When Survivor 49 was being produced, the team behind the show, including Jeff Probst, had a difficult task in front of them. When a show has been around as long as Survivor has, it seems nearly impossible for a new season to stand out from the many that came before it. After all, since there have been 48 previous seasons of the reality show, viewers can easily feel like nothing about the series could surprise them.
During the first episodes of Survivor 49, there have already been remarkable parts of the season, including the moment when a player was labeled a "Karen."
On top of featuring interesting players and surprising insults, Survivor 49 has already shown what may be the most shocking moment of the whole season.
Survivor 49's premiere featured a shocking and gross moment
During the Survivor 49 premiere, fans were introduced to Nicole Mazullo from the Kele tribe. Sadly, Nicole became Survivor 49's first player to be voted out, which was a shame since she seemed like a great person.
On top of being remembered for being the first person who was voted out, Nicole will likely go down in Survivor history for another reason, being at the center of a shocking moment. When the episode was nearing its end, Nicole was shown at camp, remarking that she was feeling sick. Then, in a shocking moment for Survivor, Nicole was shown vomiting into her own hand as she initially tried to stop herself from throwing up. From there, Nicole ran to a bush and continued to get sick.
Hopefully, Nicole doesn't feel embarrassed about being shown throwing up on TV. After all, it is a perfectly normal thing for people to get sick. In fact, many, many Survivor players have revealed they threw up during the game off-camera. On top of that, the show has previously shown players hunched over without featuring footage of them actually vomiting. Given that history and the fact that network TV ordinarily wouldn't show a person getting sick like that, Nicole vomiting may ultimately be the most shocking thing that happens during Survivor 49.
In September 2025, Nicole was interviewed by Rob Cesternino for "We Know Survivor," a podcast that is a part of his "Rob Has a Podcast" media empire. During that conversation, Nicole explained why she got sick during the episode. Furthermore, Nicole explained how shocked she was that Survivor showed her throwing up in such a graphic way, and she joked about never being allowed to forget that TV moment.
"I felt totally fine. We weren't eating. So this was the third day. I hadn't eaten. And they gave me like a vitamin. I had a vitamin on an empty stomach. And it was just immediate that I got sick. I don't take supplements or vitamins. So my body was like, what? That's genuinely what it was. It was almost immediate. I couldn't believe they kept it . I could not believe that was in the episode. I couldn't believe it. I was shocked. I know. I know. My family got a kick out of it. My co-workers are going to make fun of me. It's funny."
Survivor 49 episode 3 hits CBS and Paramount+ on Wednesday, Oct. 8.