Whatever Happened to ‘Survivor’ Contestant ‘Boston’ Rob?

When CBS first launched Survivor on May 31, 2000, who would have imagined that the reality competition show would still be on the air more than 23 years later? 

It is, and the show's 45th season is about to begin.

Survivor is the only non-sports program I watch on television, and it still has the same appeal as it did in 2000 when Newport, Rhode Island's Richard Hatch ran around the island naked, much to the chagrin of fellow survivors Susan Hawk and Rudy Boesch.

Hatch was Survivor's first winner.

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For those who have never sampled Survivor, the program, created by Charlie Parsons, features a group of castaways on an island who compete in a series of challenges while trying not to get voted out of the game. The "sole survivor" wins a check for a million dollars.

The point is to "Outwit, Outlast, Outplay." 

There have been several New Englanders who have competed on Survivor through the years. Three from Massachusetts have actually won the game. 

Ethan Zohn of Lexington won Season 3, Survivor: Africa, and Jeremy Collins of Foxborough won Season 31, Survivor: Cambodia. 

One of the most beloved competitors was "Boston" Rob, from the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston.

Robert Carlo Mariano, known for wearing his Boston Red Sox cap and devotion to the Boston Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics and the New England Patriots, won the show's 22nd season, Survivor: Redemption Island.

"Boston" Rob appeared on Survivor six times, competing five times.

Survivor has been good to Mariano. He met and married fellow survivor Amber Brkich on the program. She defeated him in Season 8 to win a million dollars. The couple married in 2005 and have four daughters.

Mariano has appeared on several television programs since his Survivor days. He has also earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Boston University and is the author of at least two books, including a cookbook containing family recipes. 

Mariano refers to himself on X as "husband, father, adventure seeker, entrepreneur." Rob has a website, appropriately titled "Boston Rob," where you can purchase all things "Boston" Rob.