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Fans of Survivor 45 remember the extent of showmance contestants Dee Valladares and Austin Li Coon shared on the CBS show. Now that the show's latest season has ended, we hope that Dee and Austin are living happily in each other's company. While we can't say for sure whether Dee and Austin are still dating or whether they have moved on, we sure hope the romance hasn't left the couple.
Dee and Austin shared similar journeys on Survivor 45. They almost always ended up being teamed together to begin the show with Reba's Tribe. Following the tribe's swap and reshuffle, they were momentarily separated from each other but united once again after the post-merge.
During their time on the show, Dee and Austin were often spotted flirting with each other and even sought a romantic reward in episode 12. Nevertheless, in the absence of any confirmation, we must wait and watch how their relationship develops now as the show has come to an end.
Part of the reason why there's no definite news may be the fact that CBS requires its show contestants to enter into a non-disclosure agreement regarding their experience on the show.
Internet believes The Survivor 45 stars Dee and Austin are dating
When show host Jeff Probst stated that a romance had emerged on the show and lasted until the end of filming, many fans took this to mean the relationship between Dee and Austin had flowered into a serious romance. Several users took to Reddit in a thread titled "Do we think Dee and Austin are still together?" by user u/confident7lucky7. One user commented:
Another user wrote:
One user remarked:
Another user stated:
In any case, fans can't say whether Austin and Dee are still together and will have to keep their fingers crossed, hoping for the best.
When asked about the current status of their relationship, Dee stated during an Entertainment Weekly interview:
"You're not going to like my answer. This has been a whirlwind of emotions and we have decided to keep it low key for now. It's been too crazy and it's getting crazier. So we've decided to keep it low key for now, only because it's been insane."
She then went on to explain the exact connotations of 'low-key':
"Keep it low key is you'll see pictures here and there but we're not going to focus on it right now because so much is happening in our lives, and yeah, we're just going to keep it low key for now."
That's that, then!
Austin-Dee reminds The Survivor host, Jeff Probst of Rob and Amber Marino
Survivor is a cutthroat show that does not allow for keeping one's guard down. The challenges and other hurdles on the show are meant to test the contestants' endurance, making sure that each person stands just for themselves. However, that doesn't mean love stories haven't blossomed on the show before.
Speaking on the topic, host Jeff Probst once mentioned that the affinity between Austin and Dee reminded him of former show contestants Rob and Amber Marino, who met on the show and later got married.
The latest season featured a special flashback to Rob and Amber, which Probst found particularly relevant. According to Cheat Sheet, Jeff said the following about the relationship between Austin and Dee:
"It did feel very similar to their (Rob and Amber) situation. I see why Austin said it, not just because of the romance but also, they’re fighting for control of the game. There is a question of, ‘What is going to happen? How would their romance impact the final outcome?’ You saw all of that with Rob and Amber, and you’re seeing all of that with the Reba four."
Dee becomes the sole survivor of The Survivor 45
23-year-old entrepreneur Dee Valladares survived the entire season and emerged as the subsequent winner in a final 5-3-0 jury vote after beating Austin and Jake in the show's final that aired on December 20, 2023. She took home the million-dollar cash prize.
