Now that Survivor has been airing for more than 25 years, fans of Jeff Probst’s beloved reality show have hundreds of people compete. While some fans are still figuring out which seasons to watch first, others are expert enough to know some former players refused to return to the show. Those passionate Survivor fans have likely seen every season, so they know about the show’s medical evacuations, the best winners, and about the best players in the show’s history.

Longtime Survivor fans will also remember that the show’s most popular player ever, Rupert Boneham, once played the game with his wife, Laura Boneham. While speaking exclusively to TheThings, Rupert explained why he believes that Laura deserves more credit for what she did on Survivor.

Rupert Boneham Explained What Made His Wife Laura Boneham’s Survivor Journey So Impressive

During Survivor: Blood vs. Water, veteran players were brought back with a loved one and separated into different tribes. As soon as the two tribes were brought together, they were both forced to vote someone out. Unfortunately for Rupert Boneham, his wife, Laura Boneham, was instantly voted out by her tribe and was going to be sent to Redemption Island. However, Rupert was given the opportunity to switch with Laura and he took it. That meant that Laura joined the game as part of a tribe with all returning players.

In July 2025, TheThings journalist Matthew Thomas interviewed Rupert Boneham. During that conversation, Rupert described the frightening situation that Laura found herself in with the returning players’ tribe. Rupert also stated that Laura’s new tribemates resented her from the moment she joined them.

“She walked into a game of returning cutthroats that, yes, they were pissed that I have gotten so much out of Survivor and they did the same damn thing and haven’t got half of what I got. The popularity, the fame, the jobs. But, they didn’t play like I did either.

They were mad as s*** that they ended up trading me that they knew would feed them and take care of them and build the damn shelter and do all the work to get Laura, who was kind of afraid and had to keep her mouth a little quiet, had to figure out how to live in a tribe of returning players.”

As his discussion with TheThings continued, Rupert discussed how long Laura lasted during the game and how much he respects how she played.

“Laura made it twenty-one days. She would have still made it further if she hadn’t been such a sweetheart and told Vytas they were voting him out. She just made a newbie mistake. She felt bad and wanted to wanted to make it okay… It was pretty good. She made it twenty-one days on a damn hard drive. And, yeah, she I consider her a pretty good survivor player.”

During Survivor: Blood vs. Water, Laura wound up being the last person to leave the game before the jury. While that was unfortunate, Rupert told TheThings that he and his wife then got to enjoy a glorious-sounding vacation together. “Laura and I then went on a beautiful vacation to Thailand on CBS’s dime and spent a week in Bangkok shopping and playing and messing around and eating and running around Bangkok. A week in Chiang Mai, playing out in the jungle, riding elephants, playing on the farm. A week in Phuket, out on the beach, surfing, playing, coming home with no credit card bill, and a wonderful experience.”

As great as it is that Rupert is proud of how Laura did on Survivor, that isn’t the most important thing.

While speaking to TheThings, Rupert was asked to describe how Laura feels about her Survivor tenure. Fortunately, Rupert revealed that Laura is proud of how she played and happy that she stayed true to herself.

“Laura’s very proud. She knows. She’s still not that mad at herself for even telling Vytas that they were gonna vote him out because she is a good guy. She’s one of those good guys. She likes the way she played the game. She didn’t have to be, you know, lying and manipulating, swearing on her kid’s life. She played the game the way you’re supposed to play it.”

Rupert Boneham Revealed His Wife Was Tricked By Survivor’s Producers

While talking to TheThings in July 2025, Rupert Boneham revealed the story about how his wife, Laura Boneham, wound up competing on Survivor. First off, Rupert described how the conversations with the show’s casting team about Laura going on Survivor began.

“When they asked me, ‘We’ve got a great idea. We’re gonna have loved ones.’ I gave them my cousin, my brother, my aunt, my uncle, my nephews, all these people. They talked to them. They called up different people, but they came back to me and really, they said, ‘Rupert, we really want Laura.’ I said, ‘You guys got her phone number. Call her and ask her. She always told me she never wants to play the game, but you guys can ask her.’

They, within five minutes, had her on the phone, and I’m listening in. Of course, I’m eavesdropping, and I hear her say within the first minute or two, ‘You mean if I say no, Rupert can’t play? So, you know, they’re already they were already manipulating her.”

Rupert then explained that he warned Laura that the team behind Survivor would try to manipulate her, but he was surprised by how fast it happened. “I told her it’s gonna be a mind manipulation going in there. They’re you’re gonna use our relationship against us. I just didn’t think they would do it in the first hour. “

While talking to TheThings, Rupert explained why he and Laura felt misled by the casting process for Survivor: Blood vs Water.

As the biggest Survivor fans will already know, Rupert and Laura never really got to play the game together.