A potential Survivor alliance could be brewing in the Big Brother house this season.
On Monday, July 31, Cory Wurtenberger and Jared Fields were announced as two of the newest 16 cast members of the reality series. While their official cast bios left out their connections to the CBS sister show, fans quickly made the connections.
Jared, 25, is the son of Survivor legend Cirie Fields. Cirie competed on the competition series four times including 2006’s Panama, 2008’s Micronesia, 2010’s Heroes Vs. Villains and 2017’s Game Changers. Jared briefly appeared on Game Changers to show his mom some support during the loved one’s visit.
Despite never winning Survivor, Cirie has been deemed one of the greatest players to have never taken home the million-dollar prize. Earlier this year, Cirie was crowned the champion of another show — the first season of Peacock’s The Traitors. Following her win, Cirie exclusively told Us Weekly about how she is a fan of Big Brother and thought about competing on the series.
“I would love to go on Big Brother! I think if I would’ve done Big Brother first — when I say that to the Survivor people, they say, ‘No, you’re supposed to come on Survivor,” she told Us in January. “I feel like if I’d have went on Big Brother first, hands down I would’ve won.”
Cory, meanwhile, is the younger brother of Survivor 42’s Zach Wurtenberger. While Zach, 23, was the superfan of his respective season — which aired in 2022 — he was the first one voted out of the game. (Jackson Fox was the first contestant to be eliminated from the game due to a medical evacuation.)
Following Zach’s brief time on the show, he opened up to Us about his time on the island. “I look at the entire experience so positively. It may be that the three days in the game — at the very least the final day in the game — wasn’t particularly the most fun day of my life,” he explained in March 2022. “When I think about getting to be at Ponderosa afterwards with people and, like, all the pre-game stuff, and getting to live my dream and have all these firsts of getting to go to challenges and tribal and all of that, every single step I just felt so grateful that I had this opportunity.”
Zach wasted no time sharing his support for Cory’s big news. “When we were little, Survivor was always my dream. Cory’s was Big Brother,” he tweeted on Monday. “But even as kids, we knew this wasn’t really possible. They couldn’t cast both of us. That just doesn’t happen. I’m so, so proud of my brother.”
He went on to speculate on whether his brother will recognize Jared. He confirmed he watched Cirie’s Game Changers season multiple times and was aware of the rumors that Jared was almost cast on Survivor’s David Vs. Goliath season.
“Wanted to answer this question specifically because I know it could have huge ramifications. Cory has watched Game Changers more than once, and he knows the Jared David vs. Goliath story,” he shared via Twitter. “My gut says he doesn’t recognize him, but it is totally possible.”
