Survivor Winner Natalie White Completely Disappeared According To Her Former Tribemate And Friend

Every year, Survivor garners new fans who have to figure out which season to watch first. On top of that, Jeff Probst's beloved reality show has millions of dedicated fans who know things like who the first player to be medically evacuated was. Unsurprisingly, those fans also tend to know a lot about Survivor's best seasons, the best players ever, and every person who became Sole Survivor. However, the former Survivor winner Natalie White has become mysterious since she played the game.

Over the years, several Survivor players have spoken about having to take some time to recover from the show. Even with that in mind, it has been remarkable that Natalie hasn't appeared in public in years. What is even more astonishing is the fact that one of Natalie's former tribemates and friends later revealed the former winner has disappeared.

Survivor: Samoa Winner Natalie White Disappeared After Beating Russell Hantz

Ever since Survivor: Samoa aired, the season has been known for one thing above all else. Survivor: Samoa was the first season that featured one of the show's biggest villains ever, Russell Hantz.

Since Survivor: Samoa is known as Russell's debut season, it is amusing that most fans of the reality show know that he didn't win. Instead, Survivor: Samoa was won by Natalie White. Not only that, Natalie received eight of the jury votes while Russell was given two.

Since Survivor: Samoa aired, Natalie has been largely forgotten, with many of the show's most dedicated fans rarely thinking about her. With that in mind, it was fascinating when her former friend and ally revealed that Natalie has pretty much disappeared since she won Survivor.

In November 2024, Ashley appeared on the "Survivorisms Podcast" to talk about her Survivor experience and her life after the show.

During that podcast appearance, which can be seen on YouTube, Ashley showed that even the lesser-remembered former Survivor players are still fascinating people.

During that podcast episode, the host brought up the fact that Natalie has no public profile, unlike virtually every other Survivor winner. The host then asked Ashley if she knew where Natalie was and what she was up to.

Unfortunately for Ashley Trainer, she wasn't nearly as successful as Natalie White was during Survivor: Samoa. Instead, Ashley came in 15th place during the memorable season. However, it is worth noting that Ashley outlasted four of her tribemates who were voted out before her.

In response, a sad-sounding Ashley revealed that Natalie cut her off and disappeared from her life.

"I don't know exactly what happened, but she decided that she needed to just, like, disconnect from anyone related to Survivor. And so she just kinda dropped off the map. I have no idea."

Ashley then went on to explain that the only thing about Natalie's life in 2024 that she knew about was as a result of a rumor.

When Survivor: Samoa began filming in 2009, the season's winner, Natalie White, was only 26 years old. That means that as of 2025, Natalie is in her 40s.

Furthermore, Ashley revealed that she'd tried to reconnect with Natalie, but couldn't find her.

"I heard she got married, but I have no idea anything else, unfortunately. I've tried to look her up on LinkedIn, on Facebook, to try to find her, and I have not. Because if she got married, I don't know what her married name is now. Yeah. So sadly, because I would love to just reconnect with her, but I have not."

During the same interview, Ashley explained why she was still interested in reconnecting with Natalie after so long.

When the "Survivorisms Podcast" host first brought Natalie up, Ashley responded by very briefly explaining what their relationship was once like. According to Ashley, she and Natalie were once extremely tight.

We were talking every day, multiple hours a day.

The "Survivorisms Podcast" also uploaded a clip from the interview that featured the discussion about Natalie. That clip, which can also be seen on YouTube, begins with old footage of Natalie from the night she was crowned as Survivor: Samoa's winner. In that footage, Natalie spoke about how close she was to Ashley. Furthermore, Natalie stated that she believed she would be lifelong friends with Ashley at the time.

"[Ashley] was like a sister to me. Like, [we were] gonna be friends forever. She's gonna come stay with me. She lives in Minnesota. I live in Arkansas, and I wanna show her what the South is, you know, all about."

One Former Survivor Player Claimed To Be The Only One To Still Be In Contact With Natalie White

In July 2020, Chet Welch from Survivor: Micronesia was interviewed by Entertainment Weekly. During that conversation, Chet surprisingly brought up the former Survivor winner, Natalie White.

When Chet was interviewed by Entertainment Weekly, he was asked which former Survivor players he still communicated with. After listing several other names, Chet revealed he was still in contact with Natalie White and that he believed he was the only former Survivor player she still communicated with.

Natalie White. I am the only one she talks to.

It is interesting that Chet would be the only former Survivor player who Natalie continued talking to. The reason that is remarkable is that during Survivor: Micronesia, Chet was ostracized. In fact, Jonathan Penner exclusively told TheThings journalist Matthew Thomas in October 2024 that Chet told him nobody else was nice to him during the game.

"[Chet told me] I will work with you if I can because you're the only person that talked to me. You're the only person who acknowledged I was on the effing island. You know?"

Jonathan also exclusively told TheThings that Chet is a great guy, so it makes perfect sense he is now friends with several former Survivor players.