On the first night of Survivor 42, Jackson Fox sat his tribe down, revealing a dramatic story of his transitioning and reconciling with his family in his mother’s final days. It was a beautiful tale. But when it came to Jackson’s overall time in Fiji, the hopeful novel turned into a surprisingly short story. As the very next day, he was taken aside by host and executive producer Jeff Probst and removed from the game due to his recent medical choices, looking to protect his health as he was about to embark on three more weeks of starvation and exhaustion potentially. To say Jackson’s removal was whiplash would be an understatement. The first time we heard from him in the episode, the hospital transporter revealed to his tribe members that he had applied pre-transitioning ten years ago. He was completely open about himself, discussing how his parents initially disapproved of what he was undergoing before his mother’s sickness drew them back into his life and gave them all a second chance to reconnect. And that openness continued into the conversation with Probst the next day. Jackson was upfront that he had been trying to wean himself off of a lithium-based medication that he had started taking while caring for his mother. But unfortunately for him, the risks of going off that particular medication while dealing with the deprivation Survivor brings is a whole new level of danger than what even the show wants. So, to prevent any harm to Jackson, Probst informed him he would be leaving the game. And while Jackson couldn’t help but shed some tears, he was beaming while the news was given, grateful that he even got two days of an adventure of a lifetime. Now out of the game, Jackson talks with Parade.com about the timeline with his medication that led to his removal, why he takes full responsibility for what happened, and his decision to reveal he was transgender to his tribemates and America. Before we get into things, I just want to check in with you months after all of this happened. Are you doing well, mental health-wise? Everything’s very good! I’m very healthy and happy. I’m actually better than I was last year. So it was hard to watch. But at the same time, it’s exciting to watch, because now I get to see what everybody else gets to see, when I have no idea what’s going on either. So it was a wild night for you in the premiere. Within 20 minutes, we go from telling your story around the fire to getting removed from the game. What was it like re-experiencing that and watching it back? I forgot a lot of it. I think I blocked it out. And then it all came rushing back on national television. And I sat there and cried! I was like, “Oh, my gosh, I miss all these people.” You missed the spirit of it. But at the same time, I’m giddy like everybody else, because I get to watch things that I wasn’t able to be a part of. It’s a mixed bag. But hey, I got to be on Survivor! I’m cool. It’s all good. Obviously, we have to get into the timeline that happened with your medication, because it’s very murky to us as viewers. Talk me through what happened in the days leading up to the season starting. Well, I’d already started to wean myself off of it when Survivor got a hold of me, but it takes a little bit of time. I told my doctor, “Hey, I really don’t want to be on lithium anymore. I’m good. I’m sleeping better.” And she’s like, “Okay, great. We’re going to start weaning off.” But it does take time. My wife’s a nurse. And she’s like, “It’ll work itself out by the time I got to Survivor.” I’m on the island. I had a couple of doses left. And I wasn’t really thinking anything of it. I got so wrapped up in everything going on, I didn’t want to think about what could actually happen the minute I was off the medication. On the day before starting, I told the doctor, “I’m on lithium. I just got a couple of doses left.” She’s like, “Oh my, okay. Okay, we can do this. We’re just going to watch you very closely for two to three days, and we’ll see how you are.” And I thought, “It’s going to be fine. It’s not a big deal.” So what happened when you actually got into the game? I know there was a shot of Lindsay telling you to drink more water. The first day, I was fine. I did the challenge, and was great. But I think I drank half a container of water in two days. Because I wasn’t thinking about it. And I remember getting up in the middle of the night, and I weebled and wobbled and held onto the shelter. I remember Marya looked at me, and she was like, “Are you okay?” I was like, “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m fine. It’s probably I’m just tired.” I wasn’t really thinking it was a problem until the next day. Lindsay’s a nutritionist, and she was telling me, “You don’t look right. You need to drink water all day.” And I was like, “Okay, I can do that.” But I didn’t feel right. And then, of course, you see Jeff coming on. And I thought, “Well, this isn’t good,” because he never comes to the island. And then, when he said my name, I knew, “We’re done.” To clarify, production didn’t know about your lithium medication because you chose not to disclose it to them? It was my disclosing. When they said, “Give your list of medications,” I said, “Well, I’m going to be off of this. So there’s no point putting it there.” I didn’t realize I was getting off of it as fast as I thought it was. I really thought it was not going to be a big deal. It’s literally nothing; I’ve taken so little. And that’s why I decided to be open about it with Jeff. Hindsight 20/20, I’d have been like, “Hey, I’m on lithium. So I’m going to get off this before I get on there.” And I guarantee we probably would have had something set up a little bit better. I’m not a doctor; I should have known better. But they handled it very well with me. Like I was saying, they gave me the option to even talk about it. Jeff said, “Listen, we’re just gonna say it’s a medical evac, and we’ll take you off.” And I was like, “No, no, let’s just put it out there.” It is what it is because odds are, it’ll come out anyway. So let’s just let me get in front of it and be like, “This is what I was on.” A lot of people hear the word “lithium,” and the first thing they think is “crazy medication.” But it’s used for so many different things. And for me, it was sleeping anxiety. So, yeah, that was my bad. You mentioned you had two doses left before starting the game. Was the intention to take those two doses while in the game, or were you just planning to go cold turkey? Cold turkey. Because I’ve gone down to so little, but when the doctor and I sat down after I’ve gotten taken off the island, my blood pressure had skyrocketed. And I was dehydrated. And she’s like, “This is not good.” And they can’t test you, that’s the problem. Because we were in the middle of COVID. And she was saying that they had to pull me. Because I could have just passed out to the fire. And that was a fear of mine. Typically, they have alternates out on set just in case someone has to drop out last minute. Was that considered at all when you disclosed your medication to the doctor? It was last minute. I went in for my checkup the day before we went on the island. There was an alternate, but the alternate left that day. So it was just me. And they were like, “We’re gonna monitor you like crazy.” There was always somebody around me. There was always a handler somewhere in my vicinity watching out, and I appreciate it. But it was my fault. I take full responsibility for just not being responsible with it, honestly. As mentioned before, you were super upfront with Jeff and the audience about your medication, down to naming it. What made you decide to be that open? Well, I knew it was going to be on national television. And it’s also part of my personality. I mean, I’m not going to lie. There’s no point there. And I wanted to be honest about it. I wanted to say, “Hey, we all make mistakes. We all come into thinking nothing bad’s going to happen.” I’m glad they pulled me because it was the safest thing. I really could have hurt myself. They really could have left me on there to make a great TV show and have some drama around it. But they really put me first, which I appreciate. That’s why I was honest. And they did cut out some things in that conversation. I mean, I was upset because you just want to be there so bad. But I wasn’t mad at him. I was in a horrible situation. And it’s it just takes the soul out of you. You want to play, and you seriously get a bond with these people within 48 hours. You’re living out of nothing with a group of five other people. Some fans believe that the show had brought you on, knowing the risk involved, wanting you to tell your story before they removed you. What’s your response to that? I haven’t heard that one yet! That’s a new one. (Laughs.) Wow. I don’t think that was the case. When it came down to me telling my story, during the day, everyone said, “Well, we need to have a talk around the fire about who’s who and where we all come from. And I said, “Look, I’ve got a humdinger for you. But we’ll talk later on.” And they’re like, “Well, say it now.” And I’m like, “No, no, because I really want to have your full attention. Not while we’re trying to build a shelter.” But if that’s the case, if I touched any child struggling with being transgender, and doesn’t know how to come out to their family and is afraid that their family won’t accept them, then I hope they watched it to show. Because I showed you can do it. I was 40 years old when I transitioned. And you can still be loved by your family. If that’s what they did, so be it. I got to get my story out there, and that’s why I went on Survivor in the first place was to have an adventure and take the stigma off of being different and being transgender, and still be able to do things that you love and be accepted. I learned it was accepted by all those people. I had the perfect tribe. After I told my story, they said I opened up a whole new world for them. I don’t think that’s the case, but if people think it is, all the power to them. Let’s talk about your choice to tell your story to your tribe. Survivor is a show that purposely puts people from different walks of life together to see what happens. Were you worried at all how your tribe would react when you talked to them? I was most surprised by Jonathan. Because Jonathan and I both come from a Christian household, and it made me nervous. When we were building the shelter, and we talked about our backgrounds, I thought, “Oh, I just don’t know.“Jonathan is not a big talker, either. He’s more about how his actions are. If you notice, when you’re watching it, he nods his head a lot, because I think he’s just taking it in. But at the end, he hugged me, and he’s like, “Hey, you got to do you. And if you’re happy, then I’m cool with everything.” And I thought, “Okay, that’s fine.” I was prepared to have a big target possibly put on my back, for someone to say, “We don’t want someone on our tribe that’s like this.” And I thought, “Well, if that’s how they’re gonna play, then okay.” I mean, I can only control me. I can’t control anybody else. As you mentioned, and as was showcased last night, there seemed to be a tight-knit aspect on Taku from the get-go. Who were you closest with in your two days out there? Marya and I became like this. (Crosses his fingers.) Her brother was a nurse, one of the first nurses to die of COVID when it hit New York. And my wife works with COVID patients. So we immediately had that bond. And we’re around the same age. We did everything together. When I left, she was probably the most heartbroken. I felt like I found a tribemate with her. By the time you left, had you been involved in any strategy talks around camp? Well, I knew it wasn’t going to be aired. But we had talked about it, who was someone that we thought was a threat. And Maryanne was a threat. She’s lovable; she’s likable. Everyone loves Maryanne. She may not be the most athletic threat. But she’s definitely a threat. I’m sure her volunteering to get on the boat to go to the summit didn’t help. Yeah, she wanted to go. That was my first fear. After she went on the boat, we started already started talking. I was like, “Oh, we have to keep an eye on her.” I thought we all wanted to go, but Maryanne was the first to step up. So she was actually the one we were gunning for. But I took care of that for us! (Laughs.) It also must have been tough for them for you to leave the game and some of them not to know what happened to you for a long time. Did they check up on you after filming ended? No one really knew what happened. Everyone thought I had just gone home, but that’s not how this works. You hang out like you’re on an island until it’s over. We were able to actually chat for the first time when we got to LA. Everybody converged at the conveyor belt with our bags, and they were immediately like, “Please tell me you’re doing okay. Are you feeling alright?” It was kind of nice because you still felt that tribe. Like literally, all five of them came up to me and hugged me. And that’s when I knew this is family for life. People joke about that when you’re on Survivor. But they will always be a family member to me, period. Some fans were petitioning you get a chance to come back for Survivor 43 or another season in the future. Would you like that opportunity? In a heartbeat! If Jeff is ever reading this, bring me in. I really want to prove what I can do. You really didn’t get that opportunity. But hey, you never know what the future is going to hold. I thought ten years ago they’d never want anything to do with me, and that changed. Never say never! Next, find out more about the rest of the cast of Survivor 42.
