Survivor season 48 is about to begin, and fans are eager to get to know the castaways who are heading to Fiji’s Mamanuca Islands. One contestant who is playing for a meaningful cause is Joe Hunter, who told Parade that the death of his sister inspired him to live out their shared dream of competing on the show. In Touch shares everything fans need to know about Joe’s age, job and more.

‘Survivor’ Season 48 Star Joe Hunter’s Age and Hometown

Joe is 45 years old as of February 2025. His hometown is Vacaville, California, but he currently lives in West Sacramento, California.

What Is ‘Survivor’ Season 48 Star Joe Hunter’s Job?

Joe is a fire captain with his local fire department. He explained in an interview with Parade published on February 7, 2025, that he has been putting out fires for 18 years.

“I really got into that after I did sports. I went to UCLA for football and track and field, and that was a great experience. And then, really, I just wanted to have a really big impact on life. So then I’ve been doing that for 18 years now,” he said.

Joe added that he was inspired to become a firefighter by all of the “loss” he’s experienced in life.

“What I realized is, when it’s all said and done, and you think about athletics, for me, in the main point, you come and go with the season. You’re in, and you’re out, and then that time is over. And typically, it’s at a young age when it comes to athletics,” he continued. “And I realized when it was all said and done, what [do] I want my mark really to be? How do I want to have an impact on this world? I truly mean that. And I couldn’t think of a better way.”

Does ‘Survivor’ Season 48 Star Joe Hunter Have Kids?

Joe has two kids, a son and a daughter, according to his Instagram bio. In his interview, the fire captain said that becoming a father helped prepare him to compete strategically on Survivor.

“I think the main difference is a lot of people come into the game thinking about other players. ‘How am I going to respond to these other players? This player will do this. This player is going to do that. What if I do this or this or this?’ But instead, you really need to analyze yourself. You need to come into this game first, knowing your strengths and, more importantly, your weaknesses,” he said.

Joe continued, “And what parenting does is exploit those weaknesses immediately, and you have to really work on that to be a better person, to be the best version of your kids. And in that process of becoming a great dad, which I think I am, I think it’s made me a better person that’s focused on those weaknesses. So I can play this game strategically, intellectually, and socially better than anybody else.”

Is ‘Survivor’ Season 48 Star Joe Hunter Married?

Joe is married to a woman named Kayte Christensen, according to his Instagram bio. In December 2024, Kayte reflected on her year, revealing that she and Joe had reconciled after getting a divorce.

“After nearly three years apart, a difficult and painful divorce and countless trials my husband and I reconciled. I don’t usually share personal things especially of this magnitude but I’m proud to share this one,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “It began with therapy to be better coparents and ended with our family back together. Being willing to open up, share pain, put in the work to heal and rediscovering the love we have for each other has been a truly healing process. I am so proud of us @joehunterucla. No one can know our journey but us.”

Joe Hunter Joined ‘Survivor’ Season 48 to Honor His Late Sister

Joe told Parade that his late sister, Joanna, drove him to join Survivor, explaining that he “lost [her] to domestic violence a couple of years ago.”

“She watched from the first season of Survivor. And she actually wanted us to both try out for this. And to be honest, I didn’t think we could. And I kind of just brushed it off and said there’s no way we could. And unfortunately, we lost her pretty quickly,” he explained. “And I look back on that, and it took me years to really recover from that. And I said, ‘You know what I’m gonna do for my sister? This is something she always wanted to do. I never had the courage to do it. But this is part of the healing process.’ This is for Joanna. And I’m gonna be out here as Joanna’s voice. And I think she’d be proud so far.”

Joe Hunter Won Praise for Helping Fellow ‘Survivor’ Contestant Eva Erickson With Her Autism Episode

Joe won the hearts of Survivor viewers in week 5, when he came to the rescue of former Lagi teammate Eva Erickson as she was having an autism-related episode.

The pair formed a close bond starting on the Survivor season 48 premiere episode, where Eva confided to Joe that she has autism. She shared with him the physical cues of how to tell when she was having an episode so that he could help calm her down in stressful situations without having to reveal her condition to anyone else.

Joe and Eva were separated in a week 4 tribe switch. She struggled to move a ball across a moving board in week 5’s immunity challenge, which Eva needed to complete, or her tribe would lose. After finally succeeding, Eva was unable to decompress from the intense stress and had an episode.

The fire captain now on the Vula tribe watched helplessly as Eva melted down, desperately wanting to come to her aid. Eventually, host Jeff Probst caught on and allowed him to go over to the Lagi tribe and pull Eva aside.

Joe hugged the PhD candidate tightly and whispered to her, “You’re good. Deep breath, remember.” As Eva began to settle down, he added, “Ease you out of it. Come back down out of it. Easy, slow your breath,” while also clasping the crying contestant’s hands.

The castaway’s kindness towards his former teammate exposed their alliance, but Joe didn’t care that it might have revealed his strategy. Eva went on to tell all of the other contestants about her autism and why she needed Joe at that moment.

“I want my kids watching me. I’m going to be the man I want them to be and the people I want them to be, regardless of the game, and that’s what you do. That’s who I am,” Joe explained to Jeff when asked why he revealed their secret alliance. “So, if it exposes, it exposes, but she was in need, and I would want someone to treat my daughter that way if they were playing this game.”