The Australian Survivor 2025 jury is growing fast as the 2025 finale creeps closer, and so is the tension inside the Jury Villa.
The Jury Villa is a special holding area for the Australian Survivor contestants who have been eliminated from the game post Episode 15, who will continue to attend and observe Tribal Councils, and ultimately be responsible for deciding the winner of the game.
With every new arrival, the drama gets juicier, the dinners more awkward, and the tea piping hot.
Here’s a quick recap of everything going down behind the scenes, thanks to the jury videos shared on 10Play.
AJ
Watch AJ’s Jury Villa Video here.
The final member entering the Jury Villa was AJ Antonios, much to the shock of the other Jury members. Taking it on the chin, AJ said he couldn’t be happier for Myles and Kaelan to be in the final two, wondering how long it’d be until he could “gorge” himself again after seeing how much weight he’d lost after 46 days.
There was underlying tension in the Villa as AJ faced his ex-campmates, particularly Zara who he betrayed in the last elimination. He apologised to Zara for voting her out and explained his reasoning.
“When Myles won immunity, I had to decide between Kaelan and Zara, but because Myles wanted to take out Zara, it would’ve been fire between Zara and Kaelan, and I don’t think Zara can win that. And then because I put Kaelan in fire, he’d never take me to the end. So I had no choice but to vote Zara,” he explained.
Spilling the tea further, AJ told the Jury Villa that Kaelan had been “playing dumb” the whole time. “I’ve been his closest ally, and he intentionally played dumb the entire game. The real Kaelan is a lot smarter than you think he is.”
AJ fessed up to throwing challenges, saying he could’ve come second or third in many challenges instead of eighth. “I thought if I was also a physical threat, it’d just be too much,” he said.
AJ also said he didn’t think eventual winner Myles’ resume would have beaten him in the end. I guess we’ll never know!
Zara
Watch Zara’s Jury Villa video here.
Zara Callianiotis headed over to the Jury Villa after receiving a unanimous vote against her from Myles, Kaelan, and AJ. On her way to the villa, she said that she thought the remaining players voted her out because they didn’t want to face off against her in the final endurance challenge.
Zara’s first dinner was relatively calm — until she revealed the remaining players believed they could predict each Juror’s vote. Logan was stunned to hear AJ thought he wouldn’t vote for her, revealing that he was her ‘top vote.’
Meanwhile, Karin and Paulie found themselves fighting at the dinner table… again.
As Zara was leaving the dinner, she dropped a bombshell on the other contestants.
“I’m looking forward to the next jury dinner when whoever else — a boy — joins us,” she announced.
Fans have been speculating the finale could see a final three, since Morgan’s absence would leave an even-numbered jury for a final two, potentially causing a tie.
We can’t wait to see how this plays out!
Kate
Kate Gloufchis was the first juror in a while to receive a warm welcome from the other Jury members.
After Kate explained her strategy at the last Tribal, Logan told Kate about how cold both Kristin’s and Logan’s entry to the Jury was.
“You’re actually quite blessed because the last two, so mine and Kristin’s, I came in, and everyone was very mad at me, and I was very sad, and I nearly cried, and everyone was really mad at Kristin,” she said.
“I got attacked by Kaz and Paulie,” Kristin added.
The next day, Morgan and Kristin headed off for a spa day together. However, Kate noticeably didn’t mention anything about why her Survivor bestie Morgan decided not to join the Jury.
Morgan
Morgan Mitchell was the fifth castaway sent to Jury Villa after she was voted out by Myles, AJ, Kaelan and Zara. However, she didn’t join the Jury.
During the Tribal Council, which took place the night after Morgan was voted out, Jonathan LaPaglia told the remaining castaways that she’d decided to leave the show.
“You may have noticed that Morgan is not on the Jury, she’s decided to leave the game and go home, but the game continues,” he said.
Kristin
Kristin Alston joined the jury in Episode 19, walking into the Villa with high hopes: “Bring on the food, bring on the bed, bring on anything,” she said.
But her welcome was a lot less than warm. Paulie confronted her immediately: “Everybody’s got their significant liar in the game, and it turns out you were mine.” Awkward.
Things escalated as Paulie accused her of throwing him under the bus, but Kristin fired back about his gameplay and lies.
“You’re saying what everyone wants to hear [but] I feel the information is different. It was always to save yourself,” she said.
Kate also dropped a shocker when she admitted to Logan that she, Kate Gloufchis and Morgan Mitchell didn’t really understand what going to Rocks meant.
“I thought, what happened was, it would go to the split vote, we’d go back and do it again, and then I thought that you and Zara get up and do a fire together, and then I was like ‘you’re going to kick her arse on the fire,’” she explained to Logan.
Yeah, dinner was… uncomfortable, to say the least.
“Well this was a different entrance than I was expecting,” Kristin summed up.
Logan
Logan Johannisen joined the jury in Episode 18, fresh from a near rock-draw elimination.
“Love the drama for me,” she quipped.
She broke the ice at a very tense dinner: “Okay, what’s the vibe here? Are we all angry at me?”
“I think we have questions,” said Karin, before Laura jumped in: “Apparently there’s a big yellow bus and I’m completely under it.”
Logan defended herself, saying: “I needed to play it up and make you look like the bad guy because I was still in the game.”
Paulie didn’t hold back either. “It was pretty nasty,” he added.
Logan called it an early night. Wise choice.
Karin
Karin Gunatilake joined the jury in Episode 17, and was welcomed by Laura and Paulie, who were genuinely thrilled to see her. Karin was just as excited, and maybe even more thrilled to spot a box of Cheezels.
When she was eliminated, though, she got right to venting.
“Once again, surrounded by idiots,” she said. Oof.
After her elimination, Karin opened up about her frustration with failed alliance-building: “I said, we don’t have an alliance, I’m gonna give you one… and then we just pick them off one by one… No one took the bait,” she recounted.
“It wasn’t even bait, it was just like an opportunity. And you floundered it. Idiots.”
At least with the thought of the Jury Villa, her mood lifted: “We can just gossip about everyone else.”
Paulie
Paulie Michael was the second jury member, landing in Episode 16. “I need the tea and then I need the food,” he said as he stepped into the Villa and reunited with Laura.
He quickly opened up about how blindsided he felt: “I wish I could tell you what happened because nobody was telling me anything.”
“I wasn’t privy to any conversations because obviously people don’t trust me.” Ouch.
He threw shade at AJ and Myles for leaving him out of the loop. And given how quickly Paulie’s been confronting people he feels betrayed by, those two should hope they don’t land in the Villa anytime soon.
Laura
Laura Darras was the very first Australian Survivor Jury member, arriving into the villa in Episode 15, where she got some solo time before the chaos began.
“I got got, that’s for sure,” she said after being voted out.
ICYMI, the original plan during Episode 15’s Tribal Council was to vote out Logan to break her tight alliance with Laura and dismantle the infamous “Buddy System.” But Logan trusted her gut and played her Hidden Immunity Idol. Laura was sent packing, in a move she didn’t see coming.
“They absolutely got one over on me. They completely fooled me. And you know what? Power to them.”
Hey, that’s the spirit. Right?
