Ho Yay / Survivor

Some contestants are prone to this.

• One of the show's greatest showmances came in the very first season: raging homophobe Rudy and openly gay Richard. Bonus Points for Rudy inadvertently making innuendos while still being politically incorrect.

  Rudy: Me and Richard got to be pretty good friends. (pause) Not in a homosexual way, that's for sure.

• A rather hilarious example from Tocantins involves Brendan and Stephen. Stuck on Exile Island together during a rainstorm, they huddle together in order to stay warm. The next morning, they both discuss (in separate confessionals) how the “the spooning was a great bonding experience”.
• Another standout example is J.T. and Stephen from Tocantins. There's even a secret scene of the two saying "I love you" to each other, followed by J.T. suddenly realising how that exchange might come across on TV and joking about how it would be fine if Stephen ended up "turning gay" for him on Day 39. Considering they did make it to Day 39 together...
  • The shipping has gone to the next level: When a meme did the rounds about how Nick from David vs. Goliath was their lovechild, Stephen went to Twitter to comment on how he and J.T. were "proud of their son".
• Heidi and Jenna in The Amazon. They are such close friends throughout the season that it borders on showmance more than a few times. Besides the bathing scene with Shawna, the two can be seen cuddling with each other on the morning of Day 35. Additionally, they paint a sun and heart on their cheeks to symbolize their bond at the Final 7 Tribal Council, not to mention Jenna sacrifices her immunity necklace to protect Heidi at the Final 6 despite clearly putting herself at risk that same night. They're also never shy to express their adoration of each other during their interviews, especially Heidi during her FTC voting confessional, where she enthusiastically whispers that she loves and adores Jenna. Rob C.'s "twigs and sticks" confessional alludes to the two women's ability to influence him with Girl on Girl Is Hot, explicitly or not.
• During one scene in Palau, Ian admits to being very comfortable with his sexuality after getting Gregg to bathe his back.
• Bisexual Ami from Vanuatu generated more than a little Les Yay with some of her female tribemates.
• Parvati Shallow (from Cook Islands, Micronesia and Heroes vs. Villains), is prone to this, as she uses her good looks to manipulate everyone around her. The weirdest case of this was during the final Tribal Council in Micronesia, when it was Natalie's turn to speak, and out of nowhere, she asked Parvati how her being a flirt was reflected by her sex life. Nobody had a damn clue where that came from, exactly what Natalie had meant to ask, or (in Jeff's case) how to react.
• Marcus and Charlie in Gabon. Aside from Charlie being gay and having an not-so-secret crush on Marcus, the two became very close friends. There are even scenes in Ponderosa where they feed each other and choose clothes together.
• At Samoa's FTC, Brett asked what Mick and him would do if they were on a "Bro-Date". To which Mick jokingly replied: "Wake you up with a little sweet nothing in your ear".
• There's a running joke among hard core Survivor fans that Colby and Jeff Probst are gay lovers. It didn't help to diffuse the rumor when Colby said during the Heroes vs Villains pre-show special, "Probst, snuffing the torch. Man, I'd like to snuff that guy's torch." What he meant was that he'd like to dismiss Probst from the game. Sometimes the fans see what they want to see.
• And then there's the running joke amongst some fans where they try guessing which of the men Probst will crush on every new season, as he seems to hold favoritism towards the "manliest men" each season. If you want a short list: Boston Rob, Colby, Ozzy, Brad Culpepper, Malcolm, Joe, J.T. and Spencer.
• On the "Greatest and Most Outrageous Moments" DVD for Borneo, there's an extended scene of something originally shown during Jenna Lewis' boot episode. The scene featured Gervase, Sean and Rudy discussing Richard's fishing ability and whether it was worth the value of him not doing any other work around camp. The conversation then turns to Dr Sean discussing Rich being a "fat naked fag", and how he would buy a calendar of other FNF's scuba diving and rock climbing. Ironically, Rudy said that such a calendar would sell "To the queers, anyway".
• Tyson and Aras inexplicably cuddling by the campfire in episode two of Blood Vs Water certainly excited many fangirls. It even led them being referred to as Arson.
• Joaquin and Rodney's friendship in Worlds Apart. Although it only lasts for one episode, there is a Homoerotic Subtext and the two refer to it as a "bromance," complete with cheesy and romantic music in the background.
• Stephen and Joe had some serious thing going on in Cambodia, with Stephen calling him "Golden Boy" and "Pretty Boy", and being borderline obsessed with him.
• Kim and Chelsea from One World has this going on so much. They were extremely close, often hugged, and on a reward trip together they said they loved each other, and referred to their trip as a "honeymoon". And even at the end in FTC, when Jonas states that Chelsea is the hottest girl in their season, Kim immediately agreed, by saying "hell yes". So much Les Yay.
• Probst's Accidental Innuendo-filled commentary during challenges will occasionally reach this level.
  "Deitz, big and long!"
  "Joe's pole is long enough, but is it strong enough?"
• Tai Trang from Kaoh Rong seems to have this going on with all of the men he befriends. He first had it going with Caleb, whom he cuddled with in the shelter and almost stole a kiss from him. After the swap, he seems to have a relationship with Scot.
  • Also from Kaoh Rong, Kyle and Scot play this up for laughs, though it's hard to find pictures of them together that don't look romantic. Case in point.◊
  • Neal Gottlieb and Nick Maiorano intentionally play this up on Twitter as well.
• In Millennials vs Gen-X, when Ken and David start becoming friends and allies, David can't stop talking about how good-looking Ken is.
  • And then you have Zeke talking about how charming Jay is, with his deep brown eyes and surfer smile in an almost Tsundere-like tone.
  • Bret and Zeke share some bubbly comments towards each other after winning a reward consisting of a helicopter ride and a picnic after it with Zeke describing his connections with Bret as a "rainbow connection". Of course they are both gay but aren't into each other
  • Bret and Chris are even more blatant, especially during the Reunion Show with Chris teasing Bret about having to cope with losing his "true love" when he was voted out and Bret getting flustered. This continued post-show and in interviews.
  • Adam and Jay went from bitter rivals to Birds of a Feather who shared a tender moment together when they talked about their mothers. Jay even calls it a toxic love-hate relationship, but after understanding Adam's motive he absolves all negative feelings for him, and wants to take him to the end.
• Game Changers really played it up in its third episode with Tai and Caleb. When Tai and Caleb end up being on the Mana tribe after a swap, Tai states that he is still looking for that kiss from Caleb with Malcolm egging them to do it. Then at tribal council, Tai spends a long time deciding in agony over whether to vote of Caleb or Hali but ultimately votes Caleb and when Caleb gets voted off, he kissed Tai on the top of his head.
• Winners At War has a surprising bromance form between Ethan and Rob, with Rob commenting how Ethan looks good and Ethan playfully teasing Rob about his poor challenge performances without upsetting him. The two were shown to be very close with each other, and when Ethan is voted out, Rob looks as devastated as he was when he realized his wife Amber was voted out. For added irony, Ethan even dated Amber for a bit prior to All-Stars.
  • They had a thing going on in "All-Stars", with Rob often calling Ethan "pretty boy."
• 41 has the friendship between Liana and Shan. After both go on a journey together, they are as close as can be and often glued to the hip, with Liana going with everything Shan wishes. When Shan is voted out, her final words to Liana are to tell her she loved her and Liana herself is crushed when she realizes that Shan is going home.

---