Survivor 48 Contestant Shauhin Davari's Bizarre Connection To Famous Kidnapping Hoaxer Sherri Papini, Explained

Serving as an alternate on Survivor 46—alongside eventual “Sole Survivor” Rachel LaMont—Shauhin Davari made his grand return to Fiji this summer, finally getting his time to shine on Survivor 48.

With the beloved reality television series premiering on Feb. 26, will he have the same luck as Rachel, though?

Only time will tell what the 38-year-old speech and debate professor’s Survivor journey has in store, but until then, keep scrolling for everything you need to know about Shauhin.

Warning: his past—or should we say his past partner?—is certainly questionable…

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Everything You Need To Know About Shauhin Davari

37 years old at the time of filming, Shauhin is now 38 years old, serving as the head speech and debate professor at Orange Coast College​​​​​​ in Costa Mesa, California.

In an exclusive interview with Mike Bloom ahead of his Survivor stint, the “charismatic, driven and clever” castaway opened up about his occupation. Admitting that his college speech and debate team changed his life, as well as who he is as a human being, he gushed:

“It certainly trained me how to think critically about the world. It taught me how to see the other side and how changing your mind is actually a good thing. I think, especially right now, people like to be set in their ways, and changing your mind is seen as a bad thing. No, man! Changing your mind based on the evidence that becomes available to you, that’s a beautiful thing.”

He continued:

“On top of that, I also coach an acting event. A lot of what I do is coaching acting, and that’s not what people think of when they think of speech and debate… There are performances, monologues, poetry, prose. These are actual performances that I coach as well, and I really enjoy performance. That’s something that I did a ton of in high school, and I am performative in nature, and so I love my job. I’m very lucky.”

An expert in speech and debate AND acting? Shauhin is definitely someone I would want to avoid sitting next to at Final Tribal Council…

Eager to play a game like Jonathan Penner—as well as find an ally who is “a strategist,” unafraid to call out his stupid ideas—Shauhin admitted in his official Survivor bio that his career has prepared him to play the game successfully. He spilled:

“My whole life is weirdly prep for Survivor. Running a speech and debate team requires working with all different people. Motivating them toward a common goal, while working socially to put your team in position to succeed.”

This is not the only aspect of his life that has geared him up for the game, though, as Shauhin previously found himself in the public eye for something rather shady.

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Shauhin Davari’s Connection To Sherri Papini

Believe it or not, Shauhin dated famous kidnapping hoaxer Sherri Papini. How wild is that?

For those who are unfamiliar, after going for a jog in her California neighborhood, Papini disappeared on November 2, 2016. Resurfacing 22 days later, she claimed she had been beaten and branded by two masked Hispanic women.

Upon further investigation, it was revealed that Papini orchestrated the kidnapping with her ex-boyfriend, James Reyes (not Shauhin, thankfully).

She pleaded guilty, and she and was ultimately sentenced to 18 months in jail for committing mail fraud and lying to a federal officer about being kidnapped. Additionally, she was forced to pay more than $300,000 in restitution for losses incurred by the California Victim Compensation Board, the Social Security Administration, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation—yikes!

“[I am] so sorry for the pain I’ve caused my family, my friends, all the good people who needlessly suffered because of my story and those who worked so hard to try to help me,” she shared in a statement at the time. “I will work the rest of my life to make amends for what I have done.”

In a 2022 interview with Inside Edition, Shauhin revealed that he and Sherri dated when she was 20 and he was 15—double yikes!

Calling her a “compulsive liar,” he explained:

“She would not talk to you for three or four days, and then all of a sudden there’d be some fantastical story about what happened,” he reminisced on their relationship, eventually recalling a time she lied about surfing, lied about having a heart condition and more.

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Everything You Need To Know About Survivor 48

Nevertheless, leaving his relationship with Sherri in the past, will Shauhin have what it takes to secure the title of “Sole Survivor” and the million-dollar check, despite having a 10 out of 10 cast to compete against?

As far as said cast goes, Survivor 48 will feature 18 castaways, with occupations ranging from a stunt performer to a pizzeria manager and beyond. These castaways will be split into three tribes—the Vula, Lagi and Civa tribes—with the tribe divisions, as well as their ages and hometowns (respectively), detailed below.

Nevertheless, to see whether or not he emerges victorious, catch the highly-anticipated premiere of Survivor 48 on Feb. 26 via CBS, with next-day streaming via Paramount Plus as well.

If you like what you see, be sure to catch brand-new episodes of the beloved reality television series every Wednesday afterward.

After all, it is sure to be a season to remember!

Survivor

Release Date

May 31, 2000

Network

CBS

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