In 2021, Erika Casupanan took home the title of “Sole Survivor” and the million-dollar cash prize at the end of Survivor 41 — beating Deshawn Radden and Xander Hastings in a 7-1-0 vote — ultimately making history as the first Canadian to win the beloved competition series. As of December 30, the 34-year-old made history for a second time, coming out as homosexual via Instagram, ultimately becoming the first lesbian to win Survivor.
In a reel shared with her 32.3k followers via Instagram on December 30, Erika wrote, “Throwback to last New Year’s Eve when I tried to do the ‘eat grapes while sitting under a table at midnight and you’ll get a boyfriend by the end of the year’ trend, but I didn’t have grapes so I chugged wine, and instead that year I realized I’m a lesbian. Close enough, right?”
This was the first time Erika had conformed her sexuality to the public, ultimately sending Survivor superfans — as well as her fellow castaways — into a frenzy.
“Ayo wait… that means… you’re not only the first New Era winner, Canadian to win, the first women in six seasons, and the first Phillippines winner, but also the first lesbian winner? MAN you are full of firsts,” one fan wrote in the comment section of the post.
Another dished, “OMG SURVIVOR FINALLY HAS AN ICONIC GAY WINNER OH WE WON.”
“WE HAVE A LESBIAN SURVIVOR WINNER!!!!! BRB I’m CRYING from JOY,” shared a third.
To top everything off, Ricard Foye of Survivor 41 — who is also a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community — even chimed into the conversation, garnering a whopping 755 likes, as well as fellow castaways like Karla Cruz Godoy, Evvie Jagoda, Adam Klein, Todd Herzog, Sean Edwards, and more.
While Erika made history as the first lesbian to win Survivor, the second female member of the LGBTQ+ community to win the beloved competition series emerged just hours later. How wild is that?
While there had been speculation for weeks and weeks beforehand, Parvati Shallow — a four-time Survivor castaway and the winner of Survivor Micronesia — shared a photo of her and Mae Martin — a Canadian actor and comedian — revealing that the duo was in fact dating.
“We’re here. We’re queer. Happy New Year,” the former Survivor castaway wrote via Instagram, sharing the news with her 188k followers.
With two female members of the LGBTQ+ community winning Survivor in the past, we already cannot wait to see how the winner of Survivor 46 — as well as the winners of the seasons to follow — make history on the hit competition show.
Nonetheless, be sure to catch the premiere of Survivor 46 on February 28 on CBS. It is sure to be a season to remember!