It’s going to be a very busy reality TV year for Cirie Fields, as the Survivor legend will be appearing on not one, but two editions of the franchise. Not only will she be competing on the highly anticipated Survivor 50 in 2026 on CBS, but she will also be part of the international contingent heading Down Under to play on Australian Survivor: Australia v The World (premiering Aug. 17).

That means Cirie is one of the last contestants to play Australian Survivor under the stoic gaze of host Jonathan LaPaglia, who revealed on Instagram on June 29 that he had been fired from the program. “Australian Survivor has seen some of the most epic blindsides over the last 10 years,” LaPaglia wrote, “but this one might just be the craziest of them all… because it happened to me. I received a call from the Network thanking me for all my hard work and dedication to the show but for next season they are ‘going in a different direction.’”

NIGEL WRIGHT/Network Ten Jonathan LaPaglia on ‘Australian Survivor’
The host was not the only one blindsided by the news, as Australian Survivor fans were likewise astonished that the beloved host of almost 10 years was suddenly out, with Australia v The World serving as his last season. Count Cirie — as a fan of the foreign version prior to becoming a player — as one of the folks most surprised.

“I was really shocked because I watched Australian Survivor before I played,” Cirie tells Entertainment Weekly. “I had a VPN and everything. So I knew George, I knew Kirby, I knew Shonee, I knew the Golden God.”

In fact, the Survivor icon didn’t even believe the news at first: “When I heard it, you know what I thought? I thought, you know how you see all this crazy stuff on the internet? I had to fact-check it. Like, ‘Nah, that’s not true.’”

Once she learned the truth, the bewilderment did not fade. “Why?” Cirie asks. “I still don’t know why. Like, I mean, it is what it is.”

Robert Voets/CBS Cirie Fields on ‘Survivor: Game Changers’
And while Cirie is devoted to her Stateside host, Jeff Probst, she appreciated the different flavor that LaPaglia served up on the Aussie edition. “You know, playing with Jeff for 20 years — I’m gonna get a Jeff tattoo right here over my kids’ names over my heart because I truly, truly love Jeff. But playing with JLP is like…”

She pauses before coming up with a delicious analogy. “You know, I like a lot of desserts,” she says. “I mean, obviously. [Laughs] But I love banana pudding, and I love red velvet cupcakes. Both for different reasons, right? I love the banana realness and the wafers in the banana pudding. And I love the cream cheese frosting with the moist red velvet cupcake. Can I compare the two? No, but I had a good time with both. And that’s what I feel about him and Jeff. That’s the comparison for me. There is no real comparison, but I had a good time with both.”

Viewers will get to see Cirie and LaPaglia together for the first and final time when Australian Survivor: Australia v The World premieres Aug. 17 on Network 10.