'Survivor: San Juan del Sur' names sole survivor

Updated



A tense, treacherous season of Survivor: San Juan del Sur came to a close Wednesday after weeks of scraping by in the exotic Nicaraguan locale. After a series of nail-biting challenges and manipulations, a new Survivor was crowned.

This season, the cast was made up of nine pairs of loved one, from family members to romantic partners, meaning the voting, backstabbing and underhanded alliances cut deep. As the final episode approached, only four contestants remained: Keith, Missy, Jaclyn and Natalie.

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After a difficult Survivor challenge -- one that involved climbing up and down a massive tower and navigating an obstacle course to collect puzzle pieces that would reveal a code needed to win the immunity idol – Jaclyn snagged the coveted idol and was safe from elimination.

During the last tribal council of the season, Jaclyn, Missy and Natalie were united in their decision to eliminate Keith – a result that the 53-year-old Louisiana native later said he was expecting.

The next day, Jaclyn, Missy and Natalie sat before the eight-member jury and presented their cases for why they should be the "Sole Survivor," a title that comes with a $1 million reward.

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Each contestant plead an emotional case before the jury -- made up of eliminated contestants -- and were allowed to address their concerns with the remaining survivors.

From Keith calling out Natalie for stabbing him in the back to Baylor Payne, Missy's daughter, crying as she told her mother how proud she was that she made it to the final three, the last tribal vote was every bit as emotional as aSurvivor fan could hope for.

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Finally, the votes for Survivor's new winner were cast and revealed at the top of the reunion show that Natalie Anderson was named the ultimate Sole Survivor!

Natalie is no stranger to the world of reality competition. She and her twin sister Nadiya -- who was also a contestant on Survivor this season but was voted off in the first episode – competed together on two seasons of The Amazing Race, but never won.

'Survivor' Nadiya Talks Reality Show Curse
'Survivor' Nadiya Talks Reality Show Curse


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