Survivor’s Shannon Fairweather Reacts to Sage Ahrens-Nichols' Hug Snub
This story contains spoilers from the Oct. 29 episode of Survivor.
The tribe wasn’t ready to hug it out.
After Shannon Fairweather was voted off the island by her fellow cast members on the Oct. 29 episode of Survivor, she asked those who voted her out for a hug. And while Jawan Pitts and Steven Ramm obliged, Sage Ahrens-Nichols did not.
"I’m gonna give you a handshake because I want the hug to be genuine and I don’t think I can give that to you right now,” Sage explained to Shannon. “But I look forward to hugging you in the future, OK? Take care."
And while Shannon was surprised by Sage’s reaction, as she shared after the episode aired, she also “respected” her decision.
“I love these people so, so much. And so to feel like there was a reason for her to reject my hug, that was heartbreaking,” the 28-year-old recounted to Entertainment Weekly in an interview published Oct. 30. “But I also respected it, because Sage is incredibly authentic from second one, and it was very on-brand for Sage to not give me a hug.”
Shannon went on to explain that she “knew that there would be more to that story at some point,” but at the time, she was very surprised as she didn’t realize Sage “was upset with me and had this perspective of me.”
“But Sage and I have also talked a lot, so I also knew it was coming,” Shannon continued. “And watching it back, it's really easy for me to see how the fear and the paranoia and the stress of the game, it impacts people.”
Luckily, the two have made amends since filming wrapped, with Shannon saying Sage, 30, reached out to her after she left the island.
“We have had so many conversations kind of just starting with her perspective and where I was coming from, and I think she was really surprised,” Shannon shared. “She's told me she was surprised as well with how I just honored her perspective, and I honored where she was at, and I honored how she felt.”
And despite the difficulties they had on the show, Shannon noted, “I am really grateful for my friendship with Sage.”
As for whether or not the two finally embraced? Shannon confirmed the two “have hugged since the final episode.”
She added, “We were really looking forward to that.”
For a look at everyone competing on season 49 of Survivor, keep reading.
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