She’s regarded as one of the best to ever play the game by Jeff Probst himself, but no woman is an island and “Survivor” superstar Parvati Shallow is about to embark on a new kind of alliance – marriage. The three-time player said yes when her long-time boyfriend, also a “Survivor” alum, John Fincher got down on bended knee and proposed during a romantic trip to London.
Parvati opened up about the big surprise revealing how John, now a beer executive, popped the question, “The first night, I met some of his extended family for dinner in the country. The next evening we planned to go to dinner just the two of us. On our way to the restaurant, he told me we needed to check out this “secret champagne bar” in the park. I love champagne and was very excited about this idea. But, as we were walking into the park, under the light of the full moon, he turned around to face me and admitted “there is no secret champagne bar,” and he dropped down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Cheeky!” From there Parvati says, “things played out like an episode of ‘The Bachelor’ — dinner at Nobu, a rugby match at Twickenham, and a surprise flight to Paris the next day!”
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As for the wedding, Parvati tells ET Canada they are hoping to get hitched this summer and they may even say “I do” right here in Canada. “I do know that I want an outdoor wedding. Being surrounded by the natural beauty of the landscape, our favourite people on the planet, great food and fun music is all we want. We’re looking into finding a venue in British Columbia,” she teased, noting their shared love for Whistler.
Parvati is a three-time player and champion of the game, winning “Survivor: Micronesia- Fans vs. Favorites” in 2008 while John has played once himself on “Survivor: Samoa”, finishing 9th, respectively, back in 2009. While the two have never appeared on the show together, they did meet through mutual friends of the iconic reality competition show. Parvati looks back on their first encounter where sparks were flying from the get-go. “I met John in the carpool on our way to play in Ethan Zohn’s Grassroot Soccer charity game in LA in 2013. Aras was driving, Nate Gonzales was riding shotgun, and John was sitting next to me. When we scooped up Ozzy, John slid into the middle seat, and I remember being struck by how comfortable he felt to me. I was drawn to him instantly.”
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Parvati has been absent from the game for 14 seasons after she placed second on “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains” – a season many fans of the game believed she deserved to win. Since then she’s been busy teaching yoga workshops around the world, motivational speaking, and of course, hosting our Post-Tribal “Survivor” Podcast alongside Erin Cebula. While she has reportedly passed on multiple offers to return to the game, Parvati tells us we may see her and John back for another go but this time together, once they figure out their plans for another kind of tribe. “I’m sure we would consider the opportunity to play ‘Blood vs. Water’ together, but it would have to be timed well for us. I’ve got big plans for our family-to-be!” A black widow/hot rocket scientist baby? Yes, please!
