'Survivor 46' Winner Kenzie Petty Gets Emotional Over Her 'Full Circle' Victory After Announcing Pregnancy (Exclusive)

The 29-year-old salon owner won 'Survivor 46' over Charlie Davis and Ben Katzman.

By Anna Rumer

Kenzie Petty is "overwhelmed with gratitude and pride" after being named the winner of Survivor 46. The 29-year-old salon owner earned the title of Sole Survivor during Wednesday night's finale, beating out law student Charlie Davis and musician Ben Katzman with five votes from the jury. Thursday, Kenzie opened up to PopCulture.com about her emotional "full circle" victory.

Kenzie announced just last week that she and husband Jackson Petty were expecting their first child, making her Survivor win all the sweeter. "I love being pregnant," said Kenzie, who is expecting a baby boy in September. "We're all healthy, happy – it's just beyond words. This is what I went out there to play for, so it's just very full circle that I got to feel him kick while I won last night. I could cry thinking about it. It's just very special."

Kenzie, who delayed her original June 2023 wedding date to compete on Season 46, is "so proud" of herself for the game that she played this season, which paired her strong social skills with deft threat management. "It's so much harder than it looks on TV," she admitted. "That reality hit me in the face like a ton of bricks. I knew it would be tough, but you don't know until you're out there. I'm just so proud of myself for sticking it out and the resilience that I managed to pull from my core."

Friends Going to War
(Photo: CBS)

Kenzie's victory came after a shocking moment during the final five immunity challenge when competitor Liz Wilcox stopped working on her own puzzle to help Kenzie pull off a victory over dominant competitor Maria Shrime Gonzalez, who was sent that night to the jury. "That was jaw-dropping for me," Kenzie said of Liz's aid during the challenge. "That wasn't planned, and I've seen a lot of discourse online that we cheated, but there's no rules in Survivor. ...And if it was against the rules, they would've told us we couldn't do it. "

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She added, "I think it speaks a lot to Liz's creative thinking, my social game, and how strong Maria was [that] to take her down, it took two of us. It was a beautiful moment I think. I'm grateful to be a part of it."

Even more surprising was receiving Maria's vote to win, despite the parent coach's close bond with Charlie throughout the season. "I think it just goes to show that you don't know what is going to speak to the jury," Kenzie told PopCulture. "Each person votes on what's important to them, and I think everyone just needs to play true to themselves. That's what worked out for me, and I'm just forever grateful for not only the people who voted for me but the whole cast for making such a wonderful season of television. We couldn't have done it without a single piece of this machine."

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