Heading into the finale of Survivor 46 yesterday (May 22), Charlie Davis, Maria Shrime-Gonzalez, Ben Katzman, Kenzie Petty and Liz Wilcox were fighting for the title of “Sole Survivor” and the million-dollar cash prize, with only one emerging as victorious.
Beginning with an Immunity and Reward Challenge — well, after the aftermath of the previous tribal council, of course — Liz and Kenzie teamed up in a shocking turn of events, causing the latter to take home the victory (with some extra help from the Michigan native). At Tribal Council later that evening, Maria was left vulnerable, and the other four castaways made the decision to vote her out. Its tough being the biggest threat in the game!
With only Charlie, Ben, Kenzie and Liz remaining, the following Immunity Challenge was a bit of a wacky one. With Ben earning his first win all season, he secured himself a spot at the Final Tribal Council, choosing one individual to accompany him and forcing the other two to partake in the final four fire-making competition. While the decision came with a great deal of tears, he ultimately decided to take his “Dumb and Dumber” ally, Charlie, Leaving Liz and Kenzie to make fire against one another.
With Kenzie beating Liz, the Final Tribal Council ultimately consisted of Kenzie Petty, Charlie Davis and Ben Katzman, leaving the trio to plead their case to the jury of why they deserve the title of “Sole Survivor” and the million-dollar cash prize, respectively. Who was ultimately crowned the champion, though?
Kenzie Petty won Survivor 46, beating Charlie Davis and Ben Katzman
While Survivor superfans (myself included) thought Charlie was a shoo-in for the victory, Kenzie managed to secure five votes while Charlie managed to secure three votes, leaving the North Carolinian to bring home the bacon.
During the Final Tribal Council, Kenzie acknowledged that her Survivor journey had been anything but easy, beginning on the ill-fated Yanu tribe and losing her closest ally, Tiffany Nicole Ervin, in a blindside once the merge rolled around. She acknowledged her shortcomings, but she simultaneously proved that her social game allowed her to sit in a seat at the Final Tribal Council, which is a truly impressive feat.
Due to her charisma and strong ties to the jury, Kenzie earned the vote of every jury member besides Soda Thompson, Hunter McKnight and Liz Wilcox, which was enough to make her the 46th Survivor winner and the 18th female Survivor winner.
Just hours after her victory aired on CBS, Kenzie took to Instagram to express her gratitude.
Prefacing the post with the statistic that “less than 700 people have played, less than 45 have won, less than 20 of those are women,” the salon owner then admitted that it’s an honor to have been crowned the champion of Survivor 46, and the experience has certainly changed her for the better.
“It’s hard to find the words to say to encompass everything that I’m thinking and feeling, so I’ll just say thank you,” she wrote, prior to thanking each and every person who has been a part of this wild ride:
“Thank you to @survivorcbs for this opportunity of a lifetime and believing in me.
Thank you to my incredible husband for being the endless fountain of love and support, in this journey and every other one I come up with. It’s a dream to have you by my side through it all.
Thank you to my family (blood and otherwise) for being the only ones who could listen to me talk about this relentlessly for months and did so with open ears and no judgement.
Thank you to my salon for holding it down while I was gone and all through this season, in so many ways. Emotionally, physically, for making me laugh. I am so lucky to have y’all.
Thank you to my people here in Charlotte, from old friends, to book clubs, the people I’ve worked with or just met once in passing many moons ago. Thank you for continuing to show me that my actual reality is perfect and the grass is greener where you water it.
Thank you to my cast. We might be a mess, but we are the only ones in the world who experienced this together and for that- I am grateful it was with all of you.”
“I couldn’t have made it through this without any of you. I love you all so dearly,” she continued. “There are so many more people I want to thank individually, but just know I am so thankful for everyone who has reached out and shown up. I am surrounded by such a lush and loving community and I am so grateful to call you my friends” — how sweet is that?
Concluding by thanking Survivor fans all across America “for the outpouring of kindness and support you’ve given me over these past few months” and herself “for never giving up and for taking a chance,” Kenzie concluded the post by admitting that she is overwhelmed with gratitude and pride to have earned the title of “Sole Survivor” and the million-dollar cash prize, and she is extremely proud of this feat.
With a sneak peek of Survivor 47 coming at the end of the Survivor 46 finale, the forthcoming season sure looks like a good one. For updates regarding the soon-to-be hit season — and to see the individuals who will be fighting for the win, with only one castaway following in Kenzie’s shoes — be sure to collect with the beloved competition series on social media for all of the updates.