"Speaks volumes about him" — Survivor alum Natalie Cole opens up about Mike White's unexpected The White Lotus offer

Survivor stars Natalie Cole and Carl Boudreaux made a cameo as hotel guests in The White Lotus season 3 premiere. Fans quickly noticed them in a different TV setting.

In a February 17, 2025, interview with Entertainment Weekly, Natalie shared that creator Mike White initially had a negative impression of her from Survivor. However, she reached out, breaking the ice, which led to their collaboration. Mike had once thought he’d never speak to her again.

"The fact that he could look beyond the way he felt about me in Fiji and ask me to come do a part speaks volumes about him as a person. Initially, he thought he was never going to speak to me again," said Natalie in the Entertainment Weekly interview.

Mike White was the runner-up in the CBS reality competition series in 2018. He voted Natalie Cole off the show on day 15. At the time, White and Cole were on different sides of their tribe, which led to her elimination.

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Survivor alum Natalie Cole opens up about patching things up with Mike White

Natalie Cole had a difficult time with Jeremy Crawford, a member of her tribe, during her season of Survivor. She claimed in the Entertainment Weekly interview that Jeremy bullied her from the start. Natalie stood up for herself but ended up with a bad reputation.

Natalie's actions led to Jeremy's elimination, which upset Mike White, who was friends with Crawford. As mentioned earlier, this led to Mike later voting Natalie off the show.

After the season, Natalie and Mike didn't talk for years. Mike thought Natalie was mad at him. They eventually ran into each other at a wedding, where they cleared up the misunderstanding. Natalie told Mike she wasn't mad at him, and they hugged it out.

"I ran into him at Natalia [Azoqa]'s wedding and he did everything but look at me. When we finally caught each other's eyes, I waved at him, and oh my God, he ran across the room and threw himself into a hug with me," revealed Natalie in the Entertaiment Weekly interview.

After Natalie and Mike had put their past differences behind them, Natalie would often congratulate Mike on his Emmy wins for The White Lotus. During one conversation, Mike asked Natalie if she'd be interested in appearing on the show if it got a third season. Natalie agreed but didn't think Mike was serious.

Natalie hadn't watched The White Lotus initially, but her son told her it was a popular show and she should follow up with Mike about his offer. Natalie's son encouraged her to reach out to Mike, but she waited for him to make the first move. Mike eventually texted Natalie, reminding her about his offer. She expressed some concerns about the show's explicit content, particularly in season 2.

"He said season 1 was about greed, and season 2 was about s*x, and season 3 is about death," stated Natalie in the Entertainment Weekly interview.

Mike told Natalie that Carl Boudreaux, another Survivor alum, would play her husband in the show. Natalie thought this added a humorous touch to her appearance. Initially, Natalie's role was supposed to be a brief cameo.

However, Mike later sent her some lines to learn. When Natalie arrived on set, Mike gave her even more lines to say. Cole found it interesting that her role expanded from a single cameo to several lines across two episodes.

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Survivor season 48 premieres on Wednesday, February 26, at 8 pm ET on CBS. The White Lotus season 3 airs new episodes on Sundays at 9 pm ET on HBO.