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Romance is nothing new in the game of Survivor. But in the past few seasons, a showmance has been hard to find on the beaches of Fiji. Most contestants are focused on surviving the elements and outlasting their fellow tribemates. However, sometimes people can’t ignore their chemistry, and many fans believe two Survivor Season 42 castaways found love after they exited the game.

The 'Survivor' Season 42 castaways pose for promotional pictures on the beach. Ten contestants stand in the back row, and the eight other players kneel in the front row.
‘Survivor’ Season 42 cast | Photo by Robert Voets/CBS via Getty Images

Rumors claim 2 ‘Survivor’ Season 42 castaways started dating after meeting at Ponderosa

When Survivor Season 42 premiered, rumors circulated around the fandom that two castaways got together after their respective tribemates voted them out of the game. And for those who don’t know, once a player leaves, the producers send them to a place called Ponderosa. Usually, it’s a resort where the contestants stay until production wraps.

Many fans believe two players — Zach Wurtenberger and Lydia Meredith — connected at Ponderosa and began dating. Zach was the first person voted out of the game, and he was on the Ika tribe. And Lydia was the sixth person to leave, thanks to the hourglass twist.

So, assumingly, the first time Zach and Lydia met was after she left the game on Day 14 and arrived at Ponderosa. And according to rumors and speculation, the two Survivor Season 42 castaways may have started dating shortly after meeting. There is a very detailed, spoiler-filled bootlist that claims this rumor.

Why fans believe Zach and Lydia from ‘Survivor’ Season 42 are dating

Aside from fans passing rumors through the grapevine, one Reddit user posted evidence that might prove that Zach and Lydia grew close during Survivor Season 42.

Apparently, the two met up with Hannah Shapiro and David Wright from Survivor: Millenials vs. Gen X. But the Survivor Season 42 castaways took separate photos with Hannah and David instead of one of them altogether. It’s clear that the pictures were taken simultaneously, which furthers the theory that Zach and Lydia could be dating.

The original poster wrote, “Rumor has it they kicked it at Ponderosa. Not really my place to continue spreading these rumors, although these pictures do add some possible validity to the already very detailed and correctly spoiled boot list.”

They added, “Hannah posted the Zach one yesterday [in April] and the Lydia one in February, but it was probably so people wouldn’t notice that Zach and Lydia were hanging out due to NDAs and all that. Hannah and David are wearing the same clothes and everything in both pictures.”

Perhaps the two will confirm or deny their romance after the Survivor Season 42 finale. Or it could be possible that the two are only friends after meeting as castaways.

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‘Survivor’ fans have been wrong about castaways dating before

Two Survivor Season 41 castaways were also subject to romance rumors during their time on the show — Xander Hastings and Liana Wallace.

The duo started on the same tribe, and they constantly bickered after the merge. And according to one Reddit user who claimed to know spoilers from season 41, Xander and Liana had a showmance while competing. We now know that that was not true, but it did cause some commotion among Survivor fans.

So there’s a good chance that Zach and Lydia are just friends, and there is no truth to the rumors about a possible romance. But we won’t know for sure unless either Zach or Lydia makes a statement about their relationship.

Survivor Season 42 airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

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