Why Boston Rob Mariano Wouldn’t Return for Survivor 50

Ahead of Survivor 50’s cast announcement May 28, former winner Rob “Boston Rob” Mariano explained why he was taking a break from reality competitions shows like The Traitors.

Rob “Boston Rob” Mariano has no plans to make the merge.

While other Survivor fan favorites like Cirie Fields and The White Lotus creator Mike White were announced as part of the upcoming Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans cast, the five-time competitor and one-time winner was noticeably missing—the result of an intentional move on his part to avoid competing on reality TV for the time being.

“At this point, I’m kind of just hanging out,” Boston Rob told People last month. “I don’t have a desire to go back and compete in that realm right now. I’m going to take a little break, the kids are off for the summer.”

But while the Traitors alum—who shares daughters Lucia, 15, Carina, 14, Isabetta, 12, and Adelina, 10, with fellow Survivor winner Amber Mariano—may not be part of the monumental season’s cast, he teased that he doesn’t know what the future holds.

“I truly feel like I’m the luckiest person in the world,” Rob, 49, continued. “I didn’t expect to be still doing it after 25 years, so never say never. You never know what’s going to happen.”

But does the Deal or No Deal Island star see himself ever returning to the Fijian islands of Survivor to compete for a sixth time? He wouldn’t go unless the show made a change to its format.

“I don’t feel any desire to go back there and play the game again,” Rob told TV Insider last May, “especially where they’re just gonna use me for a little bit and vote me out.”

But given his “love” for the CBS series that has “been a huge part of my life for nearly half of my life,” he added, “Who knows? Maybe if there’s a concept change or something I would consider it because they’ve given so much to me over my life.”

Though Boston Rob won’t be competing, read on to see the 22 confirmed contestants in the Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans cast.