A Survivor 49 Castaway Claims There Was Rampant Pregame Cheating, And I Have So Many Thoughts

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Sage Ahrens-Nichols, who was a finalist on Survivor 49, has been very active online since the show ended. After remaining mostly quiet during the season, she’s been sharing detailed thoughts and videos, focusing initially on her strategy and decisions during the game. More recently, she’s started publicly claiming that cheating occurred among the other players.

According to Ahrens-Nichols, several contestants broke the rules before the game even began. Each season, players arrive in Fiji about a week early for medical and psychological evaluations, interviews, and photos. While they’re supposed to avoid talking to each other during this time, she claims they didn’t follow that rule at all.

We know this happened because two contestants, a man and a woman, were removed from the season before filming even began due to this issue. Jason and MC were added to the cast as last-minute replacements because they continued to communicate with each other despite repeated warnings from producers. Host Jeff Probst later explained on his podcast that he had no regrets about their removal, as they blatantly disregarded the rules.

Sage explained that Kristina Mills, a fellow cast member, was the one who told producers about the escalating issues. Kristina had discovered others were already discussing her as the first person to be eliminated, even before the game officially began.

Kristina did the right thing by revealing who was being removed from the show, and honestly, we all should have spoken up about who was causing problems. I heard the person was trying to damage Kristina’s reputation, possibly by conspiring with someone else, but I don’t know all the details. Kristina told us during a break in filming that she was the one who reported the issue, and we were glad she did. We thanked her for it.

Sage claims the two players caught cheating weren’t the only ones. She says many others were also discussing answers before the game, both during boat trips to media events and in secret nighttime meetings when producers weren’t around. She’s repeatedly stated she will reveal the names of those involved unless they contact her to discuss it.

As a big fan of Survivor, I’ve been thinking a lot about this situation. While players are expected to compete fiercely and even cause drama during the game itself, it’s important to follow the rules set before the game begins. It’s fine to be competitive, but pre-game rules should be respected.

Some former players have come out and said pregaming is a big deal. Others have come out and said it’s not a big deal. I’m sure like everything else, how much it matters varies by season and circumstances, but clearly, if it’s against the rules, people should shut their mouths and keep to themselves. It’s important that everyone at least starts on a level playing field. Given two people got expelled and the fanbase is now so tuned into the pregame because of all these comments, I’m sure production is going to be way way more serious about monitoring people moving forward.

I’m not thrilled with how things are unfolding. With 18 players on Survivor 49, it feels a bit strange to only hear the story from one person. While Sage’s account likely contains truth – we know players were removed before the merge due to pregame rule breaks, as Jeff Probst confirmed – it’s important to remember she’s only offering her point of view.

Sage herself said she wasn’t included in many of the discussions and felt excluded, which I understand. While it’s natural to be upset by that, it also means she doesn’t have the full picture of what happened. To really get to the bottom of things, it should be the show’s producers, who need to take responsibility, or an independent source like Rob Has A Podcast or The Survivor Specialists who can gather information from many different people involved – both those on and off the show – to get a complete and unbiased understanding.

With Survivor 49 now over, attention turns to Survivor 50, which promises a great cast including returning players Savannah and Rizo. It remains to be seen if the recent controversies and negative attention will discourage producers from inviting other players back in future seasons. I’m hoping to see Sophi Balerdi compete again, but we’ll have to wait and see. As for Sage, her outspoken criticism of the show likely hurts her chances of returning, and she doesn’t seem eager to come back anyway.

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2026-01-04 19:38