A secret Survivor romance? It sounds like it. In a new promo for the Wednesday, March 11, episode of Survivor: Winners at War, Jeff Probst announced that everyone is switching tribes. While some were excited, others were not.
When the cameras cut to Michele Fitzgerald at her new camp, she dropped a surprise. “Oh my God. How the heck did I get stuck stranded on an island with my ex-boyfriend?” the Kaoh Rong winner, 29, said in the preview that aired on Wednesday, March 4.
Eagle-eyed fans immediately started searching social media for clues of who it could be and it didn’t take long to discover that she had previously dated Wendell Holland, the winner of 2018’s Survivor: Ghost Island.
While the 35-year-old played three years after her, it seems the pair must have met outside of the show. They kept their relationship under wraps for the most part, but in April 2018, Wendell shared a photo of them on his Instagram, along with Survivor stars, Adam Klein, Andrea Boehlke and James Lim.
There are also screenshots circling social media from both of their Instagram Stories over the years, where they’re cuddled up together. In June 2018, he shared more photos of a group, in which he’s sitting next to Michele.
While the furniture company owner lives in Philadelphia and she’s in Hoboken, New Jersey, it would make sense that the pair would have been attending the same Survivor events. However, it’s safe to say that others aren’t aware of their romance — or at least not the ones currently playing in Fiji.
Ahead of season 40, Luxury Handbag Shopping spoke exclusively with both Wendell and Michele about their lives now — and how their gameplay has changed.’
“I went in with no strategy but rolled with punches and started to play with all the tools in my toolbox. At 24, I knew my social capacity,” she told Us. “I’ve evolved as a person and I’m mentally and physically in a place where I can play a superior game. I’m also under-the-radar and nobody is looking at me like a huge threat.”
Meanwhile, Wendell’s social game also won him his season.
“The jury isn’t going to reward someone they dislike,” he said. “I’m going to once again play the nice-guy role and be the good guy but then stab people in the back. We’ll see if it actually happens. … I believe in myself and I always have on any level playing field. If you’re not confident, why are you here? It’s also an advantage that I played recently because the game has sped up a lot.”
Survivor airs on CBS Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
