History TearJerker / Survivor

*** This becomes even worse with more recent light being shed on the situation where it has been brought up that before filming the Dr. Phil episode they separated Todd from his father and left him alone in a dressing room with a bottle of vodka and then giving him drugs. It seems likely the show got him intoxicated to an extreme level just for the ratings.

* Pat's medical evacuation in ''David vs. Goliath'' deserves special mention given how he was evacuated in ''premiere episode of his own season''. He was perfectly fine until the boat ride back from the first immunity challenge where a big wave hit the boat and it caused his back to hurt really badly. He was begging Probst to not leave the game and many of his tribe mates were in tears when he was being medically evacuated. That was probably the most tragic example for a first boot to go out of the game.

* Erik Reichenbach's Evacuation in ''Caramoan'' is very hard to watch.

* Jonathan Penner's evacuation in ''Micronesia''. It's enough when the rest of his tribe starts to cry at the news, but when Kathy Sleckman, who's already emotionally on the edge, begs him not to go, it's enough to tip it over the top. Then, cut to the boat where [[BreakTheBadass Jonathan is hunched over sobbing]] and try not to feel sympathy.
* Terry in ''Cambodia'' getting pulled out of the game with the news that his son was in the hospital, and both his wife and the doctor said he should come home as soon as possible, with Terry not even hesitating or questioning about doing so. His son needed a heart transplant, and was fortunately fine after the surgery.

** As awesome as it was to see Koror's conquering, you really have to feel bad for Ulong in this. Despite trying their best in challenges and trying to get a leg up, Ulong just kept losing Immunity challenges, and going to Tribal Council every time to see another member go home. Stephanie get's the worst of it all, having to watch her tribe get whittled down to just herself, and by that time, her morale was at a all time low that just a tree mail informing her that she's going to Koror was able to lift her spirits up a bit.

* ''Palau''

* In ''Millennials vs. Gen X'', Adam find a hidden Immunity Idol. At first it's triumphant, until he starts crying and reveals that his mother is also a huge fan of survivor and has stage four lung cancer. He's feeling both his dreams and nightmares coming true at the same time. He also adds that he hopes his mother can watch him on the show, and that it'll bring her some happiness in her terrible time...but unfortunately, Adam's mother passed away before the season aired, making this pre-recorded moment even more devastating.

* ':'Palau''

* Janu's storyline in ''Palau''. Throughout the entire game, she was made fun of by her Koror tribemates. In episode 10, she is sent to Exile Island, where she finally has some peace alone on the island, away from her tribe, which she claims was the best part of her experience. At the end of the episode, she decides that she has had enough and decides to throw a wrench in her tribe's plans by [[ThanatosGambit quitting the game to save Stephenie.]] Who knows what else happened to her that wasn't shown on screen? It's hard not to feel bad for her.

* Ashley Massaro, ex-WWE Star and ''Survivor: China'' player, [[https://people.com/sports/wwe-star-ashley-massaro-dead/ passed away on May 16th]].

* Michael Skupin from ''The Australian Outback'' becoming the first player to be medically evacuated. For those who need a recap; Michael fell into the campfire and severely burned his hands. We're treated to close ups of his burnt hands as well as him screaming in pain, and all his teammates can do is offer moral support. By the time he's evacuated, ''everyone'', including the camera crew, is in shock and disbelief. This was the moment that established that for all the glitz and glamor that the media bestowed on the castaways, this wasn't a vacation. This was truly a ''reality'' show where bad things could happen to ''anyone.''

* Many people felt really bad for Michael Skupin when he had injuries which resulted in the show's first evacuation in only the second season, ''Australian Outback'', and had proven himself to be a very adept player. They continued to feel bad when he got a second chance and came just short of winning in the ''Philippines'' season. But all that sympathy capsized when he was busted with [[http://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/survivor-alum-mike-skupin-arrested-for-possession-of-child-pornography-report-89999 child pornography.]] That fall from grace, unlike his fall into the fire, is one he will likely ''not'' recover from any time soon, if ever.

* Michael from ''the Australian Outback'' becoming the first player to be medically evacuated. For those who need a recap; Michael fell into the campfire and severely burned his hands. We're treated to close ups of his burnt hands as well as him screaming in pain, and all his teammates can do is offer moral support. By the time he's evacuated, ''everyone'', including the camera crew, is in shock and disbelief. This was the moment that established that for all the glitz and glamor that the media bestowed on the castaways, this wasn't a vacation. This was truly a ''reality'' show where bad things could happen to ''anyone.''

*** The whole fourth episode of Philippines qualifies when you take into account that Matsing is not going to have an epic comeback. It's clear that the three of them are just miserable. Malcolm even said it was the lowest moment of his life, and Malcolm isn't the type that gets affected all that often.
* Jonathan Penner's evacuation in Micronesia. It's enough when the rest of his tribe starts to cry at the news, but when Kathy Sleckman, who's already emotionally on the edge, begs him not to go, it's enough to tip it over the top. Then, cut to the boat where [[BreakTheBadass Jonathan is hunched over sobbing]] and try not to feel sympathy.
* Terry getting pulled out of the game with the news that his son was in the hospital, and both his wife and the doctor said he should come home as soon as possible, with Terry not even hesitating or questioning about doing so. His son needed a heart transplant, and was fortunately fine after the surgery]].
* Erik Reichenbach's Evacuation in Caramoan is very hard to watch

* Pat's medical evacuation deserves special mention given how he was evacuated in ''premiere episode of his own season''. He was perfectly fine until the boat ride back from the first immunity challenge where a big wave hit the boat and it caused his back to hurt really badly. He was begging Probst to not leave the game and many of his tribe mates were in tears when he was being medically evacuated. That was probably the most tragic example for a first boot to go out of the game.

* The ending of the ''Tocantins'' auction is this and doubles as a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}. Jeff puts up the last item up for bid- video messages from home, and allows people to pool money. Everyone begins to give their money to Taj, who left her newborn baby at home to play Survivor, and she is clearly in tears. Even Jeff comments on their generosity in such a cutthroat game. After watching the video, Taj is in tears and is very emotional when she finds out that her husband is there. Jeff then says that only she will be able to see her loved one unless she sends herself to exile island to meet her husband there so everyone can see their loved ones. As a thanks to her tribemates, she sends herself to exile. Truly an emotional scene.

* Sophie's massive DefrostingIceQueen moment in the South Pacific finale can be hard to watch, especially seeing it come from someone as tough and controlled as her. After Ozzy and her get into a fight at the F5 Tribal Council, she tries to brush off Ozzy's statements that everyone on the jury hates her, but slowly begins to break down into tears and then sobs. The jury is visibly stunned.

* Kass, the resident villain and shit-stirrer of her season, [[https://youtu.be/XjzWLdP72bg?t=9m35s winning the Final 4 immunity to the elation of her husband]] can be a happy tearjerking moment. For one, she made a massive comeback from being long abandoned on the perch twenty minutes after everyone was on the puzzle. To see her pull out the unexpected win while her husband cheers on ecstatically is an unforgettable moment, made even sweeter by the fact that she admits that she needed him there.
* Shirin explaining her past and how her family was torn apart by domestic abuse. Made even worse by Will continuously interrupting her and accusing her of playing the victim.
** HarsherInHindsight, as in Cambodia, Shirin shares an antagonistic relationship with Abi-Maria that ends with her laughing at Abi's complaints, who tearfully laments that the reason she wanted to side with Shirin was because she understood what she went through in her season.

* Malcolm's final words in ''Survivor: Game Changers''. He clearly didn't expect to go out pre-merge, was trying (and failing) to hold back tears as he lamented his fate, and sounded very hurt by what he saw as a betrayal from J.T. Poor guy...

* Cirie's elimination in Game Changers. Despite being one of the biggest threats left to win, she is eliminated through no fault of her own when everyone plays immunity idols except her leaving her as the only person who can go home.

* ''Heroes Vs. Healers Vs. Hustlers'' sees a painful moment in "Knights of the Round Table" when Desi is the victim of a tiebreaker. She goes from being one of the most confident and powerful competitors to absolutely brokenhearted, continuing all the way to checking into the Ponderosa.

* The emotional moment in the finale of ''Heroes Vs. Healers Vs. Hustlers'' when Ben loses the final challenge after a close heat with Chrissy due to several awful mistakes and believes an upside-down u will haunt him for the rest of his life, and Jeff even uses that statement as a lead-in knowing he says that. It makes the surprise twist all the more satisfying.

** From the final tribal council- we learn Joe [[CommitmentIssues doesn't want to get married.]] There is something incredibly depressing about learning from Chrissy that Joe said [[FreudianExcuse he doesn't think marriage works because his parents got divorced when he was little.]] And Joe is playing for family nonetheless.

** Really, the whole episode was a gut-punch in a way that hasn't really been seen for such a clear boot since Thailand's final nine episode. We see Michael breaking down during a confessional while talking about how important this is for him at such a young age, and even Jenna, who hasn't been given much screentime, was shown to be struggling with the fact that she couldn't change her situation. The icing on the cake, though, may be at Tribal Council: Jeff sees that he isn't going to stir anything up among the Naviti five, and instead just asks Stephanie, Michael, and Jenna in turn what being on the show means to them. It's devastating to watch knowing one of them would be going home in just a few moments. It really shows how close the Malolo three had become, and it makes Stephanie's boot all the more heartbreaking.

* Alec's desperation to win an immunity challenge that would decide whether he continued in the game or not. With his back to the wall, Alec hangs on for over five hours. Realizing that Christian might beat him, he makes one final, heartbreaking appeal.

-->'''Christian''': I know. And I know how you must feel, right now, in this moment. I just... I might never get this opportunity again. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

* As if Jenna's mother passing away wasn't bad enough, we later learn that ''Survivor: Africa'' winner and Jenna's fiance, Ethan Zohn has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Doubling as a TearJerker for Ethan and Jenna ''again''. The poor girl just can't catch a break.

* In June 2014, Blood vs. Water contestant's Caleb Bankston's death due to a train he was working on derailing, apparently only weeks before he was to be married to his fiance, Colton Cumbie.

** The death of any Survivor is truly awful. B.B. Anderson from Borneo passed away in 2013 after succumbing to brain cancer, and Jennifer Lyon from Palau died from breast cancer in 2010, just ten days after visiting the ten-year survivor reunion.

* Adam's mother passed away shortly after filming wrapped on Millennials vs. Gen-X. Fortunately, he was able to subvert NeverGotToSayGoodbye, as he made it home an hour before her time came. He even got to tell her that he knew he won.
* On December 31 2016, Gabon contestant Dan Kay [[http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/daniel-kay-obituary?pid=1000000183289986 unexpectedly passed away.]]

* Not a US version, but the Australian Survivor 2016 finale, the FIC is Hands on a Hard Idol. Kristie, knowing she is by far the underdog against challenge-competent couple Lee and El, begs Lee tearfully to take her to the Final 2. While she does so, she dissolves into sobs, and eventually tells Lee that he reminds her of her dad, who she promised as an eight year old watching the first season that she would make the show to. Lee falls shortly after on his own accord, and Kristie wins.]] As she can't walk on her own, she begs her father to carry her, crying the entire way.
--> '''Kristie:''' If I could get this immunity, you are making a young, eight-year-old girl's dream come true.
--> '''Lee:''' ...I'm so proud of you. *falls*

** Jenna Morasca quitting ''Survivor: All Stars'' to be with her cancer-stricken mother. At first this seems like a SugarWiki/{{heartwarming moment|s}}, until you learn that she passed away merely ''eight days later''.

* Episode 8 of Thailand is often overlooked or seen by some as Narm, but it is truly affecting to see the last 4 Sook Jais so distraught over having no choice but to vote someone out. Jake, in particular, felt extremely guilty for having lost the Immunity Challenge for the tribe. They spent most of their last day as a tribe together, comforting each other. Even sadder when you realize that there is nowhere for them to hide and they are going into the late merge down in numbers 5-3, and [[DownerEnding all of them will be Pagonged.]]
* While it was highly entertaining and a signature moment in the entire series, Brandon's meltdown in ''Survivor: Caramoan'' has to make you feel at least a little sympathy for Brandon. He is clearly mentally unstable and suffering from the pressure his family puts on his shoulders.
** Brandon in general has many tendencies of mental illness and seeing them, the show's treatment and possible exploitation of it, and the derisive reactions of the viewers can be very triggering to people with mental illnesses who watch Survivor.
* Kat in ''Survivor: One World'' is lucky to be alive and may not live very long after she was eliminated. Not only did she have surgery several occasions in the past, but she has to undergo surgery ''again'' after the season and she could die.
* In the Nicaragua family visit, Chase has promised to take Fabio on the family reward from early on in the game because [[MommasBoy they bonded over how close they were to their mothers]], but when Chase and his mother wins it, Chase decides to pick Sash and Holly. The look on Fabio's face is one of pure heartbreak, [[KickTheDog and he's bawling as he calls Chase out.]]

* Lillian being voted out in ''Survivor: Pearl Islands'', if only for one line:
--> '''Jeff:''' They don't want you to leave.
--> '''Lil:''' Yeah, right.
* In general, Lil is just a truly pitiful case. After being isolated from her tribe and voted out third, she returns via the Outcast Twist, but is drastically in over her head. Constantly emotional to the extreme, Lil would go through the entire merge being lied to, hurt, and demeaned. While she had [[TookALevelInBadass an epic moment taking down Fairplay in the FIC]], she would go into Final Tribal Council only to be completely brutalized by the jury (according to outside sources, including the man himself, [[JerkAss Fairplay delivered an inhumanely hateful speech that couldn't be aired]] solely to make her life hell) and she ended up getting slaughtered in the final vote (6-1). To add insult to injury, when the jury said in the reunion that they would vote for her over Fairplay, they had only done so because producers tipped them off to lie in order to keep Lil from crying during the reunion. And not only that, in the DVD commentary, it was revealed that she was only voted back into the game not because she was the most deserving, it was because the pre-jurors didn't want her around during their pre-merge vacation, so essentially she was voted out of the Outcasts! Regardless of what you might feel about her, there's no denying that it is very hard to have as miserable of a Survivor experience as Lil did (although [[TheWoobie Woobies]] like Bobby Jon Drinkard and Kathy Vavrick O'Brien give her a run for her money.)

* A bit of an underrated sad moment is Frosti getting voted out 7-1 in Survivor: China. He's such a likable character that even Todd, a strategist who had no problems before and after cutting the throats of allies, says he finds it hard to vote him out. When Frosti gets the votes the expression on his face is pure rejection, and every vote comes up for him with a small drawn frown-face. After he leaves to go, no one seems even remotely happy that they had to vote him out.

* In one episode of Cook Islands, the Aitus find a bird's nest and Cao Boi pokes it with a stick to see if there are any eggs to be eaten. Then they knock it out of the tree and see that there are none, Penner looks into the bush that the nest had fallen into and finds a baby bird. It was literally less than a day old, as Penner tearfully mentions how it still has the gunk from the inside of its shell still on it. They (most likely futilely) put it back in the nest and hope for the best.
* Janu's storyline in ''Palau''. Throughout the entire game, she was made fun of by her Koror tribemates. In episode 10, she is sent to Exile Island, where she finally has some peace alone on the island, away from her tribe, which she claims was the best part of her experience. At the end of the episode, she decides that she has had enough and decides to throw a wrench in her tribe's plans by [[ThanatosGambit quitting the game to save Stephenie.]] Who knows what else happened to her that wasn't shown on screen? It's hard not to feel bad for her.
* The ending of the Tocantins auction is this and doubles as a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}. Jeff puts up the last item up for bid- video messages from home, and allows people to pool money. Everyone begins to give their money to Taj, who left her newborn baby at home to play Survivor, and she is clearly in tears. Even Jeff comments on their generosity in such a cutthroat game. After watching the video, Taj is in tears and is very emotional when she finds out that her husband is there. Jeff then says that only she will be able to see her loved one unless she sends herself to exile island to meet her husband there so everyone can see their loved ones. As a thanks to her tribemates, she sends herself to exile. Truly an emotional scene.

* One of the first tearjerkers in the show's history came during ''Borneo'': A post-merger reward challenge had the castaways compete in an archery contest. The reward was home movies from the loved ones of the castaways. It's all pretty heartwarming to see their families wish them well...until Jeff informs Jenna they never received a tape from hers. Jenna ''instantly'' breaks down, and everyone tries to comfort her.
** The winner of the challenge would get to record their own video message to send back to their family. And Jenna ''loses that too.'' While the rest of the castaways join Greg in making the video, we see Jenna solemnly shooting at the target so many times that the bow and arrow leaves scars on her, complete with a tearful voiceover about how much she misses her kids. Her breakdown was so bad that the tribe nearly voted her off ''out of pity.''
** Thankfully all this sets up a nice heartwarming moment in the next episode: the reward was letters from the castaway's families, including Jenna's. Colleen wins the challenge, but then Jeff tells her that she can select another castaway to share the reward. She immediately picks Jenna.
* In ''Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen-X'', Adam find a hidden Immunity Idol. At first it's triumphant, until he starts crying and reveals that his mother is also a huge fan of survivor and has stage four lung cancer. He's feeling both his dreams and nightmares coming true at the same time. He also adds that he hopes his mother can watch him on the show, and that it'll bring her some happiness in her terrible time...but unfortunately, Adam's mother passed away before the season aired, making this pre-recorded moment even more devastating.

-->Alec: Christian. You're safe. I'm not.
-->Christian: I know. And I know how you must feel, right now, in this moment. I just... I might never get this opportunity again. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

** Jenna Morasca quitting ''Survivor: All Stars'' to be with her cancer-stricken mother. At first this seems like a [[HeartwarmingMoments heartwarming moment]], until you learn that she passed away merely ''eight days later''.

* The ending of the Tocantins auction is this and doubles as a [[CrowningMomentofHeartwarming Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]]. Jeff puts up the last item up for bid- video messages from home, and allows people to pool money. Everyone begins to give their money to Taj, who left her newborn baby at home to play Survivor, and she is clearly in tears. Even Jeff comments on their generosity in such a cutthroat game. After watching the video, Taj is in tears and is very emotional when she finds out that her husband is there. Jeff then says that only she will be able to see her loved one unless she sends herself to exile island to meet her husband there so everyone can see their loved ones. As a thanks to her tribemates, she sends herself to exile. Truly an emotional scene.

* The loved ones visit is this and [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming heartwarming]]. From everyone crying and smiling, to everyone talking about how much their loved one meant to them. David crying and saying how he wished he was as brave as his dad, Hannah comforting her mom, Bret and Zeke breaking down, and Adam meeting his brother. Especially Adam meeting his brother, since he's so, ''so'' desperate to hear how his mom is doing and is tempted to use the advantage... but he doesn't. Because he can't take that away from everyone. And through the challenge, he struggles so desperately and apologizes to his brother as he fails. And it would have been so horrible, if not for Jay showing kindness and taking Adam on the reward.

* Stephanie's elimination in ''Ghost Island'', backed in a corner with no chance of surviving, she says that it was her dream to play Survivor and she is there for her kids. Even Kellyn is sad to vote her out.

* Terry getting pulled out of the game with the news that his son was in the hospital, and both his wife and the doctor said he should come home as soon as possible, with Terry not even hesitating or questioning about doing so. [[spoiler: His son needed a heart transplant, and was fortunately fine after the surgery]].

* Not a US version, but the Australian Survivor 2016 finale, the FIC is Hands on a Hard Idol. Kristie, knowing she is by far the underdog against challenge-competent couple Lee and El, begs Lee tearfully to take her to the Final 2. While she does so, she dissolves into sobs, and eventually tells Lee that he reminds her of her dad, who she promised as an eight year old watching the first season that she would make the show to. [[spoiler: Lee falls shortly after on his own accord, and Kristie wins.]] As she can't walk on her own, she begs her father to carry her, crying the entire way.

--> '''Lee:''' ...I'm so proud of you. [[spoiler:*falls*]]