![Matt Blankinship](https://hollywoodlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/matt-blankinship-5-things-to-know-cbs-ftr.jpg?quality=100&w=384&h=216&crop=1)
- Matt Blankinship is a contestant on ‘Survivor’ season 44.
- He’s in a budding showmance with fellow castaway Frannie Marin.
- He’s a security software engineer.
Matt Blankinship is becoming the face of the next Survivor showmance! The 27-year-old is admittedly catching feelings for fellow tribemate Frannie Marin on the islands of Fiji on season 44. Matt and Frannie’s flirtatious connection could make them a big target at the next tribal council, since their fellow tribemates are already noticing how close they are. Or, Matt and Frannie could stick together and dominate the season, like Boston Rob and Amber did on All-Stars! Here is everything you need to know about Matt.
![Matt Blankinship](https://hollywoodlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/matt-blankinship-5-things-to-know-cbs-embed.jpg)
Matt is from California.
Matt is from Albany, California, but he now lives in San Francisco, California.
He went to Oberlin College.
In 2013, Matt left California for Ohio to attend Oberlin College, where he got a Bachelor’s degree in computer science. He was also a campus tour guide at the school, according to his LinkedIn.
He’s a security software engineer.
Matt’s been working as a security software engineer at Google since January 2019. He works out of the company’s San Francisco office. He previously worked at Amazon from July 2017 to November 2018, his LinkedIn reveals.
![Matt Blankinship](https://hollywoodlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/matt-blankinship-5-things-to-know-cbs-embed1.jpg)
He’s passionate about music.
In college, Matt joined the percussion ensemble Oberlin College Taiko, according to an interview he did with the university. He also revealed that he created a comedy folk music duo with one of his friends at Oberlin. Matt said he “had so much fun making music” in college.
Matt was newly-single before ‘Survivor’.
Matt has talked about his relationship status on Survivor 44. “Coming into this game. I was in a very vulnerable state,” he said in a confessional. “I recently got out of a relationship that meant the world to me. I wanted to be able to put that behind, but you bring it into the game,” he added. Luckily, Matt has found a strong connection with Frannie that’s helped him move on from his breakup.