Kellyn Bechtold

Kellyn Bechtold is a contestant from Survivor: Ghost Island.

Kellyn was one of the major proponents of keeping the Naviti Alliance loyal to one another for the majority of the game, while also making a strong impression on her fellow tribemates with her personality. Once the game shifted from tribal lines, Kellyn's failure to form bonds with players from outside of her alliance came back to bite her and she was eventually taken out by a secret cross-tribal alliance.

Profile[]

Retrieved from CBS.com

Age: 31
Hometown: North Manchester, Indiana
Current residence: Denver, Colorado
Occupation: Career Counselor
Hobbies: Travel—I love meeting new people in new places, yoga, meditation, and gambling.
Pet peeves: Ignorance and unwillingness to try and walk in other people's shoes and being interrupted by a man.
Three words to describe you: Empathetic, effervescent, and excitable.
What's your personal claim to fame? My ever-evolving career. From being a waitress in Indiana, working at a plant nursery in Florida, to a receptionist at a crematory, and eventually working in career services and business consulting with a dual MBA and Master of Public Health.
Who or what is your inspiration in life? My parents. My dad is one of the hardest working people I know. My mom tutors incarcerated women, volunteers on Election Day, and contributes to our local community in a loving, selfless way.
If you could have three things on the island, what would they be and why? A bag of Skittles. I'm addicted to candy and just one Skittle a day would keep me going through starvation! Next, a deck of cards so I could get people to play games that require deceit, and try to read tells, and tampons, because, duh.
Which Survivor contestant are you most like? I hope I'm a mix between Kelley Wentworth and Aubry Bracco. Kelley is a badass game player who would do anything to win. She gets people to trust her and is still a snake. I'm also a little bit Aubry—strategic, very intuitive, but slightly neurotic and quirky.
What's your reason for being on Survivor? As Probst says, Survivor is a human experiment. I am fascinated, as a huge fan, to watch how people interact and deceive when pushed to their limits. Can't wait to have a front row seat! I want to prove to myself that I can take on this insane physical and mental challenge. Survivor is the greatest game on earth, and I'd like to try my hand at it.
Why do you think you'll "survive" Survivor? I will survive because of my innate ability to make people feel comfortable. I don't give up. I'm a resilient person who has done a lot to design my own life. I have the mental and physical stamina to last, even if I don't look like it. I think I am just sweet and sour enough to come out on top.^[2]

Survivor[]

Kellyn's love for the game motivated her to do well, and she got off to a strong start in playing a role for Naviti's early victories. That proved crucial in giving her the numbers after the swap. Kellyn was adamant about Naviti sticking together, which made her and Bradley the major rivals for the Malolo majority who desperately tried to get others to flip. Kellyn's alliance with Bradley, Sebastian, Desiree, and Chelsea stayed firm as Malolo members were picked off. Even after a second swap, Kellyn and Desiree managed to keep wild card Angela on their side and vote out James, while keeping long-time adversary Michael in the game as a possible shield.

Kellyn was also initially in a good position post-merge despite Domenick taking out Bradley and Chris. Kellyn appeared to be in a sub alliance with the Naviti women and was a part of the Libby/Michael split vote that flushed Michael's idol and sent Libby home at final 12. However, Kellyn caught wind of Desiree's attempts to vote her out, causing that long standing alliance to break and forcing Kellyn to vote out Desiree. From that point, the game started to slip from Kellyn's fingers. A Split Tribal Council twist the following round confirmed Naviti's numbers advantage, but Kellyn was at the mercy of Domenick and Wendell, believing Michael would play another idol. Michael scared Kellyn into think he had an idol without needing to show her anything. Kellyn used her Extra Vote to put two votes on Laurel that night, only for Michael to be voted out at the revote.

Kellyn once again tried to rally the women after Sebastian won a Reward Challenge and took Domenick, Wendell, and Donathan on reward. The women appeared to be on board with going after Domenick or Wendell in the next vote, but Laurel kept her alliance with those two a secret as she became the swing vote. Ultimately the plan failed as Laurel joined her allies in voting out Chelsea, Kellyn's closest alliance member. Now in the minority, some hope was restored as Donathan began to gun for Domenick. However, Donathan's erratic behavior caused Domenick and Wendell to do damage control by telling Kellyn and Angela to vote out Donathan. Kellyn went with that plan, only for the result to be a tie vote and she was voted out in the revote.

At the Final Tribal Council, Kellyn voted for Wendell over Domenick, feeling that the former was the brains of the duo. However, Jeff Probst immediately read the votes which resulted in a tie for the first time in Survivor history between Domenick and Wendell. Laurel cast the winning vote for the latter to win.

Episode	Tribe Affiliation	Challenge	Challenge Type	Sit-Out?	Result
1	Naviti	Open	Reward	Yes	Lost
		Sled Zeppelin	Immunity	No	Won
		Coming Up for Air	Reward/Immunity	No	Won
Switched Tribes, Day 7
2	Malolo	Along the Watch Tower	Reward/Immunity	No	Won
3		Water Slaughter	Reward	No	Lost
3		Cell Block Sea	Immunity	No	Lost
4		Rod Screw-It	Reward	No	Lost
4		Hitch A Ride	Immunity	No	Lost
5		Sir Duke	Immunity	No	Lost
6		Discy Business	Reward	No	Lost
6		Cruel Sea	Immunity	No	2nd
Tribes Merged, Day 20
7	Lavita	Audio Slave	Immunity		Won
8		Gone Shootin'	Reward		Lost
8		Fijian Feast	Immunity		Lost
9		Caged Tigers	Reward		Won
9		Take the Reins	Immunity		Lost
10		Crocodile Rock	Immunity		Lost
11		A Quick Affair	Reward		Lost
11		The Ball Drop	Immunity		Lost
12		Always on the Run	Reward	No	Lost
12		Seven Bridges Road	Immunity		Lost
Voted Out, Day 35

Episode	Kellyn's Votes	Voted Against Kellyn
1	Naviti Tribe Immune
1	Naviti Tribe Immune
2	Malolo Tribe Immune
3	Brendan	-
4	Stephanie	-
5	James	-
6	Malolo Tribe Immune
7	Chris	Individual Immunity
8	Libby	-
9	Desiree	-
10	Laurel + Laurel; Michael¹	Laurel; -
11	Wendell	-
12	Donathan; Ineligible	Domenick, Laurel, Wendell; Angela, Domenick, Laurel, Wendell²
Voted Out, Day 35
Voted for Sole Survivor	Wendell

^1 In "The Finish Line Is in Sight", Kellyn used an Extra Vote advantage, allowing her to vote twice at Tribal Council. Also, the vote ended with a 2-2 tie between Laurel and Michael, forcing a revote. Kellyn changed her vote to Michael on the revote. Kellyn had the option to use her Extra Vote on the revote, but did not use it.^[3]
^2 In "Always Be Moving", the vote ended with a 3-3 tie between Kellyn and Donathan, forcing a revote. Angela changed her vote to Kellyn on the revote, eliminating her from the game.

Post-Survivor[]

Kellyn was quarantined in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[4]
Kellyn, along with nineteen other former Survivor contestants, competed in the first Survivor-themed mini-competition of Sequester on May 23, 2020. She made it to the seventeenth and final round, finishing as the winner against Abi-Maria Gomes in a 6-1 vote.^[5]

Trivia[]

Kellyn is the first woman to be sent to Ghost Island.
- Kellyn is the first contestant to decline a game at Ghost Island.
- Kellyn is also the first person to be sent to Ghost Island twice.
Kellyn lost 16 lbs. during her time on Ghost Island.^[6]