CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — The first West Virginian to appear on the long-running CBS competition show ‘Survivor’ hits screens this week with Charles Town’s Maggie Nestor participating in the show’s 51st season.
Raised in Middleway and living in Charles Town, Nestor is proud to represent the Mountain State.
“West Virginia is so full of such lovely people and wholesome people, and I am so blessed that I got to be the first one,” she said last week on MetroNews Midday.
Nestor spent 26 days competing in Fiji as part of the season that debuts at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. A longtime fan of the show, she decided to attend a casting call in California with help getting there from her husband, a pilot.
“I have been watching since 26 years ago. I started watching when I was 15 in my parents’ living room, and I just fell in love,” she said.
In a competition that requires players to not just win challenges but also survive with few resources, Nestor believes her upbringing in West Virginia served her well. She operates a farm in Jefferson County and said she took a lot of skills with her.
“I have my lifetime hunter’s and fisher’s license. I love to go trout fishing. Owning a farm, I am a very hard worker, and I think that those skills that I developed over my life definitely come into play on Survivor,” she said.
‘Survivor’ host Jeff Probst announced that season 51 is the start of the show’s “open era,” meaning that any challenge or event that has happened before could be brought back. With so many potential pitfalls, Nestor sought to bring her best.
“I just went out there with the mindset of ‘be open.’ You just try your hardest, and you’re a pretty fierce person and pretty wild and pretty crazy. You just go out there and have a heck of a time. Whatever you can swing at, you do it,” she said.
No matter what her result is this season, Nestor is thrilled to represent West Virginia on a national stage. She hopes to shine a light on her home state with this opportunity.
“I’m really grateful that I caught their eye and that they thought I was a really good fit because I knew deep down inside, I was like, ‘This game is made for me,'” she said.
‘Survivor’ season 51 debuts on CBS this Wednesday night at 8 p.m.