the travel; after all, how many people get to visit 11 different countries in 30 days? However, another positive effect of the race is the relationships teams form with each other during the competition.

While to viewers it might seem Chip and Reichen were constantly being harassed by other teams, notably the team of Kelly and Jon, the boys paint a different picture. “We really bonded with Kelly and Jon during our 24-hour train ride through India, but that’s not evident when you watch the show on TV,” Chip revealed. “We formed this great friendship with them and really had fun joking around with each other. But when we were racing we had to ignore them because they would try to distract us — that was really difficult.”

One wonders if they formed friendships with any of the other teams, and fans of “The Amazing Race” might be curious to know if they suffered any discrimination or homophobia from the other contestants — notably the very religious and committed virgin team of Millie and Chuck. “We didn’t really experience what we would consider homophobia during the race,” they reported. “The whole experience was just great and everyone was very friendly.”

So now that the race is finished, what can fans expect from this dynamic, but definitely not ambiguous, duo? “I’m smitten with television,” admits Reichen, “and I’ve even hired an acting coach. My dream job would be to be ast in the ‘Young and the Restless,’ my favorite soap.”

While Reichen might be dreaming of a life on the small screen, his dream is closer to reality than he might lead fans to believe. In fact, he is set to appear on the “Frasier” season premier on Sept. 23. While he delivers only one line, one can easily imagine this is just the tip of the iceberg.

And Reichen isn’t the only one with his eyes on television; Chip as well is interested in pursing a career in entertainment, but behind the scenes. “I definitely want to stay in the media world,” pondered Chip. “I’m interested in consulting and am currently reviewing two very unique business opportunities. I’m not committing to anything right now, but I definitely want to be on the business side of the media.”

But don’t think that they are only in it for themselves, or that they’ll be resting on their big pile of victory cash. Both Reichen and Chip agree that appearing on “The Amazing Race” has created numerous possibilities for them and they plan on using their status as media darlings to help open doors for others in need. Of particular note is Reichen’s charitable involvement — he has recently negotiated to be a celebrity representative for SLDN, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a charity whose primary function is to give free legal advice to gays in the military.

“ I used their services when I was in the military and it was a huge help,” revealed Reichen. While the primary goal of SLDN is to offer free legal advice, their secondary goal is to repeal the military’s anti-gay policy. In keeping with his promise, Reichen has agreed to appear in a documentary investigating the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, set to start production this fall.

But while they want to make their mark on society, they have no desire to be the poster boys for same-sex marriage. “We don’t want to be seen as hypocrites or as liars,” Chip and Reichen explained. “We’re working on our relationship and that’s really our focus.”

In fact, Chip and Reichen view their status as celebrity role models as accidental at best, hoping viewers who watched “The Amazing Race” have been exposed to another side of gays, a side often not portrayed in the media. While hit shows such as “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” show the “softer side” of gay men, the couple hopes that gay or questioning youth who watched them compete saw that you don’t have to fit all the “fashionable” gay stereotypes to be gay.

“ Some gay guys are just that — normal guys who just happen to like other men,” Reichen and Chip agreed when pressed for their view on gay stereotypes. “We’re not saying that if you’re not masculine you’re not a real man. We just think that everyone should be able to be who they are.”