Sage Ahrens-Nichols Hints at Hidden Survivor 49 players Cheaters — Why Is She Keeping Their Names Secret?
The Survivor 49 cheating scandal has been an interesting development that dates back to the summer of 2025. Back then, it was confirmed that, for the first time ever, Survivor had sent home two players firmly in the cast and replaced them with alternates, Jason Treul and Michelle “MC” Chukwujekwu.
Well, since then, Sage Ahrens-Nichols, a finalist who received one vote at Final Tribal Council, revealed in an unlisted video that the cheating and conversations happening before the game started was actually more rampant than previously disclosed.
According to Sage, there were actually six players on Survivor 49 who were actively pre-gaming, which is against the show’s rules. The first two players were removed from the game before filming started, but the other four players remained in the game.
In the video, Sage named Sophi Balerdi and Jake Latimer as the two players she was comfortable naming because she knew that they were talking before the game started.
That leaves two players who Sage knows engaged in some pre-gaming, but she’s not going to name them. In the video, she explained why.
“Originally, I was going to release three of the four, because the fourth person, I feel, I did not witness anything firsthand with them,” Sage said. “I’ve heard most of the stuff about them through the grapevine. I believe everything I’ve heard because it’s come from a handful of people, but I did not witness it firsthand, so that does not feel ethical to speak on their name when I don’t have that firsthand empirical data.”
For the last player, Sage felt like the other player owned up to the mistake and that they didn’t think it was actually wrong what they were doing.
“I’ve decided that the third person, I’m also not going to name,” Sage said. “Because, when I look at the way these three people have moved pre-, during, and post-game, this person, from what I’ve gathered, has demonstrated growth and a willingness to learn and grow. And, I also don’t think that in their mind they are a top-level offender.”
Sage continued to explain that she also heard from others that they player she is unwilling to name was also “instigating” conversations, but she didn’t hear that firsthand.
Honestly, I don’t know what to make of this situation. With this much money on the line, I can guarantee that it’s happened before, but we also know that the Survivor players do take these rules seriously.
Tyson Apostol told a story recently about how on Survivor: Tocantins, his first time playing, that he quietly saved another player from drowning in a river while also being worried that could get him kicked out of the game for interacting before the game officially started. So, you know that players do take these rules seriously.
It’s just interesting that the situation is spilling over into the mainstream right now. It’s not a good look for the show at all. I don’t know what it means for the future of the series, but I have to imagine that when Survivor heads back to Fiji for season 51 and 52, these players will be under a more watchful eye than these Survivor 49 players.
Survivor fans will have to tune in every day to find out what will happen next. In the meantime, let us know what you think by leaving us a line with your thoughts in our comments section below.
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