Dee Valladares won Survivor 45 and the heart of her closest ally, Austin Li Coon, on the island. But now that it’s been over six months since the season filmed, fans want to know if the 27-year-olds are dating. Dee and Austin both revealed the status of their relationship following the December 20 finale episode.
“This has been a whirlwind of emotions and we have decided to keep it low key for now,” Dee told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s been too crazy and it’s getting crazier. So we’ve decided to keep it low key for now, only because it’s been insane.”
“Keep it low key is you’ll see pictures here and there,” Dee further explained, “but we’re not going to focus on it right now because so much is happening in our lives and yeah, we’re just going to keep it low key for now.”
Austin told EW that he and Dee want to keep their relationship “private” for the time being. “The finale just aired and I don’t think I’m ready quite yet for dealing with all the fans and giving out the answers,” he said. “So going to keep that private for now.”
However, Austin divulged a bit more about the pair’s relationship in an interview with Parade. “Things are going great. I mean, honestly, we’ve seen each other so many times since the end of the season,” the MBA student said. “We’ve hung out. We’ve gone to all these different watch events. And I’ve visited in Miami; she came to Chicago.”
“But, for the most part, I think we kind of want to keep this side private for now,” Austin added. “I mean, things are going really, really crazy. And I don’t think we’re quite ready yet to deal with the ramifications of announcing anything. So we’re gonna keep that private.”
Dee, a 27-year-old entrepreneur who was born in Cuba and lives in Miami, Florida, was crowned the winner of Survivor 45 over Austin and Jake O’Kane. She received five jury votes (from Kaleb Gebrewold, Kellie Nalbandian, Emily Flippen, Julie Alley, and Katurah Topps) to Austin’s three and Jake’s zero.