Frannie Marin and Matt Blankinship are ready to outwit, outplay and outlast on reality TV once again.
More than two years after going from strangers to romantic partners on Survivor 44, both reality stars are open to competing on the small screen again.
“I’ve been trying to convince Frannie to do The Amazing Race with me the entire time, and she’s a little bit more Survivor or bust,” Matt exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, September 17. “I think it would be so fun. And not only that, I think we would crush it. I think it’d be so easy.”
Frannie, however, is a bit more skeptical that she can travel the world under pressure and win big.
It’s not an easy game — but someone’s got to play it! Survivor first debuted in 2000, quickly becoming a fan-favorite and ratings juggernaut for CBS. The reality series, which awards one sole Survivor the $1 million each season after lasting 39 days outside, has come a long way over the years. Host Jeff Probst, […]
“Let me share my skepticism because I am very much a type A planner type person,” she told Us. “My whole life, I plan trips down to the moment. I’ve never missed a flight. I start dating Matt, [and] I’ve missed two flights. We would not thrive on The Amazing Race.”
In 2022, Matt and Frannie traveled to Fiji to compete on season 44 of Survivor. Although they were sent to the jury and eliminated before the finals, the pair found love and are now living together in San Francisco.
In April, Survivor host Jeff Probst announced that season 50 will feature all returning players. Although there is a long way to go before the cast is confirmed and announced — season 47 just premiered on Wednesday, September 18 — Matt and Frannie are open to competing again.
“I think both of us would go back for Survivor in a heartbeat,” Matt said. “If they said, ‘Get on a plane in two hours,’ I’d be like, ‘yes.’”
Frannie added, “Any day of the week.”
For now, the pair are simply enjoying a simpler life in California. Whether savoring sushi nights or attending a Bay Football Club soccer match, both Matt and Frannie are less focused on documenting their love story and more interested in enjoying the present.
Maneuvering through the roadblocks! From its debut in 2001, The Amazing Race has been a huge hit for CBS. When the Primetime Emmys added the Outstanding Reality-Competition Program category 2003, it became a staple, winning 10 out of its 15 nominations and averaging nearly 10 million viewers per season. The show hit its own bump […]
“I just so enjoy being present in the life that we lead together that I very rarely stop to think, ‘We should take a picture for the online,’” Frannie said. “I just love living with you and hanging out with you, and that’s what’s really important at the end of the day.”
Matt added, “She just has so much joy that she brings to life. She starts to pick out the little bits about our world and the world that we exist in that are beautiful, and she brings attention to them every day.”
Survivor 47 airs on CBS Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET. It is also available to stream on Paramount+.