Sandra Diaz-Twine nearly made it to the end of The Traitors season 2, using her social savvy to guide her to a fifth-place finish.
Sound familiar? The so-called Queen of Survivor, 49, has a knack for sticking around in these games by any means necessary. As the only woman to ever win Survivor twice, Sandra is a bona fide legend, most recently lending her wisdom to new players in season 39, Island of the Idols, then appearing in season 40’s Winners at War battle royale. But would she ever return again, given the chance?
“I don’t know if I would come back,” she told Entertainment Weekly in an interview published on Wednesday, March 20. “Why would they even want me back? You know what I’m saying?”
She added, “I’d have to give it a lot of thought because I feel like I might have already moved on.”
While Sandra isn’t sure whether she’d play Survivor again, the possibility that she’ll be offered the opportunity is looking slimmer than ever. Since season 40, the series has not had any returning castaways play again (unless you count Bruce Perreault, who suffered an injury minutes into season 44 and returned in 45). Host Jeff Probst has already said we won’t see any returners through season 48, but season 50 seems like the ideal time to bring back some legends.
Many fans would certainly love to see Sandra return for a season 50 celebration, but she said that the challenges on The Traitors had her “huffing and puffing.” As she watches Survivor evolve in its new era, those challenges are only getting tougher. Not that Sandra was ever known for her physical prowess — she frequently sat out of challenges, relying on her own social game for safety.
“Everybody keeps talking about season 50 as the best of the best,” Sandra said. “Yeah, I consider myself one of the best, but I don’t know … I’m not as young as I used to be. I’m really not.”
But even if a return to Survivor isn’t likely for Sandra, she doesn’t seem done with reality TV quite yet.
“There’s stuff in the pipeline for Peacock, and I hope that they call me for other things as well,” she said. “I feel like The Traitors had a winning combination with all reality stars from across different franchises. So anyone that would want to put on a spectacular season of something would do the same.”
This also comes after Survivor legend Cirie Fields appeared on Big Brother 25, lasting 93 days in the BB House and placing fifth. Sandra shut the door immediately on doing a full Big Brother season (“My husband would divorce me”), but left open the possibility of something shorter (“Keep it short and sweet”).
Does that mean the next time Celebrity Big Brother rolls around, we could see Sandra on the CBS hit? It’s easy to picture her setting up shop in the HoH room, pulling strings from the sidelines.
