'Survivor 48' Star Eva Erickson Says Fellow Castaway Joe Hunter Is Her "Superhero"

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Episode 5 of Survivor 48.

Season 48 of Survivor has been quite an emotional journey! Seriously, we — along with millions of viewers nationwide — have found ourselves in tears more than once. We're talking full-on, heart-wrenching sobs.

A lot of those tears are thanks to Eva Erickson and Joe Hunter, who we've completely fallen for and are always cheering on. And in the March 26 episode, these two had everyone in tears with the incredible bond they share.

At the start of the competition, Eva only shares her autism diagnosis with one person: Joe. In the season premiere, she confides in him, explaining what might happen if she gets overwhelmed and how he can potentially help her through it.

And so, in the March 26 episode, Eva becomes overstimulated and has an "autism episode" during an immunity challenge. After completing the task, she's surrounded by her tribe, which no longer includes Joe due to a tribe swap. While her tribe thinks she's screaming out of excitement, Eva is actually struggling with being overwhelmed.

During the post-challenge celebration, the camera keeps cutting to Joe, who, unable to comfort Eva because tribes aren't allowed to mix, looks visibly concerned. Host Jeff Probst notices Joe's worry and allows him to leave his tribe's mat to check on Eva.

"Joe, do you want to give her a hug?" Jeff asks, and Joe quickly rushes over to Eva and wraps her in a tight embrace. He reassures her, "You're good. Deep breath, remember?"

Eva asks Joe to hold her hands, and he gently clasps them, just as she had instructed him to do in the season premiere. He then rests his forehead against hers, offering soothing whispers of comfort.

"Coming out of it? You want another round? Big hug around," Joe says before giving her another squeeze. Eva, tearfully, responds, "Yeah, you're amazing."

Joe continues, "Come back down out of it. Easy does it now. Let me see your hands again. You're in a safe place." He and Eva share a moment, looking into each other's eyes and smiling. Eva quietly says, "I'm good, I'm good, thank you, thank you."

When Eva returns to her tribe, she opens up to the rest of the cast about her autism.

"Please, let's take a step away from the game and understand that this is what I deal with with my autism, and everyone who has autism should not be ashamed to ask for help and ashamed to receive it," she explains.

Her heartfelt announcement moves Jeff to tears — a rare sight for the host, who has never been seen crying on Survivor before.

Struggling to find the words, Jeff chokes up, saying, "There is a young girl or boy just like you watching right now going, 'Hey, mom, hey, dad,'" before tears start to form. "Now you got me. I'm a parent too, and I do see it. Wow, this [crying] has never happened. But I see it too, and that's why I love Survivor. I really do."

After the episode aired, Eva spoke with People, sharing how "crazy" it was to witness Jeff's emotional reaction. She reflected, "... That was the moment when it hit me, that this is a moment that is going to be remembered."

"It was a big thing for me, realizing, wow, I am actually representing so many people here, and seeing that reflected in how Jeff reacted to this, I was like, this is going to mean so much to so many," she added.

Eva also took a moment to express her gratitude toward Joe, saying, "I want to tell Joe that he's my superhero. He is an amazing man, and I am so thankful I got to meet him through Survivor, and that this is someone who, regardless of what happens in the rest of the game, he will always have a place in my heart. He saw me in this hard situation — and he had the tools and knew what to do — and he acted on that."

New episodes of Survivor 48 air on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.