Former Australian Survivor winner wins biggest cash prize in reality TV history

Former Australian Survivor winner David Genat has made history after winning an eye-watering amount of money on a US reality show.

An Australian reality star has just scored the biggest ever win in primetime TV history.

On the latest episode of NBC’s Deal or No Deal Island, Australian Survivor winner David Genat took home the major prize.

Deal or No Deal Island is a US reality series and a spin-off from the original game show, Deal or No Deal. It’s a lot more physically taxing than the regular series, and demands contestants take part in gruelling challenges in an island setting to retrieve briefcases containing cash.

In the tense showdown between Genat at the banker, the reality star repeatedly refused to give up because the top case of USD $12,232,001 (AUD $19,327,000) was still in play.

David Genat has taken home the biggest prize in reality TV history. Picture: NBC

There were only two cases left, the top prize and one valued at USD $75 (AUD $118)

Genat chose to take the deal from the banker instead of picking between the cases, scoring an eye-watering USD $5.8 million (AUD $9.1 million)

“The offer came in at $5.8 million and I started thinking about it, and that is just so much money. I was having a spiritual experience, man. I just knew where that money was. I knew which cases to open,” he told USA Today. “I was looking for signs from my father, who passed away a couple of years ago. I felt his presence there, and he was just guiding me on what cases to open.”

Genat’s win is the largest cash prize awarded in network TV history - although it falls just short of the $US10 million awarded to Jeff Allen on Prime game show Beast Games last month.

Genat is a longtime model... Picture: Brook Mitchell/Getty

...and former Survivor winner. Picture: TEN

After he took the deal, the mystery banker was revealed as model Chrissy Teigen.

She had previously served as a case opener in the game show, like Meghan Markle, and made history as the first female banker in the Deal or No Deal franchise.

Genat went on to credit his success on the show thanks to the skills he learned while taking part in Australian Survivor.

He revealed his heartwarming reasoning for choosing suitcase 18. Picture: NBC

“You can’t plan what’s going to happen but you can plan your relationships and being close with people and making sure that if they do have to send someone home, it’s not you,” he said. “You don’t annoy them, you give them what they need. You get good relationships, stable relationships and that’s how you win this game.”

In the game, Genat chose case 18 to be his own. It turns out there was a heartwarming reason behind his choice that led him down the path to victory.

“My three kids were born on 18 — my youngest son was born on 14, but 18 has been this big number for me that’s kept popping up,” Genat old PEOPLE after his win. “And then when dad passed on the 18th, it was on my stepdaughter’s birthday and I was like, ‘Oh man.’ I knew he would hate that so much that that was her birthday. So it’s good to put some good positive vibes back on number 18, and I think we did it in pretty grand fashion.”

Genat is regarded to many as the “Golden God” of Survivor Australia.

He won Australian Survivor: All Stars in 2020, earning $500,000 in prize money, after previously competing on Australian Survivor: Champions v Contenders.

These massive new prize winnings take Genat’s total TV prize winnings to almost $10 million.

Genat is set to compete in his third season of Survivor, in the upcoming Australia V The World season of Australian Survivor, which is set to air later this year.

The reality juggernaut has been married to fitness guru Pearl Christensen for over a decade, and the pair live in Perth with their children.

Originally published as Former Australian Survivor winner wins biggest cash prize in reality TV history