Australian Survivor star Shaun Hampson discovers drastic weight loss after he’s voted out

AFL star Shaun Hampson stepped onto a pair of scales after 32 days on Australian Survivor and said three words: “That. Is. Bad.”

Former AFL player Shaun Hampson was the latest Australian Survivor contestant to get the boot during Sunday night’s episode — and his 32 days in the game took a serious toll.

Stepping onto a pair of scales during a post-elimination medical check, Hampson was stunned to learn he’d lost more than 10kg from his 109kg frame, finishing the game at 97.8kg.

“That is bad … it’s 12 years since I’ve been at that sort of weight,” the 31-year-old said.

Speaking to news.com.au today, Hampson said, in scenes that didn’t make the cut, he was asked to remove his shirt and look at his body in a mirror — a process he found “pretty confronting”.

Hampson before he entered the game. Photo: Nigel Wright

Hampson after he was eliminated.

“The last time I’d looked at my body was the day of going into the game, so that’s what I still had in my mind. When I saw myself in front of a mirror, it took me back. I didn’t look well. I’d worked 12 years in footy to get to a place where I was comfortable with my body — being a tall guy (Hampson is 201cm), I don’t want to be too skinny. It was like looking at a 19-year-old version of myself and it was pretty confronting,” he said.

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Hampson became the first contestant this season to join the jury, meaning he’ll attend each tribal council from now on to silently observe — and ultimately, cast a vote about which contestant deserves the $500,000 prize money.

Those on the jury must bide their time between tribal councils in the “jury villa” — a Fijian resort hired out by Survivor’s production company.

Hampson enjoys sleeping on his first bed in a month.

It sounds like a free post-Survivor holiday — but Hampson revealed it’s not quite as lush as you might expect.

“You’ve got your own villa, you’re in Fiji by the water … but you can’t just leave; you’re there the whole time. I was there for 18 days. There’s lots of time to sunbake, and there’s a two-drink limit a day, which isn’t ideal, but they’re having to film a TV show, so we’ve still got to make sure we’re of right mind I guess.

“It’s OK but it’s certainly not as good as people would imagine,” he said.

Hampson also had to contend with the upswing of the Survivor extreme diet yoyo — a starvation mindset honed after 32 days in the game and unlimited access to resort food.

He estimates he put around 7kg back on during his time in jury villa alone.

Biding his time in the jury villa after a much-needed shower.

“It’s not easy to control yourself — after the game, you slip into a primal state when food’s in front of you; you feel like you have to load up. I could not stop eating. Even when I got home, I had to rein it in because Megan (Gale, Hampson’s partner) was shocked. She said ‘I’ve never seen you eat like this’. I was just ravenous.”

Hampson’s jury villa package, posted on TenPlay after last night’s episode, also shows the softly-spoken reality star making his first phone call home to Gale.

The Australian model’s first words: “I miss you … I’m sorry you got voted out.”

Hampson’s phone call home to partner Megan Gale.

Gale told Hampson their young son, River, was “not impressed” at his father’s long absence. “He said to me, ‘You or daddy are never going away again’.”

And Gale had one instruction for her partner during what would be a two-week stay at the jury villa: “Have you got a massive beard? Keep it til you get home. I HAVE to see the beard.”

Australian Survivor airs 7.30pm Sundays to Tuesdays on Ten.