Even though Survivor: David vs. Goliath castaways Alec Merlino and Kara Kay were not in a showmance during the show; they began dating almost immediately after filming wrapped.
The couple then settled down in San Diego, California, where Alec ran his clothing business, and Kara worked as a realtor. However, after nearly two years of dating, Kara removed her pictures with Alec from social media, and he deleted his Instagram profile altogether.
Alec Merlino and Kara Kay on ‘Survivor: David vs. Goliath’
In 2018, 24-year-old bartender from San Clemente, California, Alec Merlino, and 30-year-old realtor based in San Diego, Kara Kay, competed on David vs. Goliath, the 37th season of Survivor.
Initially placed on the dominating Goliath tribe, they avoided Tribal Councils and easily made it to the Tribe Switch. The two, alongside Natalia Azoqa, were swapped to another tribe and lost the following immunity challenge.
Alec flipped on Natalia and voted her out, angering Kara, who turned on him and tried to make him a target. After the merge, they eventually regrouped, but Alec’s physical abilities turned him into a threat, and he unanimously became the fourth member of the jury.
Kara stayed in a good position in the tribe, won an individual immunity challenge, and never became a target. After not receiving one vote against her all season, she lost in the final fire-making challenge, becoming the last member of the jury.
Alec Merlino and Kara Kay began dating after ‘Survivor: David vs. Goliath’
In a statement to E! News before the premiere of their season, Alec and Kara revealed they started dating on the last day they were in Fiji together, May 7, 2018.
Even though they worked together in the game, Alec didn’t realize he had feelings for her until he was a member of the jury. After they returned to California after filming, Alec moved to Kara’s neck of the woods in San Diego to work on his seemingly now-defunct clothing business, Head & Hart.
Kara compared the origins of their relationship to “the reverse Bachelor” because they met at their “absolute worst with no technology” and “stripped of everything that is normal in everyday life.”
Therefore, they feel “way closer than a lot of people will ever get to be.” Only a week after they began dating, Alec posted a picture with Kara captioned “f**k it,” breaking the non-disclosure agreement he signed with Survivor.
Instead of suing him for $5 million, they banned him from attending the finale and withheld his $10,000 appearance fee. While production considered punishing Kara as well as a “willing participant,” they decided against it, and she appeared on-stage at the reunion.
Alec Merlino and Kara Kay broke up
The San Diego-based couple frequently featured each other on their social media until recently when Alec suddenly deleted his profile. Additionally, Kara removed the photos with her boyfriend.
Currently, it’s unclear what happened between the two and when they split up. The last known time they were still together is November 2019 when a fan ran into them at a store.
Survivor 40: Winners at War airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.
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