Eagan native Eva Erickson earned her spot in the “Survivor” Hall of Fame during the fifth episode of the show’s 48th season when she revealed her autism to her fellow players in an emotionally charged sequence of events that will be discussed and remembered for years to come.
That revelation came late in the episode, which opened with a reward challenge that Erickson’s tribe Lagi won. They earned a lavish meal that had Erickson literally jumping up and down with joy.
But to the camera, she revealed she was wary of her teammate, flight attendant Charity Nelms. “I’m bad at social cues in general, but I definitely feel like I’m growing and learning,” said Erickson, the show’s first openly autistic contestant. “And I don’t know what it is about Charity, but she comes off so fake to me. Going into the individual portion of the game, it’s gonna be all about these social connections. I really have to be careful and make sure that the people I’m talking to I can trust. And you know what Charity, I don’t trust you.”
In the “Survivor 48” premiere, Erickson revealed her autism to the camera as well as her then-tribemate Joe Hunter, a fire captain. She told Hunter that she can get overwhelmed and when she does, it helps if he squeezes her hands. Hunter’s paternal instincts kicked in and he said he’d be there for her, even if it hurt his game.
A tribal swap in last week’s episode separated Erickson and Hunter into different tribes, but she quickly befriended stuntman David Kinne.
As many immunity challenges go, this one involved a series of physical feats with a puzzle at the end. Erickson and each of her other three competing castaways had to navigate a ball through a table maze and into a hole on the other side.
Erickson struggled at first and handed the puzzle off. But after the others finished it, she began trying once again, with little luck. In a scene that was difficult to watch, Erickson became increasingly flustered and starting tearing up and saying, “Why can’t I do this?” (The producers incorporated a brief freeze frame of Erickson gritting her teeth in frustration.)
She did finally finish the puzzle, ensuring her tribe wouldn’t be sent to tribal council. But instead of celebrating, she fell into an episode of moaning and weeping as her teammates hugged her. The show’s producers inserted numerous shots of Hunter looking on in anguish and clearly wanting to step in to help Erickson.
That’s when host Jeff Probst said: “Joe, you want to give her a hug?” Hunter immediately ran to Erickson and in a moment of the sort of raw vulnerability rarely seen on any television show, he embraced her and whispered, “You’re good. Deep breath. Remember.”
Autism reveal
Hunter’s simple gesture worked and Erickson began smiling as she realized she had won the challenge.
Probst then asked to talk about what had just taken place: “Normally, when a challenge ends, we keep the tribes separated. But I think everybody here saw that something really powerful was happening. Eva was struggling, emotionally struggling. Clearly there was a connection with a former tribemate in Joe.”
Eagan native Eva Erickson is one of 18 castaways competing on “Survivor 48,” which premiered Feb. 26, 2025. (Robert Voets / CBS)
Probst pointed out to Hunter that revealing that relationship could harm his game. Hunter’s response: “Jeff, you know, all my kids are watching me. I’m gonna be the man I want them to be and the people I want them to be, regardless of the game. And that’s what you do. And that’s who I am. So if it exposes it, it exposes it. But she was in need and I would want someone to treat my daughter that way in this game.”
Then Probst asked Erickson what had happened and she took the opportunity to tell everyone about her autism. She explained that she was diagnosed as a young child and her parents were told she’d never live independently nor hold a job and that, at most, she could hope to marry another person with autism. (While she didn’t talk about it then, she has previously discussed that she’s pursuing a PhD at Brown University School of Engineering, where she’s captain of the men’s club hockey team.)
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“My parents, they did not give up on me and they put me through so many different treatments to help me get all the support that I needed,” Erickson said. “So I’ve never viewed my autism as a roadblock to success. It’s not something to work around. It’s just part of who I am. There’s nothing bad about it.
“But I still have so many things that I struggle with, with my autism. I have these things called ‘episodes’ where when I get extremely overstimulated, I will get ungrounded and I’ll lose control of myself. And luckily I was able to still finish the challenge, I can’t believe I finished it.
“All of a sudden, everything just came over me and I got extremely overwhelmed and I started screaming, and everyone saw that. And I know nobody else knew what was going on, but Joe knew, because I needed someone in this game to understand what was going on in case something happened. And that means the world to me and that’s beyond this game.
“Everyone who has autism should not be ashamed to ask for help and ashamed to receive it. So thank you all for allowing this to happen, allowing him to come and help me, and just supporting me in this.”
Probst praised Erickson for sharing her story, “because there is a young girl or boy, just like you, watching right now going, ‘Hey mom, hey dad,’ ” before choking up himself and saying he’s never cried on the show before.
Erickson told the camera: “I knew that there would come a point in this game where I would have an episode. And now that I’ve gotten over the biggest reveal that I have, I don’t feel embarrassed, because everyone around me was so understanding. They’re nodding, they’re looking at me not with pity, but seeing that I’m strong. And I felt so accepted. I’ve never hated myself for having autism. This is special about me and I’m gonna, like, work with it.”
New ally
Back at camp, sales expert Star Toomey revealed she had a beware advantage, which involved solving a puzzle in order to receive an immunity idol. Erickson, who inadvertently made Toomey an enemy earlier in the season, helped Toomey solve the puzzle and Toomey gave her the idol, telling the camera she now considered Erickson a true friend.
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“Star has given me her idol, which is huge,” Erickson said. “I never would have seen this change of events. I have an idol, I have a new ally in Star. Everything is coming together and it’s just, like, I know ‘Survivor’ has ups and downs, but I didn’t realize they would come this close together. That’s this game and I feel stronger coming out of this than anything. Like, I feel supported and I feel just ready to get after it.”
Erickson faces plenty of challenges ahead. Close relationships are usually viewed as a threat by other players, leaving Erickson and Hunter as prime targets to send packing. The preview for next week’s episode revealed the three tribes were merging, opening up an entirely new game for everyone.
“Survivor 48” airs at 7 p.m. Wednesdays on CBS and streams the next day on Paramount+.
