From All-Stars winner and runner-up Amber Brkich and Rob Mariano to Africa and Amazon champs Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca, viewers have seen a number of high-profile romances between Survivor alumni. In more than a few instances, harmless island flirting has turned into serious relationships, and in other cases, survivors have dated those from other seasons that they’ve met at wrap parties and events. Below, we catch up with Survivor’s 7 most memorable couples.
Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich Mariano
Rob Mariano (Marquesas) and Amber Brkich (Australia) began an unexpected romance in front of millions of viewers on Survivor: All-Stars in 2004. The two formed an alliance in the series’ premier episode; however, they soon developed genuine feelings for one another. Mariano and Brkich, dubbed “Romber” by fans, were the Final Two contestants, and at the show’s live finale, Mariano surprised viewers and Brkich when he proposed to her. She happily accepted, and moments later, the newly engaged Brkich became one million dollars richer as she was declared the winner of Survivor: All-Stars.
The couple went on to compete on two seasons of The Amazing Race before starring in their own short-lived reality series Rob and Amber: Against The Odds, which chronicled Rob’s attempts to become a professional poker player in Las Vegas. Their April 2005 wedding in the Bahamas was also televised by CBS in a special called Rob and Amber Get Married.
The Marianos currently reside in Pensacola, Florida. They welcomed their first child, Lucia Rose Mariano, on July 4th. Lucia is the first baby born to two Survivor contestants.
Alex Bell and Kim Powers Bell
Former survivors Alex Bell (Amazon) and Kim Powers (Africa) married in August 2006 in Los Angeles after what was the least publicized of Survivor romances. They were the second Survivor couple to wed. This marks Bell’s second marriage. Powers was engaged for over a year prior to appearing on Survivor: Africa, but called off the wedding with less than three weeks to go. According to the couple’s Facebook profiles, they currently live in the San Francisco Bay area and work for Backroads travel company.
Erik Huffman and Jaime Dugan Huffman
Survivor China tribemates Erik Huffman and Jaime Dugan grew up 25 miles apart from each other in South Carolina. On the show, they became very fast friends and partners, and it looked like a romance was on the horizon. After they were voted out, Huffman and Dugan remained close as members of the jury. They began dating immediately after they returned from China in August 2007, and in May 2008, Jaime relocated to Nashville to be closer to Erik, a musician.
In the summer of 2008, Erik proposed to Jaime during a fake photo shoot which he had staged. They entered and won a contest for a free wedding in Charleston, South Carolina. They were married on April 4, 2009, and are the third Survivor couple to wed.
The Huffmans currently reside in Nashville, Tennessee, where according to a Twitter post by Jaime, they are “doing great.”
Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca
Survivor: Africa champ Ethan Zohn met Jenna Morasca at the finale party for Survivor: Amazon. Zohn bought Morasca a drink in order to welcome her into the ‘Survivor Millionaire’s Club.’ The two began dating shortly after, and have now been together for six years. Recently, Morasca has been supporting Zohn through his battle with cancer, and the couple has decided to go vegetarian together.
Morasca says that she and Zohn are happy with where they are now, but have no plans to make it official by getting married anytime soon.
Todd Herzog and Spencer Duhm
Survivor: China winner Todd Herzog and Survivor: Tocantins alum Spencer Duhm began dating in early 2009. Herzog reached out to Duhm on-line after seeing him on Tocantins, and the two started talking to one another. They found that although they were very different, they had a lot in common, especially a love of Survivor (Herzog and Duhm were the two biggest fans on their respective seasons). Eventually, they started spending weekends together and the relationship grew from there.
Herzog recently relocated from Utah to Orlando, Florida. Duhm is from Lakeland, Florida, which is an hour away. The pair has been dubbed “Spodd” by fans.
Jeff Probst and Julie Berry
Survivor host Jeff Probst dated Survivor: Vanuatu contestant Julie Berry for about four years. Despite the pair’s 19 year age difference, Berry had harmlessly flirted with Probst during the show, even showing up to Tribal Council one night with a heart tattoo of Jeff’s name. After the show filmed in August 2004, Probst e-mailed Berry to say hello, and the two starting talking and spending time together from there. Three years ago, Probst called Berry the “love of his life.”
Berry relocated to California from Maine, and also traveled with Probst when he went to film the show. The couple often spent holidays with Berry’s family in Portland, Maine.
The relationship ended in 2007, sometime before Probst left to film Survivor: Micronesia in October. No details were ever given.
Ryan Opray and Mary Sartain
Survivor: Pearl Islands alum Ryan Opray was introduced to Survivor: Micronesia alum Mary Sartain in early December 2007 by infamous Survivor Johnny Fairplay. According to Sartain, they “hit it off” right away, and by the time she had been voted out of Survivor: Micronesia in mid-February 2008, the pair had become engaged (Opray proposed in early February while they were hiking at Runyon Canyon). They also planned to open a sushi bar/lounge together and even pitched a travel show to the Travel Channel together.
The couple hoped to marry in September 2008 and to follow in the footsteps of “Romber” by having their wedding televised on CBS. Unfortunately, the wedding never happened. The couple broke up just a few weeks after the May 2008 finale of Survivor: Micronesia.
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