- Survivor 39 will premiere on Wednesday, September 25.
- Titled “Island of the Islands,” the season will feature Boston Rob and Sandra as advisors.
- Here’s what made the former winners come back to Survivor.
Boston Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine are two of the most legendary players in the history of Survivor, and this year, it was announced that the pair would be returning for Survivor 39—but not to compete.
Boston Rob and Sandra will appear on Survivor: Island of the Idols as mentors to the twenty castaways. If you’re wondering what convinced the two winners to come back to Survivor, Sandra and Rob explained to Entertainment Weekly that it was the opportunity to mentor a new crop of Survivor castaways that drew them in.
“My buddy Jeff called and he knew. I told him time and time again that I was done, I felt like after Redemption Island, I won the show, that was my goal all along,” Boston Rob explained. “And I just felt fulfilled and that it would have to take something unique to get me back there, and Jeff called with this idea about the Island of the Idols. He told me, ‘Come back and mentor these kids. You have a lot to give, you can teach them. Pay it forward and teach them some of the lessons of the show that you know so well after playing for so many years, so many different times.'”
Sandra said she was just excited for a chance to be on a season of Survivor without having to compete in challenges: “When he [Jeff Probst] said we didn’t have to go to challenges, I was like ‘I am so there!’ Plus, it was Boston Rob. I’ve always felt like if there was anyone that I really, really would enjoy being out there with for that amount of time and I could get along with them very well with no issues, it would be Rob. So I said yes right away. I didn’t even have to think about it.”
Interestingly, neither Boston Rob or Sandra commented on their rumored return for Survivor 40, the all-winners season. (The season hasn’t been announced by CBS yet, so we may have to wait a while until it’s officially confirmed.)
