While Survivor isn’t anything close to a dating show, many players have found unexpected — and long-lasting — love on the competition series.
Survivor’s first taste of an on-screen romance came during its All-Stars season in 2004. In the game, Rob “Boston Rob” Mariano and Amber Brkich formed an alliance that quickly turned into a relationship. The pair made it to the final two and during the finale, Mariano proposed to Bkirch, who donned a T-shirt that read, “I Heart Rob.”
“I’ve seen you at your highest high and your lowest low and between it all we work together as a team to accomplish so much,” Mariano said during the episode. “And in the end, I ended up falling in love with you. You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met in my entire life and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Bkirch said yes and was subsequently revealed as the winner of the season. Mariano and Bkirch tied the knot in April 2005 and have remained together ever since. They now share four daughters.
Nearly two decades later, Survivor fans witnessed the New Era’s first romance between Frannie Marin and Matt Blankinship. The self-described nerds formed a friendship and an alliance during season 44, which aired in 2022. During their time on the show, Marin and Blankinship gushed about one another and teased that a date could happen outside of the game.
Unlike Mariano and Bkirch’s ending, neither Blankinship nor Marin won the game. Blankinship became the first member of the jury after he was voted out by his tribemates as the group worried over the close connection forming between him and Marin. Marin, for her part, came in eighth place. After filming came to an end, Marin and Blankinship began dating.
Keep scrolling to see which Survivor couples are still going strong:
