Jake Latimer talks about his big decision, and Jeff Probst explains how the show handles family emergency news from back home. Survivor 49 player missed birth o

Jake Latimer talks about his big decision, and Jeff Probst explains how the show handles family emergency news from back home.

Survivor 49 player missed birth of firstborn child during filming

Jake Latimer talks about his big decision, and Jeff Probst explains how the show handles family emergency news from back home.

By Dalton Ross

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September 9, 2025 9:32 a.m. ET

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Jake Latimer on 'Survivor 49'. Credit:

Robert Voets/CBS

- *Survivor 49* contestant Jake Latimer had to choose between playing *Survivor* and witnessing the birth of his son.

- The choice was complicated by his father's failing eyesight, meaning this was the last chance for his dad to see him play.

- Jeff Probst walks us through what they will and won't tell players during the game when it comes to medical situations back home.

*Survivor* contestants often sacrifice a lot in the pursuit of a million dollars and a future selling birthday wishes on Cameo. All players leave loved ones behind, while some lose their jobs, and others have had to put off wedding plans after being given that proverbial golden ticket. But perhaps no one sacrificed more than *Survivor 49* cast member Jake Latimer, who missed the birth of his first child — Jax Paul Kenneth Latimer, born on May 2 — to appear on the season.

Jake first revealed his predicament to ** during an interview in Fiji last April the day before filming on the season (which premieres Sept. 24 on CBS) began. This news came to light as Jake was discussing his casting journey to get on the show.

"Me and my wife were trying to have a baby for about four-and-a-half years," he explained. "We just had no luck. And we went for help, and doctors were helping, and then we finally just gave up. We weren't getting answers. The doctor said, 'We don't think it's going to work.' So I applied for *Survivor*, just kind of like something to do to get my mind off of it. And while I was in the process, she got pregnant and now our firstborn child is going to be born while I'm here on the island."

Of course, the first question that came to mind upon hearing this news was, *Ummm… how does the wife feel about that?*

"I gave her the option for me to bow out," Jake answered. "I said, 'This is our child. You're here alone.' She's Australian, so she doesn't have anyone up in Canada. But she says, 'No, you go out. This is your dream, go do it, and whatever money you make is mine.'"

Alex Moore and Jake Latimer on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

Fair. But going to play *Survivor* during the birth of a child is not just being away during the moment — it's not even knowing when, where, or how the moment even happened. That's because no outside world news makes its way to contestants during the course of the game, which means that producers would not let Jake know any details regarding his child's birth, unless something with horribly wrong.

"What I've gathered from it is no news is good news," Jake said before the game. "Of course, I would love to hear if my baby's born healthy and stuff like that, but at the same time, they can't favor me and then not tell other people what's happening with their families back in home. So I'm just going into it as no news is good news."

Host and showrunner Jeff Probst confirms that no special rules were put into place for Jake in terms of updating the player on his child's birth. "The rules on *Survivor* are really pretty clear," Probst tells EW. "Which is no news at all about anything that's happening in the world, including in your own family. Unless it is an emergency situation. Then, of course we would tell you and present you with the option that if you want leave the game and go home, you can."

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That's what happened to Terry Deitz, who was informed during day 13 of *Survivor: Cambodia* that his son Danny (who would go on to successfully receive a heart transplant) was in the hospital and that his family thought it best for him to return. Terry left the camp immediately to join his wife and son.

But had Jake left just one day later for Fiji, he may have gotten more information before settling into game mode. "May 11th is the due date," he revealed. "The baby's breached at the moment right now, and she's in her 37th week. The day after we got on the airplane to come here, she had an appointment to see if it was still breached or not. And if it was, she was going to have a scheduled. So if I had another 24 hours at home, I'd know. And it was still breached, I'm pretty sure. So I would've known the exact date if I had 24 more hours."

It may seem absolutely insane to some that Jake would pass up missing the birth of his child to appear on a reality TV program, especially when Probst notes that, "Any time a potential player has a potential life event happening, we always say the same thing: 'We love you, we would love to see you on *Survivor*, but we will be here next year. So if you need to put your family first, we're giving you our assurance that nothing will change a year from now and do what is right for you.'" However, in this case, there were extenuating circumstances concerning another family member that put a ticking clock on the opportunity.

"My dad has an eye condition called glaucoma," Jake explained right before filming. "Basically, it's a tunnel vision that gets smaller and smaller and smaller until it's just black. And this will be the last season that he'll be able to actually watch before his eyesight is all gone."

Jake Latimer on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

If Jake's dad was ever going to have a chance to watch his son on the TV show they used to watch together every week as a family, now was the time. "For me to make him proud one last time and be on his favorite show and have him watch his son on there, that will be it for his *Survivor* story."

That put Jake in the ultimate push and pull situation. "He watched *Survivor* with his dad, and his dad was losing his eyesight very fast." Probst says. "They thought this would be the last season of *Survivor* he would be able to watch. So for Jake, there was this tug on both ends: I have a new child coming into the world, but I have my dad who won't be able to ever see me play again."

It's a tug that may play out on the show itself. "It's a very emotional story," Probst teases. "And Jake's a very emotional guy. You know, he is a big dude and at first glance you think, 'Oh, he's going to be a certain way.' But immediately what you realize with Jake is he's this really lovable, goofy, raw physical presence who's playing this game for his dad and his unborn child. It's pretty remarkable and really powerful."

Jake Latimer on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

Indeed, emotions are always amplified while playing *Survivor* as the combination of being ripped away from loved ones while starving and freezing at night can lead to many a #SurvivorMeltdown. So how was Jake dealing with all the emotional whiplash of missing his child's birth upon entering the game?

"It's bittersweet," he admitted. "I'm out here, I'm on *Survivor*. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity, but at the same time, I'm always worried about what's going on at home and stuff like that. But she wrote me a nice little note before I left and it said, 'Don't worry about home, just go do your thing and you'll have a baby here waiting for you when you come home.'"

Yet Jake acknowledged that worrying would be inevitable once the going got tough. "It's those cold, rainy nights when I'm on bamboo trying to sleep with no pillow — those are the nights where it's going to kind of be like: Am I doing the right thing? But at the same time, it's once in a lifetime opportunity and that's the motivation behind me."

Of course, there are strategic game elements in all this to consider as well. Would Jake sharing his story bring people closer to him, or encourage them to vote him out lest he tell that million-dollar tale to a jury at the final Tribal Council?

"I have thought about this deeply," Jake admitted. "My plan is to have a very close ally that I would love to share the story with just to show my bond between them that I'm sharing this important thing of my life. I think I might keep it close to my heart for the rest of them, just because it could be a reason for them to send me home, like 'Let's send this guy home so he can go see the birth of his first kid.' That wouldn't be a bad thing, but I don't want to get voted off the show early. I'd rather come home with a healthy baby and start a new life."

The healthy baby box has already been checked, with Jax being born on day 13 of the game. Whether Jake also brought home the million dollars remains to be seen.

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