One of the new Survivor 49 players faced a huge decision after getting cast on the new season of the upcoming season of the hit CBS reality series, but he decided to play anyway.
Jake Latimer missed the birth of his first child to play Survivor 49. Latimer revealed the decision in his pre-game interviews released by CBS on social media.
In the video, Latimer shared that he and his wife learned they were pregnant during the casting process. He offered to pass up the opportunity to compete in the new season, but his wife told him to go play and win.
"Before I applied to Survivor, we were trying to get pregnant," Jake said. "Four and a half years of trying for that. For that, I finally gave up. I applied for the show, and during the application process, we got pregnant. I gave her the option to bow out to be there, but she said no, you got to go and bring that money home, and we'll have a family waiting for you."
According to Entertainment Weekly, Jake revealed that his wife also said, "This is your dream, go do it, and whatever money you make is mine.”
That's absolutely iconic!
Jake's child was born on May 2, 2025, which was Day 13 of Survivor 49. Unfortunately, Jake was not told about the baby's birth until after. Survivor, and they've been doing this forever, doesn't share news with players unless it's an emergency. So, Jake was able to assume that, had they not told him anything, everything would be good back home, and as far as we know, it was!
Jake also revealed that this particular season of Survivor was too good to pass up. In the same video, he revealed that his father is suffering from glaucoma and losing his eyesight. Survivor 49 will be the last season of Survivor that Jake's father will get to watch, which was clearly a huge motivating factor for Jake to play this season rather than waiting for Survivor 51 or 52.
"Now, the sad thing about this is my dad has a medical condition right now called glaucoma," Jake continued. "And, his doctors gave him until the end of this year before he loses his eyesight permanently. So, season 49 will be the last season he gets to see, and his son is going to be on it."
I don't know how one could leave their pregnant wife back home in Canada and head out to Fiji, but I also fully understand Jake's decision to play for the last season his father will see. It's a dilemma, for sure, but it appears that it worked out for the Latimer family.
Now, will Jake actually bring that $1 million home? He's definitely one of the players I'm interested in seeing. From a physical perspective, Jake appears to be the most physically fit player on Survivor 49. He comes from a sports background, too. I would definitely want him on my tribe in the early portion of the game, and I'm also a fan of the players who use the more physical players as a shield to get further in the game. It's worked out in the new era, so I have to imagine Jake will have more than a few suitors for potential allies during the season.
We get to meet Jake and the other Survivor 49 players during the season 49 premiere on Wednesday, Sept. 24. Stay tuned for more news about the season.