Why Survivor 48’s Star Toomey Has Had A Heartbreaking Journey On The Show

Thanks to Jeff Probst and the team behind the show, Survivor 48 has been an interesting season for the hit reality show. In fact, new fans of the show who are figuring out which seasons to watch first would be fascinated by a lot that has happened during the season so far. While it is unclear if Survivor 48 will be one of the show’s best seasons, if any of the players will be one of the best ever, or if the winner will be great, it definitely has been very affecting.

Even though Star Toomey didn’t go on the season’s worst journey and hasn’t been at the center of many episodes, her tenure has been remarkable. Sadly for Star, part of her Survivor 48 journey has been extremely heartbreaking for viewers.

The Treatment Of Survivor 48’s Star Toomey Has Been Heartbreaking To Watch

Over the years, there have been several Survivor stars who’ve been given a practically invisible edit. It is easy to understand how upsetting it would be for any person who went on to play Survivor to learn that they were ignored on the show.

During the first episode of Survivor 48, it seemed like Star Toomey was going to be another victim of the invisible edit scenario. However, in the episodes since then, it has been clear that Star isn’t even getting the invisible edit.

Instead, something that could be much more hurtful seems to be happening to Star. Considering how she has been portrayed during the first several episodes of Survivor 48, what is happening to Star is even more heartbreaking than getting an invisible edit.

During the second episode of Survivor 48, Star enjoyed a moment that most players dream of, but only some get to experience. Star managed to find a beware advantage.

What Is Known About Survivor’s Star Toomey?
When Was Star Toomey Born?	September 25th, 1996
Where Was Star Toomey Born?	Monrovia, Liberia
Where Was Star Toomey Living When She First Played Survivor?	Augusta, Georgia
What Was Star Toomey’s Career When She First Played Survivr?	Sales Expert
What Tribe Did Star Toomey Start On?	Lagi

When Star found the beware advantage, she became the focus of Survivor for the first time. However, the sad truth for Star was that a lot of the discussion that happened about Star finding the beware advantage must have been heartbreaking for her to watch.

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During Survivor 48, the task that the people who found beware advantages have to complete is quite complicated. As a result, all three people who found beware advantages asked other players for help completing the task that was demanded of them.

When Kyle Fraser found a beware advantage, he asked Kamilla Karthigesu for help completing the task. Without skipping a beat, Kamilla used her skills to solve the puzzle that Kyle needed to complete to get his vote back and an immunity idol.

When the other two players with beware advantages asked for help, their tribemates did what they could to offer them aid. However, Star’s attempt to get help resulted in some heartbreaking footage.

Survivor's Star Toomey sweating — Via: CBS

After Star found her beware advantage, she told everyone on her tribe aside from Eva Erickson. While he seemed like he wanted to help her, Joe Hunter was later shown panicking about Star gaining power while also feeling guilt about not helping her more. Shauhin Davari openly spoke about considering sabotaging Star’s efforts to solve her task. Mere moments before that, Star seemed to be very excited about potentially building a bond with Shauhin.

During the first episode of Survivor 48, Saiounia “Sai” Hughley found a beware advantage and told Justin Pioppi, Cedrek McFadden, and Kevin Leung. After they learned about her having the beware advantage, Sai’s three allies at the time tried to help her solve her task.

When Star told him that she found power, Thomas Krottinger’s reaction was even worse. While Shauhin considered sabotaging Star’s efforts, Thomas went further by suggesting that maybe they should intentionally lose the clue to how to solve the task.

Fortunately for Star, Shauhin stated that he wouldn’t go so far as to intentionally lose the clue.

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As heartbreaking as it must have been for Star to realize people she trusted were so outwardly working against her, she also had to deal with another sticky situation. While it is unclear why they didn’t bond, Eva Erickson and Star butted heads.

For example, during one scene, Eva was shown preemptively stating that Star should be the person to sit out of challenges. When Eva made that remark, she was talking about challenges in general since they were still at camp. As a result, Eva wasn’t looking at a specific challenge and suggesting Star would be the best choice to sit out. Instead, Eva was expressing a lack of faith in Star’s challenge abilities in general.

Survivor's Star Toomey, Mary Zheng, Eva Erickson, David Kinne, and Charity Nelms as a tribe — Via: CBS

During Survivor 48’s fourth episode, there was a tribe switch that left Star and Eva as the only people from their original tribe who were still together. Even if they didn’t see eye-to-eye, it would have made sense for Eva and Star to put that aside and work together. Instead, Eva decided to offer Star to her new tribemates from the other tribes behind her back.

“I was not happy to see Star in my tribe, who I do not have a good relationship with at all. But it does give me something to offer up the rest of the tribe as a way to connect with them.”

Considering how many people were forthright about not working with Star, that begs an obvious question. Why did it seem like nobody other than Joe ever even seemed to continue genuinely working with Star? Anyone who has known what it feels like to be chosen last will likely be able to relate to how heartbreaking what Star went through was.

It wasn’t until the fifth episode of Survivor 48 that fans saw someone actually connect with Star. It is also worth noting that the connection was only shown after Star was so supportive of Eva following her telling the rest of the cast about her inspiring autism story.

What Makes Star Toomey’s Survivor 48 Journey Even More Heartbreaking?

Before seasons of Survivor begin, the players do a series of interviews about their lives and their perspective on the game. During those interviews, Star made comments that made her Survivor 48 journey even harder to watch.

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In February 2025, Parade published an article that quoted their interview with Star. That article revealed that Star told the outlet about being a new mother at the time the show was set to begin filming.

So, my wife actually did the pushing. Thank God for her. But I am a new mother. My son will be actually one in two weeks.

Survivor's Star Toomey looking serious — Via: CBS

Also in February 2025, Survivor’s official YouTube channel published a video introducing fans to Star. In that video, Star could be heard talking about how she hoped that her playing Survivor would serve as an example to her son.

“I actually want to do this to leave something for Silver Mars and to show him, ‘Hey. You see me, sir? That’s me, Now I will throw you the ball. Let’s see what else you can do. You might be president one day.’ I don’t even know. But just by watching me do this, it can only open up so many doors for him to imagine. He gotta be an astronaut. Chase your dreams.”

Knowing that Star wanted to go on Survivor as an example for her son makes the way things have played out for her sad to see.