Felicity Palmateer has revealed that she cheated the rules during her time on the reality TV series, Survivor Australia.
The 33-year-old, who appeared on two seasons of Survivor in 2021 and 2023, shared the confession on social media in a video titled “another unhinged story, reality TV edition.”
“What did I do? I decided that I would want three things in the game: chapstick, eyebrow twirler and tweezers, because you know, you might get the odd ingrown hair, you might want to pluck it out,” she said.
“So, got those three things, duct taped them together, double-bagged them in a condom and put them up inside of myself.”
Palmateer then explained that the Survivor contestants get searched at a checkpoint before they play, which was something she had to navigate when sneaking the concealed items in.
“Stripped down into my undies, little did they know I had a little secret thing in nature’s pocket, played the whole first challenge with that inserted inside of me,” she said.
“Got back to camp, whipped it out in the dunny and used it as bartering for the rest of the game.”
The West Aussie originally told the story in a video in 2024 which has got more than 1.1 million views and the most recent retelling has got more than 11,000 views and has been flooded with comments.
“That’s so orange is the new black of you!” one person said.
“I’m so confused on why you needed to do this,” commented another.
Palmateer’s Survivor status was cemented during the ‘Brains V Brawn’ 2021 series, where competing on the Brawn tribe, she reached the final three. While filming on Day 34, she received news that her mother had passed away from early-onset dementia but chose to stay and finish the game in her honour.
The West Aussie is best known as a professional surfer, and has transitioned into a big-wave specialist in recent years. A major milestone in her career was being invited to the prestigious 2024/2025 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational at Waimea Bay, Hawaii—an event that only runs when wave heights consistently reach 40 feet.
Palmateer is also a leading World Surf League commentator and will be heading to Margaret River next week to commentate the 2026 Margaret River Pro.
