On Monday night, Survivor fans found themselves in tears when All Star Lee Carseldine revealed that his beloved mum Elizabeth had suffered a shock stroke.
Lee explained to his campmates that his mum was unlikely to recover then off-air, the 44-year-old was informed off-air that she had died shortly after the initial phone call.
The moment was heartbreaking to watch, but now his fellow All Stars have shared their own tributes honouring Lee and his late mum. And if you were crying last night, you may need to reach for the tissues again.
Lee made a heartbreaking exit on Survivor All Stars
(Image: Network Ten)Following his exit, Lee shared a series of emotional photos and wrote that they will stay with him for the rest of his life.
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“A time of absolute despair and devastation after hearing about the sudden passing of my Mother from a major stroke whilst 33 days into playing @survivorau,” he went on to say.
“The reason I was on the show was to hopefully win the title and the prize money as they had come under difficult financial strain due to both suffering seriously health issues. This was my way to hopefully support them.”
“To the 9 KaloKalo tribe mates in this picture that showed me the most rawest compassion…thank you. 🙏🏼 To the rest of the @survivorau players..thank you for being part of such a privileged and an amazing journey. 🙏🏼
“To the crew, camos, audio techs, challenge team, producers and everyone who worked tirelessly around the clock to make this show what it is…thank you 🙏🏼. To my amazing followers who I love dearly…thank you 🙏🏼. I hope I have provided you with lots of fun, laughter and entertainment through playing the game in a way that I only know how. Although I haven’t been able to reply to everyone’s messages, I definitely read them and every message means the world to me. 🙏🏼
“And finally to @whitbyswhippys and EP Amelia (Mills), I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart by showing the respect of making an episode under extremely difficult conditions by honoured my Mother in the best way possible. 🙏🏼
“Although my grieving process is in full swing the show must go on and Mum and I will enjoy watching the remaining few weeks of this special show that has given me so much. As the great @jonathanlapaglia says…”Survivors ready?”.”
Lee’s mum Elizabeth tragically passed away whilst he was filming Survivor All Stars.
(Image: Instagram @davidgenat)Survivor villain and Golden God David Genat uploaded a black and white photo of Lee along with one of Lee and his mum.
“@leecarseldine is the definition of a great man. Since meeting him he has become one of my closest friends, confidants and allies. The kind of man you look up to as a friend a father and an example of true strength. She couldn’t be prouder of you brother. RIP Elizabeth May Caseldine,” he captioned his post.
Loveable lime farmer Mark ‘Tarzan’ Herlaar shared the same photo of Lee and Elizabeth writing with the passionate caption, “To one of the greatest men I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet and your mother Elizabeth Carseldine… Although I never met you Elizabeth I celebrate you as well for having created such a man as Lee… You did an amazing job on raising him… to you and your family Lee, my love is with you… and thank you for allowing me to be there in that time.”
“@leecarseldine is the definition of a great man. Since meeting him he has become one of my closest friends, confidants and allies,” David wrote.
(Image: Instagram @davidgenat)Zach Kozyrski shared a photo of himself and Lee and remarked how they started their journey together “from day one” and bonded over their “shared religious values and matching spider bites.”
“My mum’s name is also Beth. It was such a tragedy to lose his mum whilst in the game and I couldn’t imagine what he went through, but it really hit the entire tribe hard. The fact that it was stroke hurt me bad as I had lost one of my best friends due to stroke only 3 days before I left for Fiji to enter the game. Brother I love you and as we know, your mum is in good hands,” he wrote.
AK shared his own heartfelt tribute captioning a photo of himself hugging Lee: “You will not find another human so unanimously loved amongst us. @leecarseldine i have nothing but love and respect for you mate. Sending all my love to you and your family in this time of despair 💕 #teamlee”
“Brother I love you and as we know, your mum is in good hands,” Zach wrote.
(Image: Network Ten)
“You will not find another human so unanimously loved amongst us.”
(Image: Network Ten)WAFL player Moana Hope shared the short but heartwarming message “My heart was and still is with @leecarseldine and his beautiful family. #broken #beautifulman,” alongside two photos of Lee.
Criminal barrister Sharn Coombes shared a selection of photos of herself and Lee, led with a photo of the tribe hugging a crying Lee.
“‘The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor even touched, but just felt in the heart.’ #helenkeller,” she started her post.
“Our family and friends are the best and most beautiful things. We feel them with the heart. We feel that beautiful, true love. That’s all that matters.
WATCH BELOW: Survivor‘s David Genat plays The Tribe Has Spoken. Post continues after video…
Sharn went on to say “So much love for @leecarseldine tonight ❤️ Words cannot express the sadness and pain I felt for Lee at that moment. It is every Survivor player’s worst nightmare – to be in the game and receive news like this from home.
“All I wanted in that moment was for Lee to make it home, then and there, to his beloved Mum.💔 Lee is an exceptional human, after spending the time I did with him, I know this to be true.
“His parents did a fine job raising him, and I have no doubt Lee will honour his Mum’s love and memory in everything he does moving forward. As a father, a friend and a good, true human being.
“For all of you watching, yes it’s a game, a great one. But at the end of the day it is just a game, and there is nothing more beautiful and real in this world than the love of your family.
“Treasure them, tell them you love them, and be kind to them. Everyday.
“As a kindred-spirit of Lee’s – fellow runner up in this game of Survivor – I am now moving forward in this game to honour Lee and his Mum, along with the motivation and love from my own family.”
“His parents did a fine job raising him, and I have no doubt Lee will honour his Mum’s love and memory in everything he does moving forward.”
(Image: Network Ten)But in news that will bring a smile to your day, the Towel Challenge is back for round two!
The social media challenge that went nuts with the contestants last season is now being used to raise awareness and funds for the Stroke Foundation and this year’s All Stars are aiming to get to $77,000.
David and Jacqui have already jumped on the bandwagon informing their followers that one in four people will have a stroke in their lifetime and nominated people to take a black and white photo of themselves in a towel and donate.
Jacqui works out…clearly!
(Image: Instagram @jacquipatterson_)
We’ll just leave this here.
(Image: Instagram @davidgenat)
We like Sharn’s cheeky towel shot.
(Image: Instagram @sharncoombes)Whilst Jacqui nominated her coach Leon Stensholm to strip off and donate, David called out The Bachelor host Osher Gunsberg, models Nicole Trunfio and Ryan Porter, The Amazing Race‘s Beau Ryan along with Survivor alumni Monika Radulovic and Lee himself.
Meanwhile Sharn nominated comedian Geraldine Hickey, body image activist Taryn Brumfitt and former MAFS bride Sarah Jane Roza to get their kit off.
We’ll be waiting for more to flood in!
