'Survivor: Blood vs. Water': Meet the Cast!

Dalton Ross introduces the 10 couples competing for $1M when the season kicks off Sept. 18 on CBS, complete with quotes and on-location video interviews with all 20 players!

Daughter/Mother

The Australian Outback winner Tina did not have to sugarcoat the experience to get her daughter to agree to play. ”She gave me the honest truth,” says Katie. ”She didn’t glamorize it. She said, ‘It’s going to be the toughest thing you ever do. You’re gonna starve. You’re gonna be in the elements. And you’re gonna lose a lot of weight.”’ Adds Tina, ”And I may have to vote you off. It’s the equivalent of a mother eating her young.” But Tina may already have targeted someone else: ”I think Tyson will definitely be a villain on this season. And it’s not just that he just doesn’t seem to be all that loyal. It’s also that he’s kind of mean and hateful.”

Dating

”There’s a target on my back from the get-go,” says Kat’s loved one. That’s because boyfriend Hayden has already emerged victorious on a CBS reality competition show — only that show was Big Brother. It will be interesting to see how his game translates from inside the house to outside in Mother Nature. Also interesting to see is whether the Survivor: One World lover of margaritas has matured this time around. ”I think the one thing I’ve learned a lot after that season is to listen,” says Kat. ”Listen more than I speak. I didn’t know anything about Survivor when I played the first time, and I got to the final seven. And I don’t know if anyone noticed, but that’s pretty good. So the fact that I didn’t know anything about the game and got pretty far might come to my advantage this time because now I know how to play.”

Mother/Daughter

The Survivor: Samoa contestant fesses up to being worried about Tyson and Colton in the game. But there is someone else she should be wary of — her own daughter! When asked if she would vote her mom out, Ciera does not hesitate: ”Definitely. We’re definitely coming out here playing individual games. But my mom is my biggest asset in the game so if we can work together as far as we can, I think that will benefit both of us.” At least mom Laura is on the same page: ”We’ve already talked about no hurt feelings. We’re gonna leave our game in the Philippines. It’s done. We get it. We know it’s a million dollars that we’re playing for. Any hurt feelings, it’s part of the game.”

Uncle/Niece

Producers went old-school when they reached all the way back to season 1 to bring back Gervase, but he insists the game has not passed him by. ”I’m a student of the game,” he claims, ”I’ve been studying this game for 13 years. Studying it!” But then he says this: ”There’s a couple of other people here who, I have no idea who they are. I don’t know ’em from Adam, and I don’t know how they were on their season or what they’ve done.” (That doesn’t sound like the most dedicated student, if you ask me.) Well, at least if Gervase doesn’t win this time around he has a potential consolation prize awaiting him. Says the niece he brought along for the ride: ”I already told him after I win, I’ll give him $100,000 — untaxed.”

Engaged

Colton became one of Survivor‘s most hated contestants ever after the way he treated his tribemates on One World, and his fiancé Caleb is hoping this season’s cast doesn’t hold it against him. ”His downfall would be people coming in knowing who Colton is,” says Caleb. ”Putting that target on his back because of how he played the game last time and not giving him a chance. And I’m hoping that in his sincerity that they won’t just think he’s being fake.” Colton says he’s in a much better emotional place this time around. ”I’m a lot happier and I’m a lot more at peace going in than last time,” he says. ”So I’m excited about where I am. I’m super excited this guy is here, and I’m hoping Dalton Ross likes me this time.” We’ll see?

Married

Monica may have been eliminated early on Survivor: One World, but she feels her husband (a current attorney and former NFL player) gives her the edge this time around. ”I have to win,” she says, ”and I brought my shield, my armor, my guy to help me get to the point I need to be.” And Brad feels he has an advantage dealing with the elements after surviving the brutality of NFL training camps. ”The hotter the better,” says Brad. ”I’m hoping that it rains every day. I’m hoping it’s 100 percent humidity, I’m hoping that it’s 100 degrees.”

Married

Rupert becomes the second player — after Boston Rob — to play the game a fourth time. Will he be as dominant in his fourth outing as Rob was in his? ”I think we’re going to make it to the final two,” says Rupert. ”And then one of us will get first and the other one will get second. I’d love a clean sweep where we take first, second and fan favorite because we played the game the way we’re supposed to. You don’t have to be a horse’s butt to win this game. You can’t be an angel, but you sure don’t have to be an ass.” Agrees Laura, ”I think first and second place is what we have in sight.”

Brothers

So why is Survivor: Panama winner Aras putting his brother through this brutal experience? ”I’m putting my brother through this so that I can do it again, really,” says Aras. ”It’s for really selfish reasons. It’s been seven years since my season finished — seven years almost to the day that I won a million dollars, and it’s been a dream of mine to come back. I assumed I’d only be back for a winners season, so the chance to play again in a non-winners-only season is too good to be a true. And Vytas is a huge fan too.” But does Vytas have what it takes? ”Vytas’s biggest weakness is his temper,” says Aras. ”When you have all this deprivation that occurs, it’s hard to hold your tongue. If you’re angry, that’s going to scare people. So that’s what he has to be careful of.”

Married

The former Candice Woodcock is back for a third go round (after Cook Islands and Heroes vs. Villains) and says she has no problem voting her husband off — under the right circumstances. ”If we decided that there was one person going to the end and we would want another person on the jury for a vote,” explains Candice, ”that would be a possible scenario that we would vote one or the other out. But other than that we’re going to stay loyal.” Says John, ”I’m not going to be forced to write Candice’s name down in a situation that we haven’t already talked about. I mean, I’ve got to sleep next to this woman for the rest of my life, so I’m not going to do something stupid like that.” Adds Candice, ”Smart man.”

Dating

Hey, Tyson, are you worried about the fact that there are three contestants from Survivor: One World on this season? ”No, they’re children,” answers the Tocantins and Heroes vs. Villains veteran. ”They’re all children. Monica, she’s 45 and tries to dress like a 30-year-old. It’s ridiculous. It’s not going to be hard to turn all three against each other by whispering sweet little lies, and they’ll all be at each other’s throats.” However several other contestants commented that they weren’t sure Tyson’s girlfriend Rachel would be able to tough it out in the elements. ”I think she’s going to miss the creature comforts of home,” admits Tyson. ”And if you talk about that too much, you become a target.”