Rick Devens was almost this season's Sole Survivor -- but he still came out a winner.
The 33-year-old news anchor was quite the character on Survivor: Edge of Extinction, with his personality having his castmates just as split as the audience was. Some people loved him, some people didn't -- but Sia definitely did. The singer awarded him with her "Sia Prize" of $100,000 on Wednesday night's season finale, which has become a bit of a tradition in recent years.
"I was floored! You saw my face, it just dropped. [I'm the] biggest Sia fan in the world now," Devens told ET after the finale. "Oh my gosh. The first thing I'm doing is buying every album I don't already have."
"My wife was in the front row sobbing. We can't believe it. That's a huge amount of money for us, and I've got a 5-year-old and a soon-to-be 2-year-old, and that's going right into college savings. So thank you, Sia!" he exclaimed.
As for any impulse purchases, Devens admitted that he did have something in mind. "My wife deserves a vacation. She was stuck with the two kids, two dogs and two cats while I was on Survivor. Sia's going to give my wife a very nice vacation," he cracked.
Like this season's winner, Chris Underwood, Devens also spent some time on Exile Island before returning to the competition. Since then, however, he had managed to become a huge threat, and Underwood, who won the season's last Immunity Challenge, knew that he wouldn't win against him in the final three. It was then that Underwood decided to give up his immunity and race against Devens in a fire-making challenge to reach the finals; Underwood won and Devens was eliminated.
While he didn't end up winning, he's earned quite a bit of celebrity as this season's clear standout. "I'd say exactly 'a bit' of celebrity," he joked. "I agree, 100 percent."
"Some people can get enough of me, and have had enough of me," Devens teased. "It's been so much fun. I mean, we're not real celebrities, so we gotta really enjoy this time while we have it, and people have been so nice, so it's been fun."
The Georgia-based newscaster said he'd "definitely" consider going back to the show for another shot at glory, but first he's focused on potential job opportunities. Host Jeff Probst even asked him during the live finale on Wednesday whether he had any bigger markets calling his name.
"I gotta go find Jeff and see what he's talking about! He knows people! I don't know people," Devens said. "I love my job right now. I'm very happy, but I'm open to anything. We'll see. Is ETonline -- are they hiring?"
Survivor returns this fall on CBS. See more in the video below.
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