Jeff Varner is one of the returning castaways getting another chance at winning $1 million on Survivor: Game Changers this season.
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Jeff, a 50-year-old from High Point, NC, is appearing on Survivor for the third time. However, despite having played Survivor twice before, Jeff is still trying to accomplish the personal goal of making it to a Survivor jury for the first time.
Jeff began Survivor: Game Changers competing on the 10-person "Mana" Tribe with Michaela Bradshaw, Aubry Bracco, Sandra Diaz-Twine, Ciera Eastin, Malcolm Freberg, Hali Ford, Caleb Reynolds, Troyzan Robertson, and Tony Vlachos.
After a twist resulted in the 18 remaining castaways being re-organized into three tribes, Jeff then became a member of the "Nuku" tribe with Michaela, Aubry, Sandra, Malcolm, and James "J.T." Thomas, Jr.
However, another subsequent tribal shuffle then left him and Sandra as outsiders on a new revised 7-person "Nuku" tribe which also included Andrea Boehlke, Sarah Lacina, Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth, Zeke Smith, and Tai Trang.
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Below is a list of six facts Reality TV World has compiled about Jeff Varner:
- Jeff was raised on a tobacco farm in North Carolina, played competitive hockey for 16 years and also studied martial arts.
- Jeff previously played on Season 2, Survivor: The Australian Outback, in 2001 when he was 34-years-old.
Jeff was the sixth castaway voted out on Day 21, finishing in tenth place. He was ousted from the game just shy of making the jury after he stepped down from an Individual Immunity Challenge to eat peanut butter, chocolate and apples.
- Jeff decided to compete on Season 31, Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance, 15 years later. He was the fourth castaway voted out of the game on Night 11 via a 4-1 vote, so he placed 17th overall.
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- He told Reality TV World in a post-Second Chance interview that on some level, he played a Blood vs. Water game because he stayed loyal to the "old school" players Terry Deitz and Kelly Wiglesworth.
Even though being a devout alliance member cost him the game, he was proud of his gameplay. But Jeff said at the time he'd never do that again, if there was a next time.
- Jeff told CBS his biggest Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance regret was "going too hard, too soon" and playing the game with "too much emotion in the beginning."
He planned to play a "more fun" strategy for his third Survivor season and combine "hard gameplay with a more subtle approach."
- Jeff has a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
About The Author: Steven Rogers