There was no way there was ever going to be another winner of Survivor than John Cochran, a man who’d not been in any serious trouble for the entirety of the competition, whereas Utah English professor Dawn Meehan was constantly veering back and forth between paranoia and hysterics to a position of comforting and approachability throughout. In Survivor, where people are second-guessing you most of the time anyway, such erratic behavior was always going to come under scrutiny at some point, and though she did well to make it to the final, it was clear once the already-eliminated competitors got to interrogate her that she’d be taking the runner-up spot.

Five of the eight jury votes were read out and they were all in favour of John Cochran, which would suggest that he took the other three too. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Meehan commented “I think I’ve done a pretty good job of maligning myself with most people on the jury." The jury members agreed, pointing out to her erratic behavior, with fellow contestant Malcolm Freberg commenting "You can’t be warm mother of six who stabbed people in the back.” Meehan did argue that it was part of a game she was playing, but then admitted "I feel like I’m my own worst enemy." Don’t fret it, Dawn, there was no way you were ever going to beat John.