Bartender is Sole Survivor

MANILA, Philippines – Survivor: Kaoh Rong, the 32nd season of the American reality series shot in Cambodia, concluded recently with 24-year-old beauty Michele Fitzgerald, who outwitted, outplayed and outlasted all the rest to become the Sole Survivor.

A bartender from Freehold, New Jersey, Michele took home the $1M grand prize a year after the competition. It was an arduous, long wait for Michele as she was proclaimed winner in a live telecast of the awarding in a Los Angeles studio, aired recently.

The castaways who waited out with Michele were 29-year-old social media marketer Aubry Bracco from Cambridge, Massachusetts (runner-up) and 51-year-old gardener Tai Trang from San Francisco, California (second runner-up).

Singer Sia was a surprise guest in the finals. A self-confessed Survivor fan, Sia came to the forefront admiring finale castaway Tai because they share a common love for animals.

Sia donated $100,000, with $50,000 given to Tai and the other $50,000 going to the latter’s chosen animal charity. “Thank you for showing America how to be kind to animals,” Sia admirably told Tai.

Touted as the “toughest season” and most brutal in the history of the series, Survivor: Kaoh Rong was shot for 39 days from March 30 to May 8, 2015. It followed Survivor: Second Chance also in Cambodia, which, ironically, was filmed later (from May 31 to July 8, 2015), but was aired earlier (last year), instead. Thirty-seven-year-old Jeremy Collins, a returning castaway from Survivor: San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua, bagged the top prize in Survivor: Second Chance.

In Survivor: Kaoh Rong, 18 castaways who were all new players, made up the three tribes — To Tang (“Brawn”), Chan Loh (“Brains”) and Gondol (“Beauty”) — all named after nomad groups in Cambodia.

Former NBA player Scott Polard from Carmel, Indiana was perhaps the most recognizable among all the castaways in Survivor: Kaoh Rong. A member of the To Tang tribe, Scott was the ninth to be voted out on Day 27.

Meanwhile, first to be eliminated on Day 3 was 28-year-old Darnell Hamilton from Chicago, Illinois, also from the To Tang tribe. Former Big Brother 16 contestant Caleb Reynolds from the Gondol tribe was medically evaluated after he collapsed on location, which became the reason he made his early exit on just Day 9 of the series.

Thirty-eight-year-old ice cream entrepreneur Neal Gottlieb from California of the Chan Loh tribe was also medically evaluated on Day 19. The graduate from Cornell University in New York made his emergency exit because of a gaping wound in his knee with pus, which was ripe for infection. Forced to good, he was pulled out of the competition.

Oldest castaway was 72-year-old Joseph “Joe” del Campo, a former FBI agent from Vero Beach, Florida, who had to leave the competition on Day 34. The Chan Loh tribe member was also medically evaluated due to severe stomach issues and enlarged prostrate.

The Emmy Award-winning reality show hosted by Jeff Probst airs on Jack TV. During the finals, a sneak peek into the 33rd season was shown to viewers with a great location in Fiji. Twenty new castaways will battle it out in Survivor: Millennials versus Gen X to air in September.