By Chrissy Stockton

Updated 2 hours ago, August 12, 2026

Sarah Lacina has played Survivor three times. In season 28 she was scammed by her closest ally, Cops-R-Us alliance founder Tony Vlachos. She came in 11th. Lacina learned from the experience and came back to win season 34. She played a third time in the all-winners season 34 and took 4th, while Tony Vlachos beat her again.

Sarah Lacina on Survivor.

Talking to her old tribemates Ben Driebergen and Zeke Smith, Lacina said what makes survivor good is when the castaways suffer. Driebergen ran the tally of what players get now: “Yeah, they get jackets now and all sorts of stuff. And blankets!” Lacina fired back with “Sleeping bags!”

Sarah Lacina and Tony Vlachos.

She also has a light-hearted theory about why the show now has shorter seasons:

Lacina’s theory: the show cut its season from 39 days to 26 because it “blew the budget on checked baggage” hauling everyone’s clothes to the island. “Because they’ve blown the budget on checked baggage to allow all the castaways all these clothes on the island,” she told her former tribemates, adding that the overweight bags are why “they can’t afford the 39 days.”

At Paramount Pictures Studios in Los Angeles, Sarah Lacina smiles broadly during the Survivor 50 live finale on May 20, 2026. Photo by Paul Archuleta / Getty Images.

Smith pointed out the double standard between eras: “I mean, I got a jacket, but Sarah’s got like short shorts and a see-through tank top.” He and Lacina call themselves “the original jacket people,” and Lacina takes credit for the yellow Members Only jacket she wore on Game Changers, three seasons before Lyrsa Torres brought the teal one to David vs. Goliath.

Natalie Bolton was an iconic member of the infamous Black Widow Brigade of season 16.

She also named the player she most wants back: Brice Izyah, her Cagayan castmate she calls “Mr. Purple Pants.” The two never actually played together, since Brice was on the Beauty tribe and Sarah was on Brawn. Smith seconded Brice and added Natalie Bolton from season 16, part of the Black Widow Brigade.

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