Survivor 2021: Hayley Leake named winner of Survivor ahead of George Mladenov

Covid protocols forced alternate endings to be filmed for this year’s Survivor - but it was Hayley Leake who came out on top against George Mladenov.

Sydney bride-to-be Hayley Leake will use her Survivor winnings to set herself up for life as a mum.

Leake was on Sunday crowned winner of the Survivor Australia: Brains v Brawn series, securing the coveted $500,000 prize money.

Leake and runner-up George Mladenov filmed the grand final episode in June with both contestants shooting potential endings as if they had won.

“Two different endings were filmed to avoid any spoilers getting out,” Leake told The Daily Telegraph. “It is unfortunate we couldn’t do a live finale but I am just glad we got to film the series at all.”

Hayley Leake is the winner of Survivor 2021.

Leake, 31, and Mladenov were told the result at around 10am Sunday with the finale episode playing out later that night.

The academic researcher, who specialises in pain management, recently got engaged to lawyer partner, Jimmy Meegan, 33.

“It is a life changing amount of money,” she said. “We are planning the wedding but the big thing for us is we really want to buy a house and start a family and that is increasingly more difficult in this climate and so this money will really kickstart those plans.”

Leake is a Survivor Superfan, having watched the reality show since childhood.

She used her research skills to prepare ahead of shooting in the Queensland outback.

“I have been watching this show for 20 years and knowing that I was going on Survivor, I actually had almost a year to prepare because Covid stopped the plans initially and I spent all of that time re-watching old episodes,” she explained.

“I am a researcher so my natural way to attack a problem is to research it in depth.”

Of Mladenov, Leake described the public servant and aspiring politician as a formidable opponent.

“George is such a treat for us to have had on Survivor,” she said. “We’ve never seen anyone like him. He made really good strategic moves and was a fierce competitor in that final two. He should be proud.”

Originally published as Survivor 2021: Hayley Leake named winner of Survivor ahead of George Mladenov