Amber Brkich of Brighton, Beaver County, married her "Survivor" sweetheart, Rob Mariano, last month, but the pair came up short in CBS's "The Amazing Race" Tuesday night.

Competitive throughout the race that hop-scotched from continent to continent, Brkich and Mariano landed in second place (CBS won't disclose how much runners-up receive, but Brkich said, "It's not like 'Survivor' money"). Married couple Uchenna and Joyce Agu won the top prize, $1 million.

Brkich won $1 million a year ago on "Survivor: All-Stars." It was during the taping of that reality show that she fell in love with Mariano. Their wedding in the Bahamas was taped for a CBS special airing at 9 p.m. May 24.

The pair were tapped for "Amazing Race" to help boost the show's ratings, but as they became the focal point, their detractors grew and they became the show's villains. Some saw their strategy ("innovative game play," said host Phil Keoghan) as ruthless in its efforts to sabotage other teams.

At the race's finish line, fellow contestants were profuse in their applause for the winners, but far more restrained when Brkich and Mariano arrived.

"It's easy to be bitter and jealous and catty when you're not winning," Mariano said in a phone interview yesterday.

"It's a little bit like when we were playing 'Survivor: All-Stars,' " Brkich said. "The previous winners came back and we wanted to get rid of them right away. I just think they went overboard in how they felt about us."

"Amazing Race"-r and Pittsburgh native Gretchen Smith, who came in fourth with her husband, said the reality stars had an unfair advantage over the other teams of unknowns. Brkich and Mariano used their "Survivor" fame to elicit help from locals along the way.

"They were used to the cameras and things that were so new for us," Smith said. "Amber was sweet enough. She just kind of goes along with Rob. ... Some of the things he said about us weren't very kind."

Mariano has few regrets: "I make no apologies for the person I am, but sometimes in the heat of the moment your tongue flies and you say things you wish you could have taken back."

Brkich and Mariano continue to search for a home in Florida while operating out of a temporary location there. She described their wedding, which CBS paid for, as "the beach wedding I always dreamed of."

As for the future, Brkich said there will be no reality TV special on her pregnancy if the couple starts a family.

"We'll draw the line at the babies," she said, but she doesn't completely rule out another reality show. "Never say never. We didn't plan on being on however many shows we've been on now."

"We're going to try to enjoy being married and having a normal life a little bit," Mariano said.