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Life After 'Survivor' : 10 Winners Tell All

Steve Helling
4 min read

One went to jail, one launched a clothing line, one waits tables. See how fortunes change after taking home $1 million

RICHARD HATCH: SERVED TIME IN PRISON

CBS /Landov

CBS /Landov

The show's very first winner, Survivor: Borneo 's Hatch, spent nearly three years in federal prison for failing to pay taxes on his $1 million prize. The legal fees and missed work "more than wiped out the money," he says. After a stint on Celebrity Apprentice , Hatch, 51, shopped around two reality shows; one about boating, the other about his family. "I'm doing well," he told PEOPLE at this weekend's Lexin Capital-sponsored Hearts of Reality event in Celebration, Fla., which benefits the charity Give Kids the World. "I have a lot going on. I've got a great family. I've been with a wonderful man since 2003. I'm happy."

TINA WESSON: TEACHES SURVIVAL CLASSES

CBS/Landov

CBS/Landov

After building a dream cabin in the woods of North Carolina, Australian Outback contestant Wesson, 52, has lived modestly, teaching occasional outdoor survival classes. " Survivor was the greatest experience," she says. "It was never about the money. It was about the adventure."

SANDRA DIAZ-TWINE: RAISING TWO TEENS

CBS/Landov

CBS/Landov

"I don't do a damn thing," laughs Survivor 's only two-time winner (she appeared on the Pearl Islands and Heroes vs. Villains editions). With $2 million in prize money, Diaz-Twine, 38, lives "comfortably" in North Carolina. Her husband, Marcus, is on his fourth tour in Afghanistan, while Diaz-Twine is mom to her two children, ages 15 and 17. "I'd play Survivor again," she says, "and I'd probably win."

CHRIS DAUGHERTY: BUILT A HOUSE

CBS/Landov

CBS/Landov

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"Everyone said my life would change, but life returned to normal," says Vanuatu's Daugherty, 41, who used his winnings to build a house in Ohio. "I work as a project inspector for the Department of Transportation. I have the same friends, live in the same town and am really happy with where I am."

TOM WESTMAN: BECAME AN INSURANCE SALESMAN

Bill Inoshita/CBS

Bill Inoshita/CBS

After winning the million, Palau's Westman, 48, retired from his job as a firefighter and began selling insurance. "I deal in group benefits," he says. "I don't generally tell people I'm from Survivor ," he laughs. "I want them to know I'm an honest guy, and saying I won Survivor will make them think I'm a backstabber."

DANNI BOATWRIGHT: LAUNCHED A CLOTHING LABEL

CBS/Landov

CBS/Landov

Following her victory in Guatemala, Boatwright, 37, married and had two sons, ages 4 and 19 months. "Winning a million dollars is wonderful, of course, but I still live a very normal life." She has started a sports clothing label called Sideline Chic. And if the opportunity presented itself, she'd compete again. "Maybe an all-winners edition," she says. "Like The Hunger Games ."

ARAS BASKAUSKAS: RECORDED AN ALBUM

Robert Voets/Landov

Robert Voets/Landov

After paying off his parents' mortgage, Panama's Baskauskas, 30, made some instructional yoga videos and took up music, renaming himself "Odd Us" and releasing his first album, The Tree and the River , in December. " Survivor opened up a lot of doors," he says, "but I know some have preconceived notions of reality contestants. I just hope people take my music seriously."

TODD HERZOG: WAITS TABLES

Monty Brinton/Landov

Monty Brinton/Landov

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The youngest male winner, China contestant Herzog found love within the Survivor family, dating Tocantins contestant Spencer Duhm. "I took a few years off," says Herzog, 27, "and now I'm waiting tables in Orlando. Customers say, 'I know you from somewhere,' but I never tell them from where. They're gonna leave a lousy tip if they know I won a million dollars."

BOB CROWLEY: RETIRED & IS BUILDING A YURT

Jeffrey R. Staab/Landov

Jeffrey R. Staab/Landov

Crowley, 61, retired from his career as a science teacher with the $1.1 million prize from his Gabon adventure. (He won an extra $100,000 as a fan favorite.) Now he and his son are building a Mongolian yurt – a tentlike dwelling – in Maine. "It was tremendously fun," he says about his time on the show, "and a learning experience. I don't ever want to stop learning."

KIM SPRADLIN: GETTING HITCHED

Robert Voets/Landov

Robert Voets/Landov

The latest winner, One World's Spradlin, has yet to make her big splurge. "I really haven't bought anything," says the bridal shop owner. "I've been really busy." One of the things keeping her busy: fiancé Bryan Wolfe, who presented her with a vintage engagement ring after she returned from Samoa (no wedding date has been set). As for whether she'd do Survivor again, Spradlin, 29, says, "Are you kidding? Absolutely!"

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