'Survivor 50' Finalist Joe Hunter Says He Knew the Jury 'Hated' Him at Final Tribal (Exclusive)
Joe Hunter came into Survivor 50 with something very few players get, which is a second chance almost immediately after reaching Final Tribal Council. After making it to the end on Season 48, the fire captain once again found himself sitting before the jury on the show's milestone 50th season, ultimately finishing in third behind winner Aubry Bracco and runner-up Jonathan Young in a 8-3-0 vote.
The fire captain, 48, once again positioned himself as a loyal player who could win individual immunity challenges when needed while balancing relationships throughout the game. But even he admits, "I didn't do enough to get the votes."
In his exit interview with Men's Journal, Joe opens up about sensing that the jury had already made up its mind before Final Tribal Council began, the backlash he faced from fans after the season, his complicated dynamic with Rick Devens, and why he refuses to believe there's only one "correct" way to play Survivor.
Scroll down to read the full interview with Joe.
Men's Journal: Did you sleep at all last night?
Joe Hunter: Yeah, of course. I got, I got an hour. How about you?
Men's Journal: You went through it twice. Which one was harder for you? Was this one harder, or the first one?
Joe Hunter: I mean, different ways, right? Like, the first one's harder because it's Survivor. The second one's harder because I didn't realize, like, I could have come into this with a scripted, you know, play a character, or I could have done this or that to, like, fit what we were trying to do with returning players. I would say this one was harder because it wasn't harder during it, it was harder post, realizing, like, wow, so what fans like and what they don't like, and why was really perplexing to me. So I would say that two was harder for criticism, one was harder for mentally and physically going through something I've never done.
Men's Journal: Does it feel validating or frustrating that you made it to the Final Three twice, almost back to back?
Joe Hunter: Honestly, Sharon, I'm gonna tell you the truth, this is how I frame it in my head, and this is no BS. I go, man, what's never really talked about in this is in two seasons, top three in overall immunity wins, not even including the "what if" necklace, right? With Tiff. Top three out of people who have ever played in two seasons, then I go, man, making it back to back, Final Three, and never having my torch snuffed, not many people could say that. And then I also look at it like how many times my name was written down, right, and people can argue gameplay this and that. I'm so grateful in that, and I'm proud of that. When you start this game and are just trying to get to the next day, and then have an impact with Eva, and that moment that some claim is one of the most powerful moments in Survivor history, that's just a win to me.
Men's Journal: Can you talk about your relationship with Rizo for a minute because he told me the two of you bonded over your story with Eva and his brother being on the autism spectrum and what that meant to him. We didn't see much of your connection in the edit.
Joe Hunter: You know what's crazy about this is that is that he comes up to me at the at the merge and tells me that story, and it's.. it was just so powerful. We were like, "Man, I'm bonding with this guy, and he says that, and I'm thinking we're locked in." And pretty much after that–yes, he played a different game than me–but we always bounced whatever it was off each other, and he seemed like we were in the same groove. And the best way to describe it is Rizo was like, "We gotta tell Joe," in other votes, you would hear him say that. And then when I was sitting there with the whole dual Tribal with Jonathan, I said I have to include Rizo. It wasn't that it was a secret alliance, I just thought it was known we were tight. I didn't want to burn them, and then Ozzy said, before he left, he goes, "I would trust my life in this game with Rizo and Joe," so there's these moments where it's like people I don't think grabbed onto how I felt more trusted with him than most, and that was real to me. That was real. He talked about something outside of the game. I'll always love him for that.
Men's Journal: In the finale, it was a very touching moment when Rizo was struggling with fire and you stepped in to help him. Why did you do that?
Joe Hunter: You know what, my friend, is like, I look at that as like I was trying to be this new player, and I thought we're all going to do this our own. I was picked, so it's the game. Jonathan's going to do on his own, Rizo is going to do it on his own. It's not wrong or right, but now it's like Joe, I thought that would be like just sit there and let them, and I thought this sucks. This is not how it's supposed to be. This is a human being, and somebody that I care about. I care about both of them. So, now what? And I knew it. I'm like, if I help him, Jonathan will hate me. If I don't, people will hate that I don't help Rizo. And I thought it's just the right thing to do, in terms of give him enough to get started. Like, come on, who wouldn't do that? I felt genuinely bad. I was like, that's not even fair. And I know he should have practiced on all this, but as a human, when I said "give each other a sword," you ever seen those videos of like, like Goliath comes in, he's got the armor on with like two swords, and then the kid that's like dragging the sword, it's like, at least give him a fighting chance.
Men's Journal: How do you think you would have done if Rizo was in the Final Three instead of Aubry? Do you feel like you would have pulled some votes?
Joe Hunter: No. Listen, I'm being real. There's two people, because it would force them, like they hate them more than me. When I sat my butt on that stool in Fiji, I hadn't said a word. They can say what they want. I'm like, you hate me, you hate me, and they're like, oh, it's just the game. No, no, no, no, it's a thing. And I thought, all right, why even sit here, and unless I took a knife out and cut someone's head off, it was done. And so there's only a few people that would have, like, forced some hands, other than Emily, Rick Devens, Christian, and Dee. I thought I had a chance with them. Everybody else was, they were locked in before you started.
Men's Journal: Were you surprised that you didn't get Coach's vote? You were locked in with him for a long time.
Joe Hunter: You know, I get it. I saw, you know, the exit there, when it was like, hey, if Joe wears it, which I thought I did....I thought, like, yeah, I did wear everything about that, but you know, it's hard, because I know he was locked in, and that's not an easy place to be, but I'll wear this: I didn't do enough, that's how I look at that. I don't look at it like I should have gotten this. I didn't do enough to get the votes.
Men's Journal: At Final Tribal, they asked what votes you moved, and you were honest that you didn't move any alone. I do think that played better than just making something up.
Joe Hunter: I appreciate that, and I want to say on that point, what I was trying to say, which the full statement maybe didn't get out, is at that point I didn't think either one of us–Aubry or Jonathan–had truly owned a vote by themselves individually. I just felt we all had our hands in it, so I was just trying to like grab the honesty. I didn't do it, but also neither did they by myself. We all kind of had our hand in the cookie jar at different times, what I was trying to do failed.
Men's Journal: You and Rick Devens had such an interesting relationship. How did you guys come together after the show? He mentioned you're good outside the game.
Joe Hunter: I don't even know. I say this now: Rick Devens a great guy. I love him as a dad, a father, a player. I don't know. I've seen one of the exit press was like, "it's the worst fight I've ever seen," and I'm like, listen, I was raised in a firehouse, I was raised in a Division One locker room, and if you're saying that whatever happened on that beach was the worst fight that anyone's ever seen, or I've seen in Survivor, I'm going, okay, so you're trying to inflate this, like, make the drama unequivocally. I look at it like two people had a disagreement that were probably too similar, and I'm thinking it wasn't that. We couldn't get on the same page, but then it's like, I want you out because you're just a great player. My argument is in the very beginning, I understand now his game better, and I would have adapted more. It's like fighting with your partner, like a wife or a spouse that you love, and then everyone screenshots the fight and goes, "Look at them, they hate each other." It's like, well, no, man, that was like on a Friday, and cut me some slack here. It's like that wasn't relaxed, we're just a fighting couple, and we could have made it really far, and I wish we could have recovered from that. I love Rick, I really do.
Men's Journal: Is this wrapping up your Survivor journey, or are you always open to more?
Joe Hunter: I'm always unequivocally open to it, because I want everyone to know–I hate the term, "That's how you have to play survivor." I hate it, because you show me a winner that's played the exact same way. Then you can say that every single winner has done it exactly the same from start to finish. Impossible. I think you need to go on the show with "play it your way." Rick is right the way he plays it, so is Aubry, so is Emily, so is Jonathan, so am I. I hate that we try to label it for our own benefit, so I'll go back just to kick up dust, just to, just to show. I'm like, well, bring me back, and I'll show you everybody play it your way. So yeah, the answer is, it saved my life. I got on it for my sister. I'm here to be her voice, and I will always come back to be that.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 8:49 AM.