It may not have played out the way Brandon Donlon envisioned, but he fulfilled his childhood dream of playing Survivor.
“It was genuinely everything I ever wanted,” Brandon told Parade in an interview published on Oct. 5, the day after host Jeff Probst snuffed his torch at the end of Survivor 45’s second episode. Brandon was one of 18 castaways who embarked on an adventure of a lifetime to Fiji while in pursuit of cashing in a $1 million payday.
Joining the Lulu tribe, Brandon was billed as a superfan through and through. But, the 26-year-old content producer from Sicklerville, New Jersey, struggled for most of the five days he spent in-game. He had multiple challenge blunders, including when he “gassed out” and couldn’t pull himself up a ladder during the opening competition to secure camp supplies. He also dealt with anxiety and acid reflux caused by stress.
He was a big target heading into the first Tribal Council after Lulu dropped the Immunity Challenge to Belo and Reba — the two other tribes rounded out by six players apiece. However, he survived unscathed after Hannah Rose quit the game.
Nevertheless, episode 2 proved to be Brandon’s undoing. He failed to earn a safety without power advantage when he was chosen to represent his tribe in a twist, which in turn, caused him to lose his vote for the next Tribal Council.
Continuing his spew of poor challenge performances, Brandon then volunteered to fill the ever-important role of puzzle solver at the Immunity Challenge. But, when push came to shove, he and Lulu tribemate Sabiyah Broderick were dominated in the tree puzzle by the other two squads.
The defeat marked their second trip to Tribal in five days, and it spelled the end of Brandon’s run. Although Sabiyah, Kaleb Gebrewold, and Sean Edwards were enticed by the idea of sending Emily Flippen and her chaos to Ponderosa, they chose to keep her around to preserve their chances of winning safety.
Brandon had proven to be too much of a challenge liability, and he was ultimately voted out of season 45.
Brandon seems excited to live the rest of his Survivor fandom days as a spectator, not a player
Just because Brandon was the second boot doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be proud of his accomplishment. He beat out thousands of people and was cast onto the CBS staple. And no matter how hard things got, he never threw in the towel. The experience earned and the memories gained by Brandon are priceless.
In fact, he told Parade it was the most fun he’s had. But, he’s ready to rejoin the community as a fan who is infatuated with the show from afar, not on the beaches of Fiji.
“I cannot stress this enough. I understand, if you watch the show, it doesn’t look like I’m having fun for a little bit of it. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had in my life. I’m not doing this again. But it was genuinely everything I ever wanted. I have felt, in the past few months, just this immense amount of guilt. No matter how bad it went, I got everything I ever wanted.
This is my dream. And I got to do it. And I got to do it in front of people that I love and my family. I can’t believe that any of this is real. It’s the worst-case scenario, but I cannot stress enough I got everything I ever wanted. I am so beyond happy. I just don’t want to go away. I want to be in this community. I want to meet everybody. I want to watch everything. I don’t want to go away. So, if you’ll have me, then I’m here, and I’m here until you tell me to go away.”
Brandon also holds no ill will toward his Lulu counterparts. He understood their game-ending move and appreciated how they treated him when he suffered the ups and downs of the overall experience, including when the barge challenge brought on a panic attack. “This is the group that I was supposed to be with,” he said. “There’s no doubt in the world. Lulu tribe, a disaster. But the five best people you ever meet in your life.”
Brandon remains active on X and has been posting about Survivor 45 all season long.
Just like when he was initially voted out and during his final words segment, Brandon has remained overtly positive, which includes a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor. “On Survivor 47 I am coming back as a beware advantage,” he joked on the social media platform. “If you open me, I automatically join your tribe and I try my best in every challenge. Until you find the idol I am playing and I’m giving it my all.”
As much as it appears that Brandon wouldn’t reverse course on his thoughts about returning to the show, I wouldn’t be surprised if the superfan musters up the will to answer CBS’s call in a few years.