A heartwarming moment shared between two contestants in latest episode of US Survivor transcended the famously fierce competition and brought host Jeff Probst to tears.
In Wednesday’s episode (Thursday AEDT), a challenging immunity competition among tribes left contestant Eva Erickson, who has autism, feeling under duress.
After finishing her task and earning her tribe immunity, saving them from having to go to Tribal Council and voting out one of their own, her team members were ecstatic and began celebrating.
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Amid the joy, it became evident that Erickson was struggling, seemingly triggered by a combination of factors, and she began to have what she later described as “an episode”.
She had known this could happen.
Erickson, 24, had previously confided in her then-teammate Joe Hunter, who was with a different group during the aforementioned competition, that she had autism and would possibly need support from him at one point during the game and be unable to voice her need.
During the “episodes”, she explained to the 45-year-old fire captain at the time, she often needs help getting grounded after being overstimulated.
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“Things to look out for is that if you see that I start messing with my hands or squeezing myself – seeming like I’m not being me,” she explained to him.
He asked how he can help her during those moments, and she told him squeezing her hands often helps, as well as positive, grounding language. Hunter said he was “honoured” that she’d trusted him with this information and promised he’d show up for her.
On Wednesday’s episode, he kept his promise.
Amid the celebration, Erickson began squeezing herself, and Hunter appeared to take note.
He briefly looked around, almost silently asking permission to help her, since teams are usually kept separate after challenges. Noticing this, host Probst asked Hunter if he wanted to give Erickson a hug, and Hunter immediately took the opportunity.
He hurriedly walked over to Erickson, who was breathing rapidly, and before they embraced, she nodded her head in thanks.
“Deep breaths, remember?” he whispered to her.
After a few breaths, she asked if he could squeeze her hands, and he obliged.
“Thank you, thank you,” she said, as her breaths evened.
“You’re in a safe place,” he said, giving her a smile.
Autism is a developmental disability that affects everyone who has it a little differently. In Erickson’s case, she told Probst and the whole group later, she was diagnosed very young and her parents were told she’d never live independently or hold a job.
“My parents, they did not give up on me,” she said.
“I’ve never viewed my autism as a roadblock to success. It’s not something to work around, it’s just part of who I am. There’s nothing bad about it.”
She asked her fellow contestants to see the moment outside of the game because “everyone with autism should not be ashamed to ask for help or ashamed to receive it”.
In terms of gameplay, the moment does put both Hunter and Erickson in a vulnerable position, as their close bond – with Hunter being the first and until this episode only person to know about her autism – was revealed to everyone else.
Hunter, a father-of-two, told Probst he didn’t care because he knows his kids are watching and he’s going to be “the man I want them to be, the people I want them to be, regardless of this game”.
“I would want someone to treat my daughter that way if they were playing this game,” he said.
Probst connected to this sentiment later, choking up as he thanked Erickson for sharing her story.
“I’m a parent, too,” he said, tearing up as he tried to share a thought. “Wow, this has never happened.”
“I see it, too,” he said, referring to the moment being bigger than the game, “and it’s why I love Survivor“.
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Speaking to Entertainment Weekly about the moment, Probst called it “one of the most intense and beautiful displays of saying ‘I got you’ that I have ever seen”.
He added that his rare show of emotion came from a very personal place.
“My tears came from that overwhelming mix of emotions every parent knows — fear, joy, worry, hope — all tangled up at once,” he said.
“This is one of those Survivor moments I will never forget.”
Erickson also reflected on the moment in an interview with People magazine, calling Hunter “my superhero”.
Regardless of what happens in the rest of the game, he will always have a place in my heart,” she told the US publication.
“He saw me in this hard situation — and he had the tools and knew what to do — and he acted on that.”
Speaking about seeing Probst tear up during the aftermath of the incident, made her realise what a big moment it truly was.
“Seeing Jeff get so emotional about the situation and thinking about his own family and his kids, that was the moment when it hit me, that this is a moment that is going to be remembered,” Erickson said.
“He’s seen so many people and been through so much through all of years of Survivor, and now seeing that this moment broke him, I was like, okay, this is bigger than I can imagine … I am actually representing so many people here, and seeing that reflected in how Jeff reacted to this, I was like, this is going to mean so much to so many.”
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