When Sandra Diaz-Twine competed on “Survivor: Pearl Islands” (Season 7) in 2003, she was a 28-year-old office associate with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, living in Fort Lewis, Washington, with her husband and two children (per CBS).
At first, the former chemical repair specialist didn’t seem like a strong competitor, lacking physical strength and being unable to swim. But her perseverance, intuition, and voting strategy of “anyone but me” (per People) helped her make it to the final two, where she triumphed in a 6–1 vote (per Entertainment Weekly).
Controversy erupted the day after Sandra’s win. The Associated Press reported (via People) that someone might have leaked the winner’s name early, as evidenced by a pattern of unusual online bets placed in Vancouver, Canada, before the season had even started airing.
“It’s either one of two things,” Simon Noble, CEO of bookmaker BetWWTS.com, told the Associated Press. “It’s either an insider from CBS or a friend or neighbor of Sandra’s. I would lean toward the former because it seems to be a regular pattern with ‘Survivor.'”
Sandra defended herself against the accusation, saying that, heading into the finale, she only knew that she was one of the season’s final two contestants — meaning she’d be taking home either $100,000 as the runner-up or $1 million as the winner.
“I wanted the money, whatever little bit I was getting,” she said. “I didn’t want to screw that up. I suffered too much out there. I lost 22 pounds.”
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