Cirie Fields Says 'Survivor 50' Is About Finally Winning After 20 Years (Exclusive)
For more than 20 years, Cirie Fields has carried the reputation of being Survivor’s greatest player to never win. Since first stepping onto the beach in Panama: Exile Island in 2006, the ER nurse has returned multiple times — four, to be exact (or five, if you count Australian Survivor) – outwitting her opponents while simultaneously redefining what strategic dominance looks like in the game, only to fall just short of the title each time.
Now, as Survivor prepares to celebrate its milestone 50th season, Fields is back for one more run, and this time, she sees the moment as something far bigger. When Men’s Journal sat down with her on set in Fiji ahead of the season, she explained her decision to return not as nostalgia, but as the final step in her journey.
“I feel like going through your years of schooling,” the New Jersey native said. “You go through grammar school, you graduate. You go to high school, you graduate. Now you’re in college and you want to finish… You keep being short one credit, and now you get the opportunity to come back and get that one credit so you can receive your diploma.”
At 55, the season marks her 20th anniversary with the franchise, coincides with her 20th wedding anniversary, and arrives at a point in her life where she’s very clear about what she wants — and what she doesn’t. Fields is focused on navigating a field (no pun intended) filled with winners and returning legends, many of whom she believes pose bigger threats than her own reputation. “I think everybody has a target,” she said. “But people who won yesterday and the ink ain’t dry on their check? That’s a bigger target in my opinion.”
Still, if Survivor 50 does mark her final chapter with the franchise, Fields is embracing the experience while hoping to finally finish what she started two decades ago.
Below, the legend herself opens up about returning for Survivor 50, navigating old-school dynamics, why she isn’t afraid of being seen as a target, and what it would mean to finally earn that long-awaited diploma.
Men’s Journal: So was this an easy yes or did you have to think about it? How are you feeling?
Cirie Fields: I feel going through your years of schooling, right? Go through grammar school, you graduate. You go to high school, you graduate. Now you're in college and you're you want to finish, right? You've done all of these years. You want your master's degree in whatever you decided to study. And you keep being short one credit. You haven't walked across the stage, and now you get the opportunity to come back and get that one credit so you can receive your diploma. That's what it feels like.
Men’s Journal: So true. Talk to me about the players that you played with before. Are you happy to see some of them out here or?
Cirie Fields: The only person I'm really thrilled with is Aubrey [Bracco]. I feel like Aubrey and I had a great relationship. There should be no reason that Aubrey would not want to align herself with me.
Men’s Journal: What about Stephenie [LaGrossa Kendrick]? That one's tricky, right?
Cirie Fields: Kind of tricky, yeah, which is bizarre because I'm a loyal chick. And what Stephenie fails to realize is, yes, we played these games together, and I won those games, but I never targeted you, nor would I ever. And once you're my person, like unless you do something to really screw that up, you are my person. But I think for whatever reason Stephenie's insecurities may make her feel like she has something to prove.
Men's Journal: She's lost to you a few times.
Cirie Fields: Well, not necessarily to me, right? But maybe in her mind. I think in her mind, that's what it is. So now here I am with her again. "I refuse to lose to her again." It's kind of the vibe I'm getting from her now. This is the vibe without talking. So let's see when we hit the beach, but I'm going to handle Stephenie with a long handle spoon. I don't know. I heard some things, though. I heard some things.
Men's Journal: What about like Colby [Donaldson]?
Cirie Fields: That's another one. So Colby and I never got to play together, right? I take that back. Colby and I were on the same tribe and never played together because he wouldn't allow it. I was open. I was trying my hardest through Stephenie. And Colby and Tom [Westman] just would not look in my direction. They would not even have a conversation with me. So hopefully, a wiser, more mature Colby would see me as an asset and maybe an ally, instead of someone that they need to target right away, because he's going to need a little help. Colby's a little old school, old school. So don't close the door to your help over here because you have these preconceived notions, and that's what I'm doing differently. I'm not closing any doors. All of my doors are open. I'm open to old school, new school, unless you prove yourself real tricky. Like, Q [Burdette]. I mean, Q's a little tricky, right? Q is like that stove that's hot. Your mother is like, girl, don't go by that stove. That stove is hot. That's how I feel about Q. So, I don't know. But these are just vibes, right? We haven't hit the beach yet. Same with this Rizo [Velovic] guy. The devil you know is better than the devil you don't know. And the last time I came in contact with the devil that I didn't know on the show that I can't see. The one that stands out is Russell Hantz. And Rizo. I ain't never met a Rizo that wasn't shifty. I'm from Jersey. There's a lot of Rizos, right? So, Rizo, you done been up to something right? Why are you here?
Men’s Journal: What about the other Survivor 49er?
Cirie Fields: I don't get any vibes from her yet, but I'm afraid of what I don't know. I'm afraid of what you could be capable of. And you stand before me all sweet and nice, and here you were killer in your season. So yeah, for me, damn, they are at the top of the list.
Men's Journal: I mean, this could be good for you, right? If you got those two players who are unknowns to everyone? You got groups of three. So is that good for you?
Cirie Fields: Right. I think everybody has a target. And what I hope will work in my favor is people are like, "Oh, you have this huge target. You're this legend." Yes, but so what? You got people who won yesterday and the ink ain't dry on their check, and they're back out here to prove something? Why are you here? It's not like you didn't complete the task. You completed the task. So now you want something more? That means you have something to prove to be right back out here. That would make this person a bigger target in my opinion. And if they have any brain cells, not the little one who played 5-18 times and has not won. That group of three that that same person is involved with that has proven their loyalty and proven that they would give up their game for each other. Yeah, that's more of a target than little old me with a couple of people that didn't really want to play with me, and one that might be out to get me. That's my threesome. So I feel like there's way bigger targets. You got someone who's coming back to try to be the challenge beast of all time. They were like one challenge away from setting the record. Joe almost set the record. So he's back. You better get him why he can't, because he's proven to be a challenge beast, right? I can go on and on with bigger targets than me.
Men’s Journal: I do want to talk about Ozzy [Lusth] too. You guys seemed OK on Game Changers, right?
Cirie Fields: I was cool. I was trying to get these men to listen to me. I tried to build a bridge with Ozzy on Game Changers. And I think Ozzy was like, putting his feet on the bridge, but he won't walk all the way. I get that he's afraid. But what Ozzy fails to realize, and what a lot of these people, they fail to realize, but they should know it, because my history has shown I am a ride or die, right? I am loyal to a fault. The people that are loyal to me win. Every time. So if you're looking for a true ally, a loyal ride or die, I'm your girl. I'm right in front of you. Don't look at me as a target. Look at me as an asset and your artillery to help you get to where you're going. You can help me and I can help you. And that's going to be my spiel to most of these idiots. Listen, I didn't win. I have a lot of friends who did. You can check it.
Men’s Journal: What about the new era players? Any of them you don't see yourself working with?
Cirie Fields: Kyle [Fraser] and Joe [Hunter]. I don't know why. Because Joe's a firefighter and I'm a nurse. We should be like [allies], but Joe is giving me the same vibes that I got from Tom and Colby in Heroes vs. Villains. I have been wrong before, right? We're just in these rooms together, but from our very first season–let me tell you, my very first season, Panama, Exile Island, we were in the Doubletree Hotel. That was when they used to have you come to finals for 10 days. And they would have you come to group settings. You eat together, not together, but in the same room. And there's a lot to be said about body language, right? When Aras [Baskauskas] walked by me, Aras had a smile from here to here. When Terry [Deitz] walked by me, Terry turned his head the other way. And I knew from the dining room that Terry would be somebody that did not want to work with me in that game. I'm getting the same feeling from Joe. Joe does not give me warm and fuzzy. And I'm not looking for that, but no eye contact. Silence is golden to me, and we're all silent, but your body language...Maybe that's just your style. You don't want to come across like you're trying to do too much, or cheat or anything like that. If that's the case, alright, I'll give you that. But I don't know. I have to feel it in my energy. I could feel if you feeling me, and I could feel if you're not feeling me.
Men’s Journal: Your exit from Game Changers broke people's hearts. Do you feel like you have unfinished business, or that you want to finish the chapter?
Cirie Fields: I'll be 55 when this airs. And I was 35 when it started. This is my 20th anniversary for Survivor. This is my 20th wedding anniversary in September. This is the 50th season. It's like the stars are aligning. The universe is putting it all together and saying, this is your shot. This is your time. It all comes to this moment for you, is how I feel. So I want to be done with it, but I want to get my diploma. I want to get my degree.
Men’s Journal: You earned it at this point! Do you keep up with the new era people and who's friends with who, and who's hanging out with who?
Cirie Fields: I keep my ear to the street. I don't go to the stuff, like this shit is boring to me, like all the events and all that stuff. I'm not doing that. However, I got friends that tell me who's with whom, and we kind of align on my feelings about certain people. And I wasn't even there. I think I met Kyle at the Beach Drop, but the fact that I said, "I think I met Kyle at the Beach Drop" says it all. I spent a lot of time with Cedrek [McFadden]. I spent a lot of time with Star [Toomey]. Yeah, I get the ick. I just do, and he's off his win. Before it was even known that he had won at the time.
Men’s Journal: So I'm guessing you don't want to see Kyle on your tribe?
Cirie Fields: Well, maybe I might need a target. So as long as it ain't too many of them, though. I don't need Kyle, Kamilla [Karthigesu] and Joe on my tribe. Hopefully spread the love around. I'll mess with Dee [Valladares], because Dee is another target. Like, listen, my hat's off to you if you won this game. But Ray Charles can see that a winner in this game should be a bigger target than me, right? Who has not won. Who is the greatest to never have won. I'll use that as my catchphrase, if I need that as an argument. Why are you targeting me? The greatest to never win, versus these winners that are right here on their first try. Hello, you want to let him show you again? Keep him around.
Men’s Journal: What do we think about Jenna Lewis? Have you ever crossed paths?
Cirie Fields: I don't know. She's another one that is giving me nothing, not that I'm looking for anything, but we're together all the time. We're intersecting a lot, and there's not one glance, not even a wink, just nothing. I ain't [doing] too much because I don't want you to think I'm everybody's friend, because that could be bad for you, right? However, there's a few people that just...nothing at all. I'm like, okay, this could be their way of showing that they're trustworthy, they don't cheat or something. Or it could be like, I don't want to talk to you, and that's what it feels like to me. And that's what it should feel like anybody in this game, when you can't talk. The only thing you have is body language.
Men’s Journal: So would you say Aubrey's your No. 1 right now?
Cirie Fields: Yes, I would trust Aubrey the most right now. And I listen, I ain't sleeping on Aubrey. Aubrey is a game player, and Aubrey was playing the game and Game Changers, right? But Aubrey sometimes digs herself into a hole, so she needs somebody like me to not necessarily bring her out of that hole, but to keep her abreast of what's going on, and to align with. So I hope that Aubrey sees that and remembers that. I never ever turned against her, nor would I. So yeah, I mess with Aubrey heavy.
Men’s Journal: So, so we're hoping Aubrey's on your tribe.
Cirie Fields: Yeah, that's the thing. These tribe divisions. I don't even know. We don't know what's going to go down. Is it going to be a rock pick? Is it going to be stand next to the person that matches what you got on? They said it's no color. So how are they going to decide? Is it new versus old era? Is it three teams of eight? What is it going to be? Is it four teams or six? What is it going to be?
Men’s Journal: What about the Season 37 group – Mike White, Christian [Hubicki] and Angelina [Keeley]. Any thoughts on them?
Cirie Fields: I think I can get Angelina. I think Angelina is the type that would want to rock with me. Now, Mike White, I don't really know him like that, but my spiel for him would be, you want to give this person the opportunity to not only play this game a second time, but then to win and write us some episodes or make a new show about how he came and kicked ass on Survivor? He is here for the experience. A lot of us are here for the win, for the graduation, for the diploma. I mean, and not to take it nothing like my plight ain't more than his, but it is. I mean, I think objectively, the guy's not winning. Mike, go on and write another episode of the Lotus thing. And I never even watched. I probably should have watched it before I came.
Men's Journal: So what does your family think about you being out here again?
Cirie Fields: No, they know this is Season 50. I would feel offended if I wasn't out here. And that's what really got me, like, I had to think about, what if they didn't ask you? How would you feel? I know people are like, "Oh, of course Cirie is gonna be there." But how would you feel if you weren't there, and they had this huge season? So I was like, shit. And [my son Jared Fields] sees it that way. That was my husband too. It's the Super Bowl. So, yeah, I'm happy. And I'm happy for all the people that ain't here and all the people that was pissed off. Carolyn [Wiger], who said "they had to make room for the grannies" and then showed the little clip of Jeff [Probst] saying how he used to feel a type of way about other shows stealing his talent when they do all the work. And then he looked at me, I'm in the room with him. He looks over at me and says, "Well, not Cirie. Cirie is the all star. She can do whatever she wants." This chick posts that clip on her Instagram in her tirade about being cut, and then says, "I guess he had to make room for the grannies." Well, they made room. They didn't make room for you, though.
Men’s Journal: My last question: If you don't win for whatever reason, what do you hope to take out of this experience?
Cirie Fields: I am going to take this all in. Because win, lose or draw, this is gonna probably be my last experience on Survivor. I'm getting too old for this nonsense. You know what I said? The way they're running us back and forth down these trails for these interviews, they must be trying to get us acclimated to one, being hot and two, for the fat girl who they know ain't been working out. She need to get a little workout in before this stuff starts. I don't enjoy that, right? And I enjoy even less as I get older. So if this, for some weird reason, does not go my way, I'm going to take what I have gotten from my five seasons, and I'm going to hold my head up high. I'm going to proudly hand it off to maybe another Fields. Maybe an Izzy [Gleicher] or maybe a Jared Fields.
The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.