In case you somehow missed it, Survivor is bringing back past winners for the milestone installment of Season 40. The new season will be subtitled Survivor: Winners At War and will feature contestants competing for a $2 million prize. For one Survivor champion, it will mark the end of an era. Rob Mariano, aka "Boston Rob" is now admitting he is “officially” retiring after Winners At War.
The Survivor veteran plans to call it quits after competing in Survivor: Winners At War, which features 20 previous champions, himself and his wife Amber included. Fans will recall that Boston Rob made his Survivor debut back in 2001 during Survivor: Marquesas and subsequently the reality star become a franchise and CBS staple, also competing on The Amazing Race. All these years later, Boston Rob will be retiring, telling ET:
I feel like we have the cherry on top of the sundae this time, and we are officially retired. I’m very content. I'm happy, I'm complete. It's like the ball player coming to the end of a long career. It's bittersweet, but I definitely have enjoyed the ride.
At least Boston Rob will get to go out having competed with his wife, Amber Mariano, at his side again. They actually met and fell in love while competing on Survivor: All-Stars. The couple now has four daughters. You could argue they won one of the most significant prizes in the franchise’s history with that in mind. True love and claiming Survivor victory? Yes!
Almost 20 years after making his Survivor debut, Boston Rob seems content to call it with Survivor: Winners At War -- in this case, back-to-back seasons for Boston Rob. He acted as a mentor alongside Sandra Diaz-Twine during Season 39 (Island of the Idols). The duo even got statues made in their likeness created by Game of Thrones talent!
After a lot of memories, Boston Rob knows when to say goodbye, and it will come with Season 40, a nice round number to bid farewell to the franchise that made him a household name. It should be noted that before Survivor: Winners At War premieres, a retrospective special will air. I could see Boston Rob making quite a few appearances in it too.
Survivor’s Season 1 winner, Richard Hatch, will not be among those competing against Boston Rob and his wife during Season 40. Set to compete is Danni Boatwright, who Survivor host Jeff Probst believes could win the game. Fans will have to stay tuned to Winners At War to see if she does! Given Boston Rob’s self-imposed exit from the Survivor franchise, he will probably be going all-out to win this time around before his 45th birthday.
Boston Rob has indicated that alliances were already formed among competitors before Survivor: Winners At War even started. He insisted that he did not take part in creating any such allegiances, however. When Season 40 gets underway, fans will see how that decision played out and if Boston Rob is able to overcome the challenges that are likely to come his way.
As this is his last bid to claim victory in the franchise, you'd expect him to be "playing for all the marbles." To note, though, we'll have to see if his retirement sticks. I'm sure the reality series would be happy to have him back, should he change his mind.
Television fans have had to say goodbye to The Big Bang Theory and Game of Thrones last year. Is 2020 the year they have to say farewell to Boston Rob too? Tune in and see him in action while you still can! Survivor: Winners At War premieres this winter on Wednesday, February 12 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
