"It had to be someone, and it got to be me" — Stephanie Berger reflects on her early Survivor 48 exit

Stephanie Berger became the first person to be voted out of Survivor 48. In the premiere episode that aired on February 26, 2025, Stephanie had to exit the game after spending three days on the island. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly on February 27, 2025, she spoke about her experience, her issues while connecting with her tribemates, and her reaction to being eliminated so early.

Reflecting on her exit, Stephanie said:

"It had to be someone, and it got to be me. I get an opportunity that a vanishingly small number of people on planet Earth get to go do."

Stephanie acknowledged that someone always has to go first in the game. She added that, despite the disappointment, she still appreciated the opportunity to compete on Survivor 48, a chance that few people get. Her time on the show was marked by challenges both in the game and in her interactions with the Vula tribe.

She struggled to form alliances, especially with Sai Hughley, with whom she had a personality clash. When the vote came, she saw the signs and played her Shot in the Dark, but it wasn’t enough to keep her in the game.

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Stephanie Berger sheds light on her struggles with forming alliances and early game dynamics in Survivor 48

From the start, Stephanie had difficulty integrating into the Vula tribe. She attempted to build relationships with her tribemates but found that most of them were not interested in discussing strategy with her.

“I couldn’t get over why no one would talk game with me,” she shared.

She particularly found it hard to connect with Sai Hughley, who accused her of focusing too much on astrology rather than the game. Their differences made it difficult for them to work together, and Stephanie noted that it wasn’t just Sai, she had trouble forming strong bonds with most of the tribe. She felt that the lack of connection played a key role in her elimination.

Stephanie Berger also acknowledged the challenge performance as a contributing factor to her downfall. While she was blamed for the puzzle portion, she clarified that Vula was already far behind before that stage.

“We had too many people on the rope and not enough people on the crate,” she explained.

She pointed out that while the edit made it look like the puzzle was the problem, the real issue started earlier in the challenge. Despite her efforts, Stephanie realized that the social aspect of the game was working against her.

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Post-elimination reactions and looking ahead

Stephanie expressed her frustration over being left out of the early alliances. Talking about the Vula tribe, she mentioned:

“They didn’t want to play with me, so I’m not rooting for them,” she stated.

She noted that the tribe seemed fractured despite working together to vote her out. Rather than forming a strong team, she believed they would struggle to stay unified in the game.

"I'm giving them nothing. Let them all be demolished. Let them fu**ing spiral themselves out. Let them Matsing their way to the merge," she said.

Looking back on her Survivor experience, Stephanie focused on the positives. She appreciated the opportunity to play and recognized that being voted out first didn’t take away from the part of the experience.

“You can be proud of a loss,” she said.

She made the statement referencing a comment from Survivor host Jeff Probst about failing in the pursuit of something great.

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New episodes of Survivor 48 airs every Wednesday on CBS.