'Survivor' Alum Announces Split with 'Soulmate' of Seven Years

The fifth-placer from season 41 says, "We're still soulmates, just in a different way."

The past week in the Survivor community has been all about love. While last Wednesday's episode of season 44 saw one couple get broken up as one was voted out in heartbreaking fashion, a different type of separation occurred in the alumni community, as season 41 contestant Ricard Foyé announced his split from husband of seven years Andy Grier Foyé.

Foyé made the announcement on Twitter on April 17, a picture of the two of them, along with their two children, on a recent trip to Costa Rica. "Telling my kids that baba & daddy are separating will always hurt," he wrote. "We had a great run. So much love, two beautiful babies & two angel babies. You’re my best friend. Our first family trip as just friends proved even more that we’re still soulmates, just in a different way."

Related: Read our Survivor 41 postseason interview with Ricard Foyé

The two met while volunteering at a queer youth camp. They eloped in 2015, throwing an eventual larger ceremony in 2018. The pair became parents the next year with the arrival of daughter Aurelia, with Grier Foyé as a self-proclaimed "seahorse dad," a transgender man carrying the child. He also carried their son Lucia, who was born mere weeks after Foyé returned from playing Survivor. And his family weighed largely on his mind during his 24 days in the game.

"I'm leaving behind a 22-month-old daughter," he said in a confessional during the premiere. "She doesn't understand why I'm gone or that I'm coming back. And my husband, who's working a full-time job while taking care of our baby, while also being a transgender pregnant man, I'm leaving behind a lot. But if I won this money, I would be able to know that my children's whole childhood up to adulthood, I could take care of them. So I'm here for a really good reason, to make a really big impact on my life."

Foyé later brought up his family when talking to close ally Xander Hastings during what would ultimately be his final day on the beach. He revealed through tears that he had a baby due that next week, saying in confessional, "I gave up a life moment potentially to be here. A huge one, the first moment of my baby's life, to win this game."

Foyé was one of the standouts of Survivor 41, the first season after the show's hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He became one of a handful of castaways in the show's history to get down to a tribe of two people, dominating the premerge alongside his tight ally Shan Smith. However, the pair ended up splitting in the postmerge, with Ricard making a new alliance to blindside Shan. Despite being labeled the biggest threat after that, he was still able to survive two more rounds before ultimately being voted off in fifth place. He went on to eventually vote for season winner Erika Casupanan as a juror.

Grier Foyé has yet to comment publicly on the pair's split. His last social media post on Instagram includes photos from the aforementioned family trip to Costa Rica.

Next, Everything You Need To Know About the Current Season of Survivor 44