This article contains spoilers for Survivor 45.
It was a hard-fought battle in Fiji, but Jake O’Kane emerged from Survivor 45 as a fan favorite. And for those who are curious, what’s up with Jake’s love life?
Jake joined 17 other castaways in a campaign to earn a $1 million check, the title of “Sole Survivor,” and reality television glory. And when the 13-episode season concluded on December 20, Dee Valladares was crowned the queen of Survivor 45.
But, not for nothing, Jake sat beside her during the final Tribal Council as one of three contestants who made it through the entire 26-day competition. After earning self-redemption by besting Katurah Topps in the final four fire-making challenge, Jake fielded questions from the Jury alongside Dee and Austin Li Coon.
Unfortunately for the 26-year-old attorney, his underdog story and accomplishments weren’t viewed by the Jury in the same vein as Dee and Austin’s dominant run. After the eight ousted players took a turn in front of the voting urn, host Jeff Probst revealed that Dee won with five votes while Austin came in second with three.
So, did Jake have a significant other back home to celebrate his Survivor experience with?
Is Jake O’Kane gay?
On October 1, Jake took to Instagram to share a post about his long-term girlfriend, Courtney Smith. According to the post, Jake and Courtney first got together in the spring of 2019 when they were wrapping up their undergraduate degrees in Boston. So in light of this relationship, it would seem that Jake is not gay.
Jake wrote that for their first three anniversaries, he was unable to celebrate with Courtney because he was busy tackling his law school final exams. “I told Court I’d make our 4 year anniversary special and it was, but not how either of us would have expected,” Jake wrote.
Jake was off in Fiji filming Survivor 45 when their fourth anniversary rolled around.
“Survivor is taxing on your entire being and I am so fortunate to have a partner as wonderful as Court is to lean on,” Jake continued. “Court balances work, grad school, and my crazy a** with grace like no other. I couldn’t do this without you. Love u babe.”
Jake’s page has several posts dedicated to Courtney and their relationship, including Valentine’s Day and birthday posts. So the answer to whether or not he’s gay — not that it’s anybody’s business in any case — is that it sure doesn’t look like it.
Although not much is publicly known about Courtney, her Instagram page indicates that she’s 27 years old, lives in Boston, and is working toward her Master of Business Administration through Florida State University, which she’s set to obtain next year.