His $1 million dream came to an abrupt end last Thursday ( March 12 ) after only 15 days.
Spencer Duhm ( pronounced "doom" ) 19, the youngest and only openly gay contestant on Survivor: Tocantins, was the fifth contestant voted out.
"I didn't see it coming at all; it all changed that last day. The [ immunity ] challenge put the target on me, then I got the target off me, then [ ultimately ] it was back to me," Duhm said less than 24 hours after his torch was extinguished by Jeff Probst on the CBS reality-TV show.
"It was very disappointing," he said. "Being a fan [ of the show ] , you think, 'Man, I couldn't even save myself past three tribal councils; that's pretty pathetic.' But it's OK, though I never would have guessed that a challenge would have put a target on my back.
"Overall, it was an incredible experience. Had it lasted [ only ] three days, it [ still ] would have a dream come true. So 15 days is amazing. And I still got the whole experience—just a condensed version."
Also on what proved to be Duhm's final episode, he revealed in an on-camera interview that he is gay. He was not open about his sexuality to other Survivors, though one tribemate suspected he was gay, he said.
"I was surprised [ CBS executives ] put it in the episode because it was such a non-issue when we were out there," Duhm said. "There was only one interview that I did [ about being gay. ] In Survivor, people try to find little things to separate you from the group and target you. I didn't want that little thing to be being gay.
"Sidney was the only one who suspected that I was gay. In one scene, she was fishing [ to find out if I was gay ] because she suspected I was gay, but only because I wouldn't get real close at night and snuggle like most people [ do, mainly to stay warm ] . But that was just because I don't do that when I sleep."
Duhm would not comment about his personal life, though Internet reports link him with former Survivor winner Todd Herzog.
"My personal life is going real well, though I'd rather not comment on it. Yeah, I'm good," he said.
So should we read between the lines?
"Yeah; I don't know; I keep that private," he said.
Duhm is back at school now at the University of Florida—and anxiously awaiting the start of the Major League Baseball season that will hopefully include, he said, another playoff run for his beloved Chicago Cubs.
"I expected [ Survivor ] to be as hard as it was. You can't really prepare yourself for how your body is going to react to hunger and exhaustion," he said. "The one thing I didn't really think about [ going in ] was, the first challenge. I've never really gone three days without eating anything or [ getting ] much sleep. That [ challenge ] was terribly difficult, by far the hardest one I had out there.
"I'm just waiting for my Cubbies to start. They made some really strange off-season transactions. I'm not sure they got any better [ during the off-season ] ; in fact, I think they got worse."
