The new Brawn tribe were left shocked when they entered Tribal Council, only to be told by Australian Survivor host Jonathan LaPaglia that no one would go home because Ben Bylett had decided to leave. And now, Ben has revealed why.
“I know you’ve all come here tonight to send someone home, but we’ve had a development this evening, which means that’s not going to happen. Now, this might come as a bit of a shock, but Ben, from Brains, has decided to leave the game,” Jonathan began.
“That means tonight, you will not be voting; no one’s going to be going home from this tribe.
“Sadly, [Ben] won’t be with us anymore. But, the good news is, you guys get to stay together, and one of you gets a reprieve tonight. Someone gets a second chance, so I suggest, use it wisely.”
The announcement came with no extra information about what exactly happened to Ben.
Why did Ben leave Australian Survivor?
Ben took to social media to explain his unexpected departure, sharing a heartfelt message about the challenges he faced in the game on his Instagram.
“Playing Survivor is bloody tough,” Ben admitted. “I tore my calf muscle in that epic water challenge when Myles [Kuah] aced all the goals,” he continued, adding that while it wasn’t highlighted much on the show, the injury was tough to push through.
Things got worse after he moved to the Brains Beach, where he endured several nights sleeping in a puddle, leading to a serious illness. After a physically intense Hoop Challenge, Ben said he “re-tweaked” his calf muscle and began struggling to breathe.
“I couldn’t catch my breath for hours afterwards, and I realised something was actually pretty wrong with me.”
His symptoms worsened, and after his heart rate started acting strangely, production intervened. Ben was flown home and later diagnosed with severe pneumonia.
Reflecting on his Survivor experience, he shared that he lost 13 kilograms in just 24 days and unknowingly played with Ross River fever. But despite the brutal conditions, Ben remains grateful for the experience and hinted that he has “unfinished business” with the game, hoping for another shot in the future.
Ben reveals he suffered health issues around the time Survivor was filming
In November, Ben took to Instagram to share that he’d suffered numerous health issues over the past “three to four months”.
Filming for the Australian Survivor Brain v Brawn II season took place over the 2024 winter, meaning his sicknesses appear to line up with when he left the show.
“So, the last three to four months I completed stopped training,” he began in the clip. “I’ve had pneumonia, I’ve had Ross River fever, torn a calf muscle, chipped teeth.”
“I lost 13 kilos in a very short amount of time,” Ben added, clearly referring to his stint on Australian Survivor.
How did Paulie feel about Ben leaving Survivor?
Before new Brawn’s Tribal Council, it looked like Paulie’s head was on the chopping block, with most of his teammates plotting to vote him out.
As Karin succinctly put it during the pre Tribal scramble at the beach, “I think tonight it will 100% be Paulie going home, no doubt about it.”
However, Paulie was afforded a second chance at the game due to Ben’s departure.
While the contestants weren’t told at Tribal the reason behind Ben’s choice, Paulie told Chattr that he was still devastated to hear that Ben was leaving, even though it helped him avoid getting his torch snuffed.
“It wasn’t a relief at all. I was upset for him,” Paulie said. “Nobody wants to go out of the game like that.”
“Obviously, I was unaware of the details, but it must have been a really hard choice for him to pull himself out of the game. So it was sad. It was really sad for me to hear.”
Ben will be missed!
Stream Australian Survivor 2025 Sundays – Tuesdays on Channel 10 and 10Play.
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