‘Survivor 49’: Shannon Reveals Sage Hug Finally Happened & Where They Stand Now

Sage Ahrens-Nichols refused to hug Shannon Fairweather after she staged a successful blindside elimination against her in Survivor 49 Episode 6, which aired on Wednesday, October 29, on CBS. Shannon hugged her other new tribe members, Jawan Pitts and Steven Ramm, but Sage said she couldn’t accept the hug because it wouldn’t be “genuine.” She offered her handshake instead, and you could see Shannon processing the flood of information this rejection delivered in the moment. (Read our Survivor 49 Episode 6 recap here.)

Shannon, the seventh person sent home in Survivor 49 (just one episode shy of the merge), tells TV Insider that when she responded to her elimination with lots of words of gratitude and love, she was trying to soothe herself through the shock of the blindside.

“Although the dagger was fully going through my heart, and although I was fully shocked, I feel like I was able to process that very quickly to then give people hugs,” she tells us.

Here, Shannon reveals when she and Sage finally had their first hug (it was seemingly at a recent Survivor event), and details the many long talks that led up to that genuine hug, saying, “I think there’s actually a certain depth to the friendship that we do have now because of what we’ve been through together.”

Did watching this episode help you better understand your elimination at all?

Shannon Fairweather: I’ve talked with Sage, Steven, and Jawan extensively. They’re my homies, so I had a good idea of pretty much everything that happened, everything that was said. Watching it back live for me was more of an opportunity to come full circle with the experience, which felt very fulfilling and satisfying.

Have you and Sage hugged since filming ended?

You’re actually the first person to ask. Sage called me almost instantly once she got home, and we talked extensively. Something that I love about me and Sage’s relationship is our ability to hear each other. And because we have a certain emotional maturity, I feel like when we are aware of our own triggers and we’re both very secure in who we are, and so we’re able to hear someone else without getting defensive. And so me and Sage have had some fantastic conversations. After our first or second conversation, it ended with [Sage saying], “Shannon, I just want you to know, I cannot wait to hug you.”

We did get to have our first hug in Boston around a month ago, and it was really awesome and it was really emotional. Me and Sage are both very emotional people who wear our hearts on our sleeves, obviously. So it was great. It’s been a really special opportunity to heal that friendship, navigate that friendship, and I think there’s actually a certain depth to the friendship that we do have now because of what we’ve been through together.

CBS

You’re a sensitive, heart-on-your-sleeve kind of person. What were you feeling watching Sage say, I can’t hug you, it wouldn’t be genuine? I imagine for you that’s like realizing, “Oh, you did this. I understand now.” What was that like for you in the moment?

In the moment to be blindsided — and I was so blindsided, I was shocked — there’s almost this [feeling of] this is really cool, this is really epic. The fan in me is like, not everyone gets to experience a blindside. So there’s that element.

I was always very aware that I could get voted out. I was always very aware that I could get blindsided. I was aware of the game that I was playing, and I knew that if and when that happened, I wanted to handle it with a certain level of grace and respect for myself and the players, so although the dagger was fully going through my heart, and although I was fully shocked, I feel like I was able to process that very quickly to then give people hugs.

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And then to go over to Sage, her offering the handshake, for me, my brain was like, “What’s happening here?” It was already so much, so then the handshake, it wasn’t until afterwards, where I was like, “Oh, geez, she didn’t accept a hug. I wonder what’s there.” For me, it was difficult to almost have that as an open loop. Obviously, I couldn’t talk to her about it [until after filming ended], but it was a great opportunity for personal growth, that’s for sure.

Finding peace in the moment, no matter what’s happening, no matter the situation. It was difficult, and I was more concerned about what happened and did I hurt her? I never wanted to hurt anybody. I never wanted to hurt anyone’s feelings. So for me, it became more about I hope I didn’t do anything to hurt her. And after talking, it was personal for her in certain ways, but I understand the strategic, personal, just how it evolved throughout the game. So it was surprising, yeah.

You were saying a lot of words of love and gratitude as you made your way out of Tribal Council. Were you trying to soothe yourself by saying those things?

Kelli, that’s deep!

It looked like you were trying to comfort yourself in a moment of shock.

Yeah. Oh, and I don’t know if you saw me walking out, I said, “All good.” That was me instantly going into — because your body in that moment, we’re watching a TV show, but it becomes the life you’re living. I am starving. I’m tired. I miss my family. I’m sleeping outside, and I’m surrounded by people [whom] I don’t know if I can trust. The cortisol is very high, the adrenaline is very high. You’re living out this dream. It’s epic. It’s incredible, right? It’s so cool. And so there’s so many emotions. And then to already be in that hemisphere and then have to get blindsided, it’s just shocking. And it was just really important for me to be able to respond in that moment from kindness and from who I am, versus react. Because if I reacted, I would’ve fainted. If I really responded to what my emotions were feeling in that second, in that moment, it would’ve been a very different situation. But I wanted to leave with a certain amount of integrity, respect, and love.

It’s funny because the part of me I think I feel like I would’ve felt bad for doing that to somebody, too, to blindside somebody. So I think I almost didn’t want them to feel bad, too. I wanted to leave them with them knowing it’s OK, because I just have so much compassion and love and respect for anyone who plays the game that I didn’t want to have a situation where I caused them any further stress than there already is in the game.

Robert Voets / CBS

What’s your understanding of why Sage staged a blindside against you? To a viewer, it’s because you floated her name and wouldn’t talk strategy with her.

My understanding is very different than that because one of the first conversations I had with Sage after our first tribe swap was, let’s say what we need to say to get through this, so although I knew some people may have said to Sage that I was saying her name, I trusted her so much because I felt like even if that happened, she knew we were doing what we needed to do to get through it. So I felt like I had this really unique bond with Sage. Naturally, I had to adjust to so many situations where I knew no one would believe if I just kind of played dead. And that wasn’t going to be my role. I was like, I’m going to give this to my all. I am going to be as strategic as possible.

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I’m going to offer them the best that I get. And if it works, it works. And if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. Me and Sage have talked for hours at this point. Understanding her perspective and where she was coming from — she told me this, and this could be something that is more her story to tell than mine — but I know for her, me and her did bond really closely very early. And then I know she became aware that I was closer with Savannah, Rizo, and Nate. She has just explained to me how that was emotionally difficult to some degree as well, which I totally understand. And so she realized I was closer with other people and I was closer with other people than I was with her. And she did what she had to do for what she thought was best for her game.

You were part of that original Uli alliance, which, for the most part, is still pretty strong heading into next week’s merge. It’s the biggest alliance that remains at this point. From your perspective, who’s the biggest threat from that alliance?

I would say Rizo’s in a really good spot. I don’t think that people are seeing him as a huge threat outside of his idol. And I think if he uses his idol and having it and knowing that people know that he has it, he can use that to play strategically as well. He and Savannah have both been pretty set up with the tribe swaps and being in the dominant space there, which has not only helped them get further, but also has deepened their relationships with each other as well. So I think Rizo’s in a pretty good spot. I don’t think people are going to necessarily see him as the head of the snake of the alliance. Plus, he has the idol, so he can use that intentionally as well.

What else do you wish that fans could have seen from your performance this season?

There [are] three things that I think are just kind of cool to know. One is me and Jawan’s alliance that he approached me about on day one. It was called the Salt and Pepper Alliance. And I just said yes to it instantly. I loved Jawan so much, and I loved him back then, too. I later realized I feel like I couldn’t trust him as much, but it was interesting because when he blindsided me, when he gave me that hug, he goes, “Salt and Pepper.” And it was kind of sick. I think that’s one kind of cool thing. Two is the alliance of the two, two, two from the three different tribes that I was trying to create; it did come together. Obviously, without the people who weren’t there, but me, Kristina, Steven, Alex, and then I wanted to bring in Rizo, and we wanted Alex to bring in blue Sophi, hypothetically, obviously.

That alliance came together. I named it “The Family.” And I thought that was a cool alliance. I feel like that’s important to understanding why I wanted to vote out Jawan was because I wanted to maintain relationships with those people. And then the third thing that I just think is important and relevant to my story and why I trusted Sage so much was because I felt like even if she knew people were saying that I said her name, we said, let’s say what we need to say to get through this, which is why I never worried about it. So those are the three things that I feel are relevant.

Robert Voets / CBS

Did you go into Tribal Council really thinking that Jawan was going to get eliminated?

Yeah, absolutely. I was shocked. And so if it wasn’t going to be Jawan, I didn’t know who it was going to be. There was a moment when my name came up the first time and the second time, that little bit of hope was like, what if a different name comes out? But that wouldn’t have really made any sense. So I definitely thought it was going to be Jawan, and I love Jawan. That’s why I put the little hearts next to his name. So it’s an interesting game. It’s an interesting game to play because I really do just love these people so much. It’s interesting sometimes to reflect on how I ended up in this arena of sorts.

Well, congrats on making it onto the show and for making it as far as you did. It looked like you had a fun time, even though it was stressful.

I had so much fun. It was honestly more stressful, probably once I was out of it, just processing it. But being in the game, a huge part of my game was really connecting with people. To have the opportunity to talk to people at that depth with that time, it was a really special experience.

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