Aubry Bracco reunites with Michele Fitzgerald at Survivor 50 finale—here's what the winner had to say about it

Survivor 50 just crowned its winner in four-time player Aubry Bracco, originally from Survivor: Kaoh Rong, who won in an 8-3-0 vote against her fellow finalists, Jonathan Young and Joe Hunter. Due to the season’s uneven edit, Bracco was seen as a winning contender pretty early on; however, once she clutched that final individual immunity challenge, her winner’s check was basically signed, sealed, and delivered.

As mentioned above, Bracco began her Survivor career as part of the "Brains" tribe back in Survivor: Kaoh Rong, where, despite infernal heat waves, her allies getting medevaced, and plenty of people against her, she managed to get to the Final Three of the season alongside Michele Fitzgerald and Tai Trang, both original "Beauty" tribe members. At the Final Tribal Council, while Bracco’s strategic gameplay was seen as superior to the other two, Fitzgerald’s social game was considered better, which ultimately resulted in Fitzgerald winning over Bracco.

Since it aired in 2016, Kaoh Rong’s finale has been one of the most debated in Survivor history, seen as the perfect example of which Survivor element outweighs the other: strategy vs social. While plenty of people do agree that season 32’s jury was bitter against Bracco, many have conceded that Fitzgerald’s game was under-appreciated at the time, especially as she finished in third place in Survivor: Winners at War against 19 other past Survivor winners.

Alas, Bracco had a chip on her shoulder for the last 10 years and entered Survivor: Game Changers and Survivor: Edge of Extinction wanting to prove she was a winner. It wasn’t until Survivor 50, however, that Bracco was finally proven right, as she culminated her Survivor journey with a win, a 2 million dollars prize, and even won a car during the live finale.

As it is in life and in Survivor, the discourse between Bracco and Fitzgerald caused the pair to drift apart in the years that followed, as one name immediately brought up the other without hesitation. Even Fitzgerald made some remarks about how they had drifted apart during the airing of Survivor 50 on social media, bringing fans to further discuss the pair.

Fans weren’t the only ones who were bringing back Kaoh Rong to the Survivor 2026 timeline, as the Survivor 50 edit itself kept referencing the season and Fitzgerald at several points throughout the season to highlight Bracco’s game, and how Bracco was determined for history not to repeat itself ten years later. At the Survivor 50 finale, Bracco and Fitzegarld were photographed together, dispelling any animosity rumours that might have gained traction over the last couple of months.

In one of her post-game interviews, Bracco talked more about Fitzgerald. When asked by Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly how the winners' reunion went and if they had a chance to speak, Bracco answered, "I did. The lore of Michele and I, it's just beyond both of us at this point. We were friends when we left that game, and...I'm sure it's as hard for her as it is for me to hear each other's names every day of our lives for the last 10 years."

Bracco wrapped up by saying, "And I went to Michele, I said, 'I know it's been bumpy at times, but you taught me a lot and I thank you and I do give you your props…' I learned a lot watching Michele's game. It wasn't the natural inclination I had the first time I played, but there were valuable things in what she did and she's taught me a lot and I really do have a lot of respect for her."

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