When it was announced earlier this year, Australian Survivor: Redemption felt tailor-made for Simon Mee. The Brisbane chippie had suffered ritual humiliation in his previous two seasons. In 2021, he became the first player in the show’s history to be sent home with two unused immunity idols. In 2023, he endured what a fan termed “one of the most consistently embarrassing runs of all time” against his formidable on-screen foe, King George Mladenov. He was primed for a comeback.
As much as this sweet superfan was derided as the “most hapless” player the show has seen and “the Survivor version of Wile E. Coyote”, fans came to love him. And he put up a hell of a fight this season before being sent home in a dramatic vote on Wednesday night.
Deputy TV editor Meg Watson spoke to Mee about the triumphant end of his Survivor career after a cumulative 100 days in the game, lurking in Reddit threads, crying, and getting in on the joke.
MW: Hello! I’m so excited to talk to you because you’re one of my favourite players, but I’m so sad because it means you’re out of the game!
SM: It’s a bit sad, but I don’t think I can complain. I definitely overstayed my welcome there! And, you know, I achieved so much in this game and over my career – like to hit 100 days, to get my redemption and to prove that I can actually play this game. Well, not perfectly.
But I am definitely not the worst player. So it’s nice to have that under my belt.
That’s such a funny benchmark to be shooting for! Just not the worst.
Look, I never really thought that I was the worst player in Australian Survivor history … but it’s been a fun thing to lean into. Stumbling, fumbling Simon is a nice character to root for, especially in Australia where tall poppy syndrome is so big. It’s fun to cheer for the underdog – and to see someone who has had so many misfortunes actually pull it together! There was no easy ride for me. Every day was a fight. I think that just made that 100 days so much more special.
How do you feel about the way that you went out? It was an exciting tribal with the prospect of rocks [which would be a first in Australian Survivor]. But being taken out by Brooke isn’t a bad way to go either, right?
It would have been so poetic if the way my Survivor career ended had been at the mercy of rocks. That would have been amazing. But it wasn’t meant to be. To go out of the mercy of Brooke? Look, it was a little bit disappointing. We had worked so hard to get off the bottom there. For [her and Keeley] to end up back in the minority is pretty tough. I want to see Brooke do one of two things here. I want to see her go on to win, so this was the right decision for her. Or I want to see her go home next. It is a bold strategy to try and win every challenge! It’s hard going out in a way that may not even be an optimal move for the person who did it.
You said on your way out that you feel like you’ve well and truly got your redemption. Did you have a specific goal in mind going into the season?
I really thought that redemption for me would have been finding and playing an idol correctly. That’s how my journey started and how it fell apart. But I quickly realised out there that there are more important things for me in this game. I just wanted to showcase that I can play well. I’ve been a challenge beast. But socially, I’ve missed the mark a few times previously. And then, strategically, I just wanted to have something to my name. I’ve never had a move that’s purely mine.
I strongly feel like that Aisha blindside was orchestrated by me. But then to also have this Jackson flip – that was a really huge moment for me. I saw that ahead of time. I knew where I needed to be, and I put myself there. I made it happen. At the end of the day, yeah, it’s his move, but it doesn’t happen without me.
A lot of that reputation as “stumbling, fumbling Simon” has come from the Heroes v Villains season. It was a landmark series, it won global acclaim, but you copped a lot for your mistakes. What’s your relationship been like with the show’s fandom?
It’s been really good. The support from the fans has been huge. I enjoy seeing some of the commentary online saying, “I can’t believe I’ve found myself cheering for Simon after cheering against him so much”. I didn’t expect to become a bit of an iconic character. But I’ve always said, if I can’t win this game, I would love to leave a mark on it.
I love diving through the deep, dark depths of Reddit. I read it all, and I try to interact. I value the fans’ opinion. But at the same time, the couch critics have no concept of what it’s actually like out there. A lot of people were calling me dumb after the tribal [where] I voted for Brooke – “Simon up to his old tricks again” – and I was like, “Just wait until you watch the next one!” I know I had to enter my “wimp era”, sucking up with Brooke and Keeley, but I was very much in control of what I was doing.
People giving me shit online … this is not new territory for me. I can only laugh about it now.
Another thing that you’re very well known for with the fans is being an “unintentional gay icon”. I’m sure you’ve seen the memes. There’s also a big YouTube compilation of all the funny moments and soundbites. Is that something that you play into?
I don’t go out seeking those moments, but I very much so lean into them when they’re there. JLP and David are always throwing out the innuendos which is a lot of fun. It’s cheeky. I’m all for it. The way that the community have welcomed that and supported me has been really great. It’s also nice as someone who was seen as an alpha male, to show this softer, more connected side. I think it’s really important and can help shift the conversation.
I love how open you are with your emotions in the game. That’s not new this season, but we did see how quick you were to cry on many occasions. Are you like that in real life, or is it something the game brings out of you?
Everything is definitely heightened in the game of Survivor. But I always wear my heart on my sleeve. In the game, I’m so invested because I don’t take that spot for granted. I just care so much, and I want to do well. It is so raw, and it means so much to me.
It’s hard to see those points where I’ve been upset and crying, and someone will question me. Like, “Is he just putting on?” Like when Aisha saw me crying saying goodbye to Harry … that’s my best mate, and I’ve ended his dream. Some of the newbies just don’t get it.
Did it change your experience playing out there as a dad for the first time, leaving your young daughter behind?
Massively. It was so hard leaving and knowing the sacrifice of what you’re leaving behind at home, and the burden that I left my wife. It’s huge. She’s home with my toddler, and I get to go around the beaches of Samoa. But it really fired me up so much more. I wasn’t going to go out easy. I was pitching from the bottom and making noise and putting thoughts in people’s head and making people feel uncomfortable to get them thinking and moving. It was really grinding on people. But I wasn’t just gonna roll over and die.
When you signed off at the end, you said you were hanging up your Buff, that your Survivor career is essentially done. Do you feel firm in that?
Absolutely done.
Even if there was another season of Australia v the World?
No, this is it. I’m retiring. I’ve had my shot. I have played three times in five years. I don’t want to get divorced! I’ve put my wife through a lot, and she’s been so supportive along the way. I’m hanging up the Buff. I’m done.
It’s also quite relieving, in a way. It means the relationships that I have with the alumni and players who reach out to be friends with me from this point on will be friends with me for genuine reasons, not that they’re going to pre-game. I’m so sick of that. People keeping up appearances just in case we ever play again.
Do you still speak with George at all? What’s your relationship like today?
George and I are acquaintances. You know, we’re not friends. But we share a mutual love for this game. I haven’t heard much from him this season. There’s been a couple of cheeky snipes from the sidelines. It was a nice little one to pip him at the post and get 100 days over his 99! It’s good to get into that club. But we do share a very good mutual respect.
We’ll always be twin flames. There is no George without Simon, and there is no Simon without George. It’s been a poetic journey for us both – and it’s made for some amazing moments. It’s been pretty nice going head-to-head with one of the best.
And you made some incredible TV! So thank you on behalf of the audience.
Yeah! It’s not lost on me that [our showdown in Heroes v Villains] was one of the greatest episodes of reality TV of all time – let alone Australian Survivor. And then to have a front-row seat to some of the other, incredible moments, like this season with Keeley and Brooke’s idol bluff … I’ve been there for some of the best of it.
Now we have the live finale coming up too, and there’ll be a reunion special as well, which is pretty exciting. Is there anything you want answers to or things you want to set the record straight on? What are you burning to talk about?
I really want to see how it all goes down. There’s so much of this game left. I know what happens because I was there, but I don’t know who wins, and I haven’t told anyone who I voted for. I think I do a pretty good job of getting out what I need to say from the jury. But I’m just looking forward to seeing people get together. I think this will be the cherry on top of it all – my final moment to be able to share what has been a huge career and a huge part of my life.
Australian Survivor continues Sunday night on Ten and 10Play.
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