Powering through the discomfort is a big part of making a deep run on Survivor. Especially during the early seasons, the show made a big effort to show how grueling it is to literally survive without any of the modern comforts. As fans, we’re very aware of the physical and emotional struggle the players are going through, but one thing we don’t often think about is the struggle of those left behind. It can be a challenge to deal with childcare and other practical concerns, and it turns out, it can be really awkward too.
Survivor castaways can obviously tell their spouses they’re going on the show, but they need to keep it a secret from most of the people in their lives. That’s especially true for celebrities who go on the show, like say Jeff Kent. The former professional baseball player was a memorable character on Philippines. He quite clearly loved the experience, but for his wife, it was a bit more of a struggle. She had to deal with the lack of communication, manage the kids by herself and hilariously, deal with all the people who thought he’d left her.
Kent was recently inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and this past week, had his jersey retired by the San Francisco Giants. Most of the media asked questions about his baseball career, but one reporter for 95.7 The Game decided to ask about his time on Survivor, and he was clearly elated to talk about it. He praised longtime host Jeff Probst and everyone involved in the show. He took shots at his own social game and said he’s talked about going back a few times but hasn’t been able to make it work.
He also dropped this absolute gem about the awkwardness his wife went through…
You’re gone seven weeks. No communication. Seven weeks. Wife has no idea where you go, and you can’t tell anybody. That was gnarly for her because I had kids at home. So she hated me. Every minute of it, she was crying. Everyone thought we got divorced because, ‘Where’s Jeff?’ ‘I don’t know.’ She couldn’t tell anybody.
I wonder how many spouses adhere to the NDAs and legitimately say nothing and how many wind up whispering to anyone who listens that their husband or wife is on Survivor? I would have to imagine there’s some variance because as we know in Hollywood, some people are really good at keeping secrets and some people cannot keep a secret, no matter how closely guarded it’s supposed to be. I would imagine producers are a lot more aggressive about keeping information off social media anyway.
I think the key is you need to have a good cover story you come up with your spouse ahead of time. Maybe you're traveling for work or you're having surgery or in his case, he could have been out scouting baseball players for a few months in a foreign country. You need to come up with something, but telling people your husband isn't home or you're not sure where he's at is, of course, going to lead people to believe he took off.
Secrecy or not, the family members left behind are definitely the unsung heroes. Their sacrifice allows everyone to play the game, which is why I love to see them get their moment when the show does the surprise visits from loved ones. It was a joy to see that return on Survivor 50, and I’d love to see it return regularly for the Open Era, which is about to officially launch when the show returns to the TV schedule later this month.
