Brad Reese was eliminated with a hidden immunity idol in his pocket on the Oct. 6 episode of Survivor, which means the idol is back in play now that he’s been sent home. Only three tribe members are left on Brad’s Ua tribe, and Genie Chen takes it upon herself to go searching for the re-hidden idol in a sneak peek at the upcoming Oct. 20 episode. The footage reveals that she finds the advantage, but as viewers know, it comes with a twist — if she opens the advantage, she can’t use it until someone from each of the other two tribes have also found the advantage hidden at their respective camps. Until then, she won’t have a vote at tribal council.
In the preview, Genie runs off to tell Shan Smith and Ricard Foye about her discovery, but we’ll have to wait until the episode airs to see how it plays out for her. So far, Xander Hastings has found the idol at the Yase tribe, while no one has discovered it at Luvu. Ahead of tonight’s episode, learn more about Genie below.
1. What Does Genie Do?
Genie works as a grocery store clerk in Portland, Oregon. Before starting her Survivor journey, she was confident that this would help her on the show. “I’ve worked in customer service pretty much all my life, ever since my first job, where I worked at a smoothie bar,” Genie told Parade. “I know how to make myself approachable and available. I just come off as very helpful where people just want to engage with me. So I think that’s really going to be how other people will see me — as the person where you can say, ‘Oh yeah, I’m gonna go to Genie for an alliance.'”
2. Genie Is In A Relationship
Genie doesn’t share much about her personal life on social media, but in Aug. 2021, she shared a photo with a woman, which she captioned, “Happy anniversary to my true true.” She also tagged the woman, whose Instagram handle is @LRobin530, in several previous posts. Genie also hyphenated her name to have the same last name as her partner, and calls herself Genie Robin-Chen in her Instagram bio.
3. Genie Loves Video Games
Even though she’s in her mid-40s, Genie is still a child at heart! In her Survivor bio for CBS, she revealed that she “still plays video games.” She also revealed that she played basketball as a teenager, while also playing cello in her junior high band.
4. Genie Is Close With Her Sister
In her Survivor bio, Genie referred to her sister, Nancy Chen, as her “hero.” “She is a success story with a beautiful family despite not having had support at an early age,” Genie revealed. Genie often tags Nancy in her Instagram posts, along with her two children.
5. Genie Is A Dog Mom
One of Genie’s most-shared things on Instagram is photos of her dog! She and her partner appear to share their white dog, who often pops up in sweet posts on the 46-year-old’s page.