‘Survivor’: The 5 Most Recent Showmances — Are They Still Together?
Survivor castaways rarely form romantic connections, aka showmances, during the game. And that’s mostly because they’re focused on winning the $1 million and the title of Sole Survivor, but also because they go days and weeks without taking a shower or brushing their teeth. However, every once in a while, two players can’t deny their chemistry (which seems to be happening in season 44), and a Survivor showmance forms.
Dan and Kara in ‘Survivor: David vs. Goliath’
As a quick note, our list of the five most recent Survivor showmances doesn’t include couples who got together after their seasons ended or before they began (i.e., both iterations of Blood vs. Water).
The CBS reality competition series’ last showmance was between Dan Rengering and Kara Kay in David vs. Goliath. Producers assigned them to the Goliath tribe to start the game, and they immediately hit it off. Dan openly flirted with Kara, and she also had some fun. They joked about becoming a showmance, even though Kara expressed concerns about their connection putting a target on their backs.
Dan and Kara worked together up until a tribe switch separated them. They reunited at the merge, but the game always came before their relationship. Plus, many fans believe that their Survivor showmance was mostly one-sided on Dan’s part. Ultimately, Dan was voted out on Day 25, making him the third jury member. And Kara’s social game earned her a spot in the final four, but she lost the fire-making challenge.
Dan and Kara’s showmance didn’t last in the real world. And Kara started a relationship with fellow Survivor Season 37 castaway Alec Merlino following the finale. But they broke up sometime before 2021.
Jenna and Sebastian were one of the rare showmances to continue their relationship outside of ‘Survivor’
Jenna Bowman and Sebastian Noel started on different tribes in Survivor: Ghost Island, but a tribe switch brought them together on Day 7. Their initial flirtation arose from strategy, but they couldn’t deny their chemistry.
While Jenna and Sebastian were on the island, they were focused on the game. After the merge, Sebastian was one of the castaways to blindside Jenna on Day 29. She finished in tenth place and was the fourth jury member. Sebastian would last one more week in the game until the players voted him out on Day 36, making him the eighth jury member and earning a sixth-place finish.
Following the end of Survivor: Ghost Island, Jenna and Sebastian started dating, making them one of the rare showmances to continue their relationship in the real world.
Jenna told Entertainment Tonight, “We played the game with a million dollars in mind instead of putting our relationship there, so they didn’t really show it. We weren’t really a power couple and didn’t really have a strategic relationship … Obviously, people knew that we liked each other. We would sleep next to each other and hold hands all night.”
Jenna and Sebastian dated for a few years and even started a joint Instagram account. However, the account doesn’t seem to exist anymore, and the two former castaways haven’t posted any photos together since early 2022. Jenna and Sebastian haven’t commented on their relationship status since, but they still follow each other on social media. So as far as we know, they are still together.
Cole and Jessica from ‘Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers’
The Survivor producers placed Cole Medders and Jessica Johnston on the Healers tribe in Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, and they quickly formed a bond. Their friendship turned into an alliance, which eventually turned into a bit of a showmance. However, Cole and Jessica’s strategic relationship took plenty of hits when Cole continuously betrayed her trust by not being able to keep his lips sealed.
Despite Cole’s hasty nature, Jessica was determined to stick by his side. But when they made it to the merge, the seven-person alliance they formed quickly fell apart. And Jessica was blindsided at the merged tribe’s first Tribal Council in a 7-5 vote. So she finished in twelfth place, just missing the jury.
Cole won the next individual Immunity Challenge, securing his safety. But when he lost the next one, the other castaways jumped on the chance to vote him out. Cole finished in tenth place and was the second jury member.
After leaving Fiji, Cole and Jessica didn’t start dating. Cole even attended Jessica’s wedding in March 2019 along with their other Survivor tribemates. So their relationship in season 35 was among the many short-lived Survivor showmances.
Taylor and Figgy had one of the more apparent showmances in ‘Survivor’
It has been a while since Survivor fans have seen a full-blown showmance — the last time was in season 33, Millennials vs. Gen X.
Taylor Stocker and Jessica ‘Figgy’ Figueroa were a part of the Millennials tribe, and they didn’t try hard enough to hide their relationship. Taylor and Figgy would kiss at night, and Michaela Bradshaw once heard them. She hilariously told the cameras, “You stink, your mouth is nasty, you got sand in your drawers, and you kissing somebody. That’s disgusting.” We can’t help but agree with Michaela.
The next day, Michaela outed Taylor and Figgy, much to their dismay. However, since the couple allied with Jay Starrett and Michelle Schubert, Taylor and Figgy survived their first Tribal Council. They weren’t so lucky after the first tribe swap.
The Millennials — Taylor, Figgy, and Adam Klein — held the majority over two Gen Xers on their new tribe. But when they lost the Immunity Challenge on Day 18, Adam betrayed the showmance and aligned with Jessica Lewis and Ken McNickle to vote Figgy out. Taylor and Adam continued their tumultuous relationship, but Taylor was voted out on Day 25, making him the second jury member. And Taylor later joined the rest of the jury in voting for Adam to win.
Taylor and Figgy briefly dated following Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, but their relationship didn’t last. Figgy told Entertainment Weekly, “There was a real-life situation that I found out after the game, and it led to Taylor and I not being together … There were just some real-life situations that were going on that I found out about outside of the game, and not from me. Taylor and I just aren’t together anymore from things that I learned.”
As Survivor fans learned, Taylor found out he had a baby on the way following his return from Fiji. His son was born in late 2016/early 2017, and Taylor got married in October 2017.
Eddie and Andrea from ‘Survivor: Caramoan’
As we mentioned before, Survivor showmances are rare and come in different forms. Andrea Boehlke and Eddie Fox met during Survivor: Caramoan and flirted with one another occasionally, but it was purely strategical.
Andrea and Eddie started on two different tribes, with Andrea being a returning “favorite” player and Eddie as a new “fan” player. However, they connected during the tribe switch and had a bit of a “flirtmance.” Of course, as two strategic players, Andrea and Eddie were never serious about pursuing a romantic relationship on the show. And Andrea often pulled intel from Eddie while simultaneously calling him her “Survivor boyfriend.”
They both made it far in the game, but Andrea was voted out on Day 33 with a hidden immunity idol in her pocket. And Eddie was voted out at the final four.
Following Survivor: Caramoan, Andrea and Eddie remained friends but never dated.
Survivor 44 Episode 2, “Two Dorky Magnets,” airs Wednesday, March 8, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
