? SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox ? What happened after has been talked about many times by Survivor fans since the moment it aired almost five months ago. Host Jeff Probst allowed Joe to cross tribal lines, as he embraced Eva and carried out what she had instructed him to do to calm her down. As her episode ended, Eva used the opportunity to reveal her autism to everyone else in the game, in a moment that even had Probst in tears. And, as Eva reveals in an exclusive interview with Parade, the cast were not the only people in her life who would find out about her autism through this emotionally-charged moment."I was a little nervous," she admits. "Because all the people that I grew up with, my family, my very close friends, they all knew that I had autism. They've been there for me in the situations that I go through with getting overstimulated. They've seen me develop as an individual and how I handle the struggles I have. But the people I work with, the people in my day-to-day life, aren't aware that I go through these things. So when this came out, people had questions, and they were open to talk to me about them, because I was so open about it on the show on TV. It kind of opened me to be able to speak on in my life."When CBS aired the moment and its subsequent aftermath, it prompted an immediate and overwhelming response from the fanbase. The video of Eva and Joe has racked up 1.3 million views, one of the show's most popular clips in recent memory. The two made headlines in many major publications. When Survivor was announced to be nominated for Outstanding Reality Competition at this year's Primetime Emmy Awards, the moment chosen to represent the show was none other than Eva winning the challenge for her tribe. While the scene clearly shows a moment that transcends the game of beachside betryal, its response also shows it may have transcended the show as well.Read below for Parade's full interview with Eva Erickson and Joe Hunter, including their response to how their scene was portrayed, as well as where their relationship currently stands.
I often hear Survivor players say they get to experience their season two different ways: Once on the island and once watching the episodes. Eva, what was your anticipation of getting to watch the season, given everything you went through on the island?Eva Erickson: I mean, it was a lot, right? Because I went out there to compete in the game, and I didn't really think that much about it being on TV, and so many people seeing me for who I am and what I go through. And so that part was kind of iffy. Because you're like, "I don't know what they're going to show, what they're not going to show. How are they going to portray me?" They can do whatever they want, editing-wise.But ultimately, I knew what I did out there, and I was very proud of that. And I was ready for the world to see me for who I am and what I go through with someone with autism. And so I kind of trusted CBS from the entire time that I went through the interview process to get on Survivor, I felt that they truly cared about me and wanted to tell my story in the right way. And so I wasn't concerned that it was going to be done poorly. I was just nervous because I'm like, "Oh, how are people going to react when they see that I have autism?" Because so many people in my life didn't even know that before it was on TV.Oh, really?So what was the immediate reaction to the people in your life having that information revealed in such a public way?Eva: It came out right away in the trailer before the season. It just kicked it all off; that's the first thing that I said. And it was kind of like, "Oh, wow. This is starting off now." And I was a little nervous, because all the people that I grew up with, my family, my very close friends, they all knew that I had autism. They've been there for me in the situations that I go through with getting overstimulated. They've seen me develop as an individual and how I handle the struggles I have. But the people that I work with, the people at Brown, in my day-to-day life, people aren't aware that I go through these things. So when this came out, people had questions, and they were open to talk to me about them, because I was so open about it on the show on TV. I was like, "Hey, if anyone wants to know more about what I go through, I'm happy to talk about it," which was really cool. And I saw just such a great response, especially from my teammates who weren't aware before seeing the show. And it's really cool. It kind of opened me up to be able to speak on in my life.Joe, I want to talk about your perspective. I was sitting right in front of you when there was a special screening of the premiere in the spring. And you were very clearly overcome with emotion when you watched back the scene of Eva revealing she had autism, and how that cemented for you that you would always support her. What was your reaction to how your role in her story was portrayed?Joe Hunter: It was crazy. Like Eva – we're so similar – I really didn't understand. I mean, obviously, we know the show. We're fans; we watch it. But I didn't understand the magnitude. I didn't go into it thinking, "What's this going to look like?" because I was just being me. I was like, "Alright, we're just going to walk through this journey." Well, when Eva approached me, it was so genuine and so real. It just stuck with me as a best friend that I've known my whole life. I was like, "Hey, this is what we're talking about." It just felt so natural that I didn't even think for a moment [about] that little conversation we had, because it was so [many] other things we're dealing with. We're missing home; we're on an island. I'm not saying it was huge, but we both kind of like, "Okay, cool. We're good. We moved on." It wasn't staged. It was just so natural between us. I had no idea the impact. So it allowed us this freedom to just be super viral. But what it did for me was, the trust with Eva, it chokes me up every time I think about it, because it was so genuine. Her vulnerability with me, I was like, "This will be my friend for life." Because I could tell it was such a personal thing. So for me, in that moment, it was truly like, "This is a friend now. This is an actual friend." And I'm super picky about that. And she was so vulnerable. And think about this, Mike. This is the thing that really trips me out. What if we're on a different season? What if we're on a different tribe? She would have easily been able to do that with other people; our cast is great. But what are the odds that it also synced us up together in that moment? That is what I'm super thankful for.Let's get into arguably the biggest moment of the season, when Eva, you have an emotional "episode" towards the end of a challenge, and Joe steps out of the game to calm you down. In the wake of that, you reveal your autism to the rest of the cast, a moment that even has Jeff in tears. Obviously, you then had to put yourself back into the game. But was there any recognition in the moment that this would become something as big as it ultimately wound up being?Eva: I think I recognized at the time that it was a very big deal, and I just felt so grateful to be so understood by everyone around me. It's really just every person in the cast, on the crew. All the positive feedback on people's faces before even talking to anyone, them just nodding along and being like, "Oh, okay." They wanted to understand that just really was something that was so comforting to me. Because there's been times in my life where I've had episodes and I hadn't been comfortable enough to talk about it. When I was in high school – and this used to happen more frequently – I would get overwhelmed with sporting events. People would look at me like I was crazy, and I was used to being seen as something was wrong with me. But in this instance, people understood that, no, something's not wrong with me. I just have autism, which is something that makes me special and different and gives me challenges that are unique. But it also gives me strengths, and I can highlight those, too. You've seen me at my lows, but now you get to see me at my highs, too, and everyone was open to understanding that.And it really was a big switch in my life that I'm like, "Oh, people need to hear about this." Because there's so many people that don't have that "a-ha" moment where they're like, "Oh, this is okay." So I was really excited about getting to bring that forward and knowing that I was understood. And especially seeing how people didn't treat me differently afterwards, too. There was no babying. There was no being like, "Oh, we have to be nice to Eva because she's different." No, everyone was just like, "Oh, okay, cool. This is who you are. We've seen that. We get it. Let's go forward." And I think that was what was so special. Everyone just accepted me for who I was, and we continued on with the game. And I'm so grateful to have had that experience. But yeah, I had no idea it would blow up so much.
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