"Survivor: San Juan Del Sur" Names Winner
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LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.COM) - In the end, Natalie Anderson was named the ultimate "Survivor" in the show's season finale and walked away with the $1 million prize.
"Survivor: San Juan del Sur," the show's 29th installment, began with 18 loved ones pitted against one another in the series' second "Blood vs. Water" match.
Natalie, a crossfit coach, started the game with her twin sister, Nadiya, the first person voted out of the game.
The 28-year-old twins hail from Edgewater, New Jersey, and appeared on "The Amazing Race" twice.
This was a season rife with twists (the requisite backstabbing) but more blindsides than normal.
Trust was a big issue this season with people openly (and sometimes strangely) calling each other out moments before an elimination vote. There may also have been a record number of castaways who lied about having hidden immunity idols; sometimes the lie worked, but often it didn't.
Type A personalities, including John Rocker, the controversial former Major League Baseball player who endeared himself to no one with a Sports Illustrated article in which he famously disparaged New Yorkers, Asians, gays, blacks, minorities, people who rode the 7 train and punk rockers. After being recognized by some of his tribe members, Rocker had a target on his back.
The final three included Anderson, Missy Payne, a cheerleader from Texas, and former Miss Michigan Jaclyn Schulz.
Other teams were composed of mother/daughter, boyfriends, married couple, father/daughter, brothers, father/son, boyfriend/girlfriend.
Before the season began, Natalie described herself as "crazy, strong and confident." She said her pet peeves were "girls who can't do anything for themselves, lazy people and dumb people."
Natalie won five jury votes, Schulz got two and Payne got a single vote.
The newest "Survivor" winner told CBSLA's Suzanne Marques that she really hadn't decided what she would do with her winnings just yet. "I think I'm going to go out to dinner with my parents and say 'Mom and Dad, don't worry. I got this. I can pay for a fancy dinner now,'" Natalie quipped.
"Nadyia has a nice chunk of change coming her way, too," Natalie said.
In the show's 30th installment, host/producer Jeff Probst revealed three tribes (blue collar, white collar and no collar) would compete against one another in Nicaragua. "Survivor: Worlds Apart" begins in February. Probst told Entertainment Weekly that the show hasn't aired or been edited yet and it's already "one my favorites."
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