{"id":578943,"date":"2026-04-01T17:07:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T17:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/578943\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T17:07:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T17:07:17","slug":"redemption-his-hapless-legacy-and-getting-in-on-the-joke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/578943\/","title":{"rendered":"Redemption, his \u2018hapless\u2019 legacy and getting in on the joke"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When it was announced earlier this year, Australian Survivor: Redemption<\/a> felt tailor-made for Simon Mee. The Brisbane chippie had suffered ritual humiliation in his previous two seasons. In 2021, he became the first player in the show\u2019s history to be sent home with two unused immunity idols. In 2023, he endured what a fan termed \u201cone of the most consistently embarrassing runs of all time<\/a>\u201d against his formidable on-screen foe, King George Mladenov. He was primed for a comeback.<\/p>\n

As much as this sweet superfan was derided as the \u201cmost hapless\u201d player the show has seen and \u201cthe Survivor version of Wile E. Coyote\u201d, fans came to love him. And he put up a hell of a fight this season before being sent home in a dramatic vote on Wednesday night. <\/p>\n

Deputy TV editor Meg Watson spoke to Mee about the triumphant end of his Survivor career after a cumulative 100 days in the game, lurking in Reddit threads, crying<\/a>, and getting in on the joke.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"David<\/a><\/p>\n

MW: Hello! I\u2019m so excited to talk to you because you\u2019re one of my favourite players, but I\u2019m so sad because it means you\u2019re out of the game! <\/p>\n

SM: It\u2019s a bit sad, but I don\u2019t think I can complain. I definitely overstayed my welcome there! And, you know, I achieved so much in this game and over my career \u2013 like to hit 100 days, to get my redemption and to prove that I can actually play this game. Well, not perfectly.<\/p>\n

But I am definitely not the worst player. So it\u2019s nice to have that under my belt.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s such a funny benchmark to be shooting for! Just not the worst.<\/p>\n

Look, I never really thought that I was the worst player in Australian Survivor history \u2026 but it\u2019s been a fun thing to lean into. Stumbling, fumbling Simon is a nice character to root for, especially in Australia where tall poppy syndrome is so big. It\u2019s fun to cheer for the underdog \u2013 and to see someone who has had so many misfortunes actually pull it together! There was no easy ride for me. Every day was a fight. I think that just made that 100 days so much more special.<\/p>\n

How do you feel about the way that you went out? It was an exciting tribal with the prospect of rocks [which would be a first in Australian Survivor]. But being taken out by Brooke isn\u2019t a bad way to go either, right? <\/p>\n

It would have been so poetic if the way my Survivor career ended had been at the mercy of rocks. That would have been amazing. But it wasn\u2019t meant to be. To go out of the mercy of Brooke? Look, it was a little bit disappointing. We had worked so hard to get off the bottom there. For [her and Keeley] to end up back in the minority is pretty tough. I want to see Brooke do one of two things here. I want to see her go on to win, so this was the right decision for her. Or I want to see her go home next. It is a bold strategy to try and win every challenge! It\u2019s hard going out in a way that may not even be an optimal move for the person who did it.<\/p>\n

\"Simon\u2019sSimon\u2019s final tribal council, where he was blindsided by Brooke Jowett. Nigel Wright\/Ten<\/p>\n

You said on your way out that you feel like you\u2019ve well and truly got your redemption. Did you have a specific goal in mind going into the season?<\/p>\n

I really thought that redemption for me would have been finding and playing an idol correctly. That\u2019s how my journey started and how it fell apart. But I quickly realised out there that there are more important things for me in this game. I just wanted to showcase that I can play well. I\u2019ve been a challenge beast. But socially, I\u2019ve missed the mark a few times previously. And then, strategically, I just wanted to have something to my name. I\u2019ve never had a move that\u2019s purely mine.<\/p>\n

I strongly feel like that Aisha blindside was orchestrated by me. But then to also have this Jackson flip \u2013 that was a really huge moment for me. I saw that ahead of time. I knew where I needed to be, and I put myself there. I made it happen. At the end of the day, yeah, it\u2019s his move, but it doesn\u2019t happen without me.<\/p>\n

\"SimonSimon won back-to-back immunity challenges before being voted out.Nigel Wright\/Ten<\/p>\n

A lot of that reputation as \u201cstumbling, fumbling Simon\u201d has come from the Heroes v Villains season<\/a>. It was a landmark series, it won global acclaim, but you copped a lot for your mistakes. What\u2019s your relationship been like with the show\u2019s fandom?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been really good. The support from the fans has been huge. I enjoy seeing some of the commentary online saying, \u201cI can\u2019t believe I\u2019ve found myself cheering for Simon after cheering against him so much\u201d<\/a>. I didn\u2019t expect to become a bit of an iconic character. But I\u2019ve always said, if I can\u2019t win this game, I would love to leave a mark on it.<\/p>\n

I love diving through the deep, dark depths of Reddit. I read it all, and I try to interact. I value the fans\u2019 opinion. But at the same time, the couch critics have no concept of what it\u2019s actually like out there. A lot of people were calling me dumb after the tribal [where] I voted for Brooke \u2013 \u201cSimon up to his old tricks again\u201d \u2013 and I was like, \u201cJust wait until you watch the next one!\u201d I know I had to enter my \u201cwimp era\u201d, sucking up with Brooke and Keeley, but I was very much in control of what I was doing.<\/p>\n

People giving me shit online \u2026 this is not new territory for me. I can only laugh about it now.<\/p>\n

Another thing that you\u2019re very well known for with the fans is being an \u201cunintentional gay icon\u201d. I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve seen the memes. There\u2019s also a big YouTube compilation<\/a> of all the funny moments and soundbites<\/a>. Is that something that you play into?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t go out seeking those moments, but I very much so lean into them when they\u2019re there. JLP<\/a> and David<\/a> are always throwing out the innuendos<\/a> which is a lot of fun. It\u2019s cheeky. I\u2019m all for it. The way that the community have welcomed that and supported me has been really great. It\u2019s also nice as someone who was seen as an alpha male, to show this softer, more connected side. I think it\u2019s really important and can help shift the conversation.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

I love how open you are with your emotions in the game. That\u2019s not new this season<\/a>, but we did see how quick you were to cry on many occasions. Are you like that in real life, or is it something the game brings out of you?<\/p>\n

Everything is definitely heightened in the game of Survivor. But I always wear my heart on my sleeve. In the game, I\u2019m so invested because I don\u2019t take that spot for granted. I just care so much, and I want to do well. It is so raw, and it means so much to me.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to see those points where I\u2019ve been upset and crying, and someone will question me. Like, \u201cIs he just putting on?\u201d Like when Aisha saw me crying saying goodbye to Harry \u2026 that\u2019s my best mate, and I\u2019ve ended his dream. Some of the newbies just don\u2019t get it.<\/p>\n

\"SimonSimon reacts to a video of his wife and young daughter.Nigel Wright\/Ten<\/p>\n

Did it change your experience playing out there as a dad for the first time, leaving your young daughter behind?<\/p>\n

Massively. It was so hard leaving and knowing the sacrifice of what you\u2019re leaving behind at home, and the burden that I left my wife. It\u2019s huge. She\u2019s home with my toddler, and I get to go around the beaches of Samoa. But it really fired me up so much more. I wasn\u2019t going to go out easy. I was pitching from the bottom and making noise and putting thoughts in people\u2019s head and making people feel uncomfortable to get them thinking and moving. It was really grinding on people. But I wasn\u2019t just gonna roll over and die.<\/p>\n

When you signed off at the end, you said you were hanging up your Buff, that your Survivor career is essentially done. Do you feel firm in that?<\/p>\n

Absolutely done.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Hudson<\/a><\/p>\n

Even if there was another season of Australia v the World<\/a>? <\/p>\n

No, this is it. I\u2019m retiring. I\u2019ve had my shot. I have played three times in five years. I don\u2019t want to get divorced! I\u2019ve put my wife through a lot, and she\u2019s been so supportive along the way. I\u2019m hanging up the Buff. I\u2019m done.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also quite relieving, in a way. It means the relationships that I have with the alumni and players who reach out to be friends with me from this point on will be friends with me for genuine reasons, not that they\u2019re going to pre-game. I\u2019m so sick of that. People keeping up appearances just in case we ever play again.<\/p>\n

Do you still speak with George at all? What\u2019s your relationship like today?<\/p>\n

George and I are acquaintances. You know, we\u2019re not friends. But we share a mutual love for this game. I haven\u2019t heard much from him this season. There\u2019s been a couple of cheeky snipes from the sidelines. It was a nice little one to pip him at the post and get 100 days over his 99! It\u2019s good to get into that club. But we do share a very good mutual respect.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll always be twin flames. There is no George without Simon, and there is no Simon without George. It\u2019s been a poetic journey for us both \u2013 and it\u2019s made for some amazing moments. It\u2019s been pretty nice going head-to-head with one of the best.<\/p>\n

And you made some incredible TV! So thank you on behalf of the audience. <\/p>\n

Yeah! It\u2019s not lost on me that [our showdown in Heroes v Villains] was one of the greatest episodes of reality TV of all time \u2013 let alone Australian Survivor. And then to have a front-row seat to some of the other, incredible moments, like this season with Keeley and Brooke\u2019s idol bluff \u2026 I\u2019ve been there for some of the best of it.<\/p>\n

Editor’s pick\"What<\/a><\/p>\n

Now we have the live finale coming up too, and there\u2019ll be a reunion special as well, which is pretty exciting. Is there anything you want answers to or things you want to set the record straight on? What are you burning to talk about?<\/p>\n

I really want to see how it all goes down. There\u2019s so much of this game left. I know what happens because I was there, but I don\u2019t know who wins, and I haven\u2019t told anyone who I voted for. I think I do a pretty good job of getting out what I need to say from the jury. But I\u2019m just looking forward to seeing people get together. I think this will be the cherry on top of it all \u2013 my final moment to be able to share what has been a huge career and a huge part of my life.<\/p>\n

Australian Survivor continues Sunday night on Ten and 10Play.<\/p>\n

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n