History TearJerker / Survivor

** Amber herself saying she didn't deserve to win ''All-Stars''. She let fans opinions get to her head and even though she won the most of any Survivor contestant in a single season, convinced herself it was all a fluke. Adding on to that is either her own husband didn't stand up for her or they edited out what would've been a touching display by having her own husband, the man she beat, tell her that he still believes she deserved to win no matter how many fans think she didn't.

* ''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.
** Unfortunately, circumstances force Ben to undergo a FaceHeelTurn later in the season, and the buildup to it is genuinely tragic. His conflicting loyalties force him to betray one of his closest allies, Chrissy, for the sake of his long-term game, and his role as a DoubleAgent effectively destroys his friendship. Then he learns that his new allies, including his friend Lauren, are planning to thank him by double-crossing him. Ben responds by revealing all of Lauren's advantages to Chrissy, Ryan, and Mike to blindside her, escalating the situation into a dramatic showdown at tribal in which it becomes clear that Ben and Lauren are no longer interested in being civil with each other. Ultimately, Ben uses his idol to single-handedly eliminate Lauren. This is tragic because Ben states in several confessionals that he was trying to escape the darkness of his past and leave behind some of the horrible things he says he did, but the game of Survivor forced him to backslide into it. He gets better and wins the game, though, so it isn't too disconcerting in the long run.

* 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.

** Not only that, but Jane, who was also left unpicked, said that this summer was the last time she would get to see her daughter before she left for college.

* 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.

* Kat in ''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.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cEumRGTnHo This secret scene from Aras]] about his former drug addict brother Vytas. But, as a silver lining, he got to play with him later, and Vytas even got a season on his own.

* Peih-Gee Law being the third boot in ''Cambodia'' is this for her supporters. She was a popular underdog in ''China'', nearly making it to the final four despite huge odds against her, and she waited eight years for her chance to get back in the game. She was considered an underdog for the Second Chance and was happily surprised to win a spot. She leaves early less as a result of personal failing, and more due to [[DiabolusExMachina extreme bad luck]]: she is Misblamed for stealing [[DramaQueen Abi's]] bracelet, gets tribe swapped to the new Angkor tribe with her, and is targeted by [[SitcomArchNemesis Abi]] and the minority after Jeff Varner grabs the IdiotBall. It's hard not to feel a bit sad for her losing her second chance in such circumstances.

* A sort of underrated sad moment in ''Kaoh Rong'' is the lead up to Debbie's blindside. Throughout the episode, Debbie is nothing but supportive towards the women's alliance, actively cheering on the other girls to succeed in challenges and very motherly towards them, and she absolutely trusted Aubry - saying that the remaining Brains were like [[TrueCompanions The Three Musketeers]], how she'll never vote out Aubry and Aubry will never her, and even outright saying to Joe at Tribal Council that she "loves that girl". She put so much love and trust into her alliance that, despite how kooky she is, it's actually uncomfortable to watch her get voted out.
* Darnell's attempts in ''Kaoh Rong'' to justify keeping him, begging his tribe to forgive him for messing up a challenge. He's on the verge of tears after making his case, but it does him no good.

* After Cydney loses the firemaking challenge in ''Kaoh Rong'', she talks about how she wanted to use the money to help herself and her parents to pay their mortgage. It really is a tearjerking moment.
* Tai having to let Mark the chicken go after the final tribal council due to restrictions that prevent wild animals from being brought home from a foreign country. He saved that chicken's life and had grown so close to it, it was sad to see them part. Plus, given the fact they were taking care of it, Mark probably grew used to the domestication and doesn't know how to survive on his own so his time on the island was probably short lived.

* In ''Millennials vs. Gen X'', Adam finds 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.

* While somewhat understated due to her over-the-top nature, it is made clear that Michaela is genuinely hurt by Jay's betrayal. The look she gives Jay as her torch is snuffed screams that she is trying to decide between being enraged and heartbroken.

* Adam trying to defend himself from Taylor and Jay's accusations and insults was eerily reminiscent of watching a kid get bullied. Every time he tried to speak up, they would cut him off or laugh at him. And when he started getting upset, they would mock him by asking him "why are you getting so defensive?". For anyone who was bullied growing up, this scene was uncomfortable and emotional. You definitely felt Adam's frustration and hurt.
** This scene sort of happens again in episode 10, but instead it was David and Hannah who were being verbally abused by Zeke and Bret, who mocked them for their anxiety and neuroticism. Like above, it hit home for anyone who struggled with anxiety and have been made of for it. Some people online have grimly noticed the irony in the fact that it was two LBGT+ people degrading other people for something they couldn't help.
*** This is especially brutal since Bret admitted to Zeke he stayed closeted because he was fearful that his tribe wouldn't accept him as gay, a very valid fear considering they were from the generation before and dripping with machismo. However, he targeted the least one for having a condition he was unable to help (and had been shown struggling with throughout the full two-hour episode)- and while the two are very hard to compare in severity otherwise, it was still unkind of Bret, who appeared to be supportive of him in the earlier parts of the episode. Then again, in the first episode, Bret mocked David in confessional for, of all things, "having less testosterone than the women"- which indicates that he is not macho like Bret felt the rest of the tribe was. Not only is it very harsh, it also makes one wonder about what Bret has been through and how deep his mask is when dealing with his generation.
* Jessica's exit from the game in ''Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen-X'', is heartbreaking. She really didn't want to draw rocks but she went to do so believing that it is her only shot at winning the game. ''[[DramaticIrony And she got the unlucky draw.]]'' As she ended up pulling the black rock, she was crying on her way out of tribal council, and in her final words she broke down again mentioning that if she flipped she wouldn't be sitting there. Not only that, but many of the cast members were crying at her sudden elimination- even Jay, who had a history of being brutal and hardcore and had no allies. Jeff even expressed dismay, modifying his usual EliminationStatement from "the tribe has spoken" to "the ''game'' has spoken" just to make it clear that no one had a hand in her elimination- a freak stroke of misfortune took her out of the competition.

* In the finale, Ken was forced to turn against his closest ally in the game because he was too much of a threat. When confronted with it at the Final Tribal Council, he broke down clearly regretting decision saying he had to do it because his daughter means everything to him.

* Malcolm's final words in ''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...
** And then J.T. and Michaela's exchange when J.T. is eliminated;
--> '''Michaela''': "Tell Malcolm you sent him home."
--> '''J.T.''': "[[MyGreatestFailure I will]]."
* Debbie's apparent mental breakdown in episode 5 is just as sad as it is bizarre, terrifying, and oddly humorous. What makes it worse is that her anger at Brad and Hali is completely misplaced; both of them like her.
* Seeing Sandra's torch get snuffed for the first time is heartbreaking. The fact her tribe applauds her in respect and her final words were nothing but love and respect for the game that changed her life for the better makes the feeling all the more bittersweet.

* 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.

** From the same episode, Ben getting upset at Joe for saying negative things about how he treats the word of Marines, saying that he has been unable to come to terms with many things he did in the Corps and has to live with these thoughts ''every'' day. This is a man who is trapped in a nightmare that chases him nonstop, even with a family by his side. He doesn't run from it, because it waits on him. He can only cope with it. Some people who end up like that might go insane, but thankfully not Ben.

* Russell Swan's exit in ''Samoa''. The tribe leader who worked himself to death is still fighting Jeff Probst telling him they had to evacuate him when he's extremely close to ''death'' and ''routinely passing out.''

* Poor Bruce had to be evacuated in the first episode of ''44'' due to receiving a head injury in the ''very first challenge''. Even when he temporarily recovered and medical deemed him as okay for the time being, the concussion eventually came back and rendered him barely conscious and unable to move. It's especially upsetting since he's always dreamed of being on Survivor, and a freak accident in challenge prevented him from fulfilling that dream. The only bright spot in this is that Jeff admitted on his podcast that he was 100% willing to bring Bruce back for another season, which would come to pass in the very next season.