Survivor is all about ‘outwit, outplay, outlast’ but for one contestant, the most game-defining decision happened long before his torch was even lit.
Jake Latimer, a contestant on Survivor 49, which premieres September 24, found himself in quite a predicament before filming began in April: enter the game or be at the birth of his firstborn child.
While Survivor fans would know that rules of the game mean that players receive no news from the outside world unless it’s an emergency, perhaps few know that child birth does not classify as an emergency.
Survivor 49 star Jake Latimer and his wife Louise. (Instagram @jakelatimer66)
Survivor Season 49 will be fast tracked on 9Go! later this year.
During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, ahead of filming, the Canadian said he and his wife had been trying to get pregnant for about four-and-a-half years.
“The doctor said, ‘We don’t think it’s going to work.’ So I applied for Survivor, just kind of like something to do to get my mind off of it,” Jake said.
“And while I was in the process, she got pregnant and now our firstborn child is going to be born while I’m here on the island.”
Jake Latimer will appear on Survivor 49 later this month. (Robert Voets/CBS)
Of course, many will wonder what his wife Louise thought about this – and he gave her the power to veto his appearance on the show.
”I gave her to option for me to bow out. I said, ‘This is our child. You’re here alone,’ ” Jake said.
“She’s Australian, so she doesn’t have anyone up in Canada. But she says, ‘No, you go out. This is your dream, go do it, and whatever money you make is mine.'”
There are many rules to Survivor, but one of the biggest is unless there is an emergency, players receive no news from the outside world.
This meant Jake had no idea of the when, where or how of his child’s birth.
“Of course, I would love to hear if my baby’s born healthy and stuff like that, but at the same time, they can’t favour me and then not tell other people what’s happening with their families back in home. So I’m just going into it as no news is good news,” he said before filming.
Jake later introduced his son, Jax. (Instagram @jakelatimer66)
Survivor host Jeff Probst told Entertainment Weekly that whenever a big life event may happen while a player is on the island, they remind them that there is always next year.
But in Jake’s case, there was another reason he stayed for Season 49.
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”My dad has an eye condition called glaucoma,” Jake explained, saying this was the last year his dad would be able to watch the show before his eyesight deteriorates too much.
“For me to make him proud one last time and be on his favorite show and have him watch his son on there, that will be it for his Survivor story.”
While fans will have to wait and see how Jake goes in the game, one thing is already known: his son, Jax Paul Kenneth Latimer, was born May 2 – Day 13 of Survivor 49.
Survivor Season 49 will be fast tracked on 9Go! later this year.
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