Lipstick Jungle
You might have seen her walking around campus, but it’s even more likely that you’ve gotten a glimpse of Jaime Dugan on the newest season of “Survivor,” which took place in the Jiangxi province of China. Though she may look like it, 22-year-old Dugan is no girly girl, and she set out to prove just that on this season of “Survivor.”
“As a kid I was definitely a tomboy,” Dugan said. “I used to play mud football in the rain with all of the boys in the neighborhood, and I would play kickball in the street barefoot.”
Dugan refused to wear figure skates when she went ice-skating, so her dad had to buy her hockey skates.
“My grandpa taught me to shoot a rifle when I was 10 years old. He would set up targets in a field and if I hit the bull’s-eye he would give me a toonie — a Canadian $2 coin.” Continuing this athletic lifestyle, Jaime started playing softball in the ninth grade for Spartanburg High School. “I played on the varsity team all the way through my senior year playing center field, catcher and shortstop.”
Dugan’s tomboy attitude is still apparent today, seen through her participation on “Survivor.” She even wants to form a career around sports broadcasting, especially in the marketing or public relations field, she said.
It’s no wonder Dugan would try to get onto a show that tests contestants’ physical and mental abilities beyond the extreme.
“I watched the show when I was in high school,” Dugan said. “I always thought it would be crazy to compete in the challenges. Ever since high school I have not had much of a chance to be competitive. I knew it would be tough but I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.”
With that mindset, Dugan decided to submit her audition tape and application for “Survivor.” She initially received a call back to audition for “Pirate Master,” another show that CBS was filming in Los Angeles, but she didn’t make the final cut.
“They called me back and asked if I was still interested in ‘Survivor,’” Jaime said. “I told them I definitely was and then flew out to Los Angeles for finals.” The two-week audition in Los Angeles was no ordinary interview, Dugan recalled.
“The auditions were tough. You had to sit in front of all the head executives from CBS and they fired questions at you. Some would insult you to see your reaction, others would ask you about your personal life.” In many of the interviews, the competitors were told not to wear makeup so it could be determined how good they would look on the show.
Dugan believes she made it on the show because she was true to herself in all the interviews, not just because she already knew how to gut a fish and survive in the wilderness.
“I will never forget this one day,” she said, recounting an interview where she walked in wearing a dress, high heels and huge sparkly earrings. “One man asked, ‘What are you -- Survivor Versace?’ I explained that all of the other girls were wearing workout clothes so I wanted to stand out, and even if I was all dolled up I was still an athlete. I guess it worked.”
Dugan believes it was because of this attitude that executives cast her on the show.
The executives must have judged her well since she lasted 21 days before finally being voted off. Dugan’s younger sister, Jenna, a student at USC Upstate, had faith in her sister’s survival skills after seeing her on air.
“When I first heard my sister was going to be on “Survivor” I was surprised and extremely excited. Everyone had their doubts about her because when you first meet her she doesn't really seem like someone that would be able to survive in such harsh environments. After watching her on the show though, she proved everyone wrong and showed just how tough she was.”
And indeed she did prove people wrong and left with only a few regrets.
“I am happy with how I did. I had an alliance with almost every member of my tribe. My biggest regret is not staying on long enough for the family member visit. I really wanted my dad to get the chance to come and visit me in China.”
She certainly wasn’t disappointed in her strategy, as she was very comfortable as a member of the Zhan Hu tribe and didn’t really have to worry about getting voted off. Unfortunately for her, the opposing Fei Long tribe had all of the large males. According to Jaime, when it came to physical challenges her tribe never really had a chance.
During the show, a member of the Fei Long tribe had found both hidden immunity idols that granted a castaway protection against being voted off the show. Through editing, the producers of the show made it look like Jaime had thought she’d found one of the immunity idols.
“I knew the idol I had was fake,” Jamie said. She and Erik Huffman, a fellow castaway (and future romantic interest), compared the idol she had to the one that was still hanging at Fei Long. “Our idol matched the one that was still hanging so we knew it was the wrong one,” Jaime said.
“Unfortunately, after editing, the viewers never saw that part. There was still a 1 percent chance that it could be real so I played it anyway. It ended up being fake so it did not save me. The members of Fei Long voted me off because they saw me as the biggest threat from Zhan Hu. So I am happy that I played well enough to even be found a threat.”
Despite being voted off 21 days in, Jaime had to stay in China until the show was over. Every three days she went to tribal council since she was a member of the jury, which ultimately decides who wins the grand prize of $1 million.
Dugan attributed her success on the show to her attitude and athleticism, but even more so to the support of her family and friends.
“My friends were really excited for me! I call my group of friends “Team Blonde” (it’s kind of an inside joke), and they are all coming with me to L.A. for the final episode and the afterparty. They were proud of me for doing so well in the physical challenges.”
Jaime’s sister wasn’t surprised at her success on the show
“She’s a very determined person and I think that’s why she did so well on the show. When we were growing up I always knew how tough she was because when we got into fights, she could definitely take me down,” Jenna said.
Though she didn’t win the $1 million prize, she did manage to score a boyfriend -- fellow castaway Erik Huffman.
“On the show, Erik and I were strictly friends. You did not want to form a relationship out there because it put a target on your back. You were more likely to get voted off if the other people in your tribe thought you were too close to someone else. Not to mention, we were too hungry to really care about relationships.”
After the show, though, things have flared up. Erik is a native South Carolinian and graduated from Furman University. According to his profile on CBS.com, he is a part-time model and a full-time musician for the band Florez, which has performed with big names like Sister Hazel, Better than Ezra and The Doobie Brothers.
Dugan’s time on the show invigorated her hometown of Spartanburg.
“Spartanburg is a pretty small town so all of the people here were cheering her on and were real mad she got kicked off,’” Jenna said.
“I get recognized quite a bit, especially in the Upstate. People are constantly asking me questions about the show,” Jamie said.
But Jamie’s fame has affected more than just her.
“I think my sister is tired of answering questions about me. She still lives in Spartanburg so people are always asking her about the show. I think it is starting to wear on her,” she said.
Her sister agreed. “Lately, a lot of people have been mistaking me for her and I have to say, ‘No, I’m the Survivor girl’s sister!’ I think I might just get a shirt made.”
Jaime said her parents have a different attitude about their daughter’s time on the show.
“They get a kick out of the whole thing. My mom saves all of the newspaper and magazine articles and is making a “Survivor” scrapbook,” she said.
Although she gets recognized, Jaime insists she isn’t famous. Jaime says the most noticeable change in her life has been on the Internet.
“I receive almost 100 friend requests on Facebook and Myspace every week. Most are fans of the show. I think it is funny that people thank me for adding them as a friend.”
Although she’s glad to be home, she misses her tribe and the friends she made during the show. “I miss Peih Gee, Frosti, Erik, Leslie, Sherea and Ashley the most. We live all over the country so we don’t get to see each other much. I also miss our late night karaoke sessions around the fire. Sometimes I even miss sleeping on our bamboo hut.”
Jaime was less nostalgic about other aspects of the show.
“I do not miss the rain and the hunger. It was monsoon season and sometimes it rained for days. We were constantly wet and never got a chance to really dry out.”
And on top of the relentless rain, there was the relentless hunger.
“I have never been so hungry in my life. We were so desperate for food that we ate earthworms and snails. I would pray every night that I did not die out there because sometimes it really felt like I was going to wither away to nothing.”
Despite this, she said that even the negative aspects of the show helped change her attitude about certain things.
“Now that I am back I definitely appreciate things more, especially food. I have no problem eating things that I drop on the floor.”
Back at USC, Jaime has resumed her last year as a student. She’s planning to graduate in May with a degree in public relations and a minor in business. She also works as a waitress at Saluda’s, a restaurant in Five Points. She wants to travel, with plans to backpack across Europe for three weeks after she graduates.
“I am starting in London, then going to Paris, Prague, Rome, Venice, Florence, Madrid and Barcelona.” She plans on staying in hostels, and jokingly adds they will be a huge improvement over the bamboo fort in China.
Jaime insists she’s “just a normal college student trying to graduate.”
She may be normal, but the fact still remains that Jaime Dugan made it to the top 10 on one of television’s most famous reality TV shows.
