Who Is Michelle Yi From 'Survivor'? The Former Contestant Had a Near-Death Experience

Fans of Survivor were shocked to learn that the lovable Michelle Yi, a contestant from Survivor: Fiji, was recently stabbed right by her pilates studio in Los Angeles. Michelle was on her way to teach a 6 a.m. class when a woman started to harass her and her students. When Michelle told the harasser that she couldn’t be there, the woman stabbed Michelle with a saw blade.

The experience would have been terrifying for anyone, but luckily, Michelle’s Survivor instincts kicked in. She walked away with some cuts on her face that needed stitches and is overall doing OK. But now that Michelle is in the news, many people are curious to learn more about her season of Survivor.

Michelle was one of the most likable cast members on Survivor: Fiji for contestants and audience members alike. However, that’s not saying much. Season 14 of Survivor suffered from negative reviews and is today considered one of the worst seasons in Survivor history.

Jeff Probst himself even said the only saving graces of the season were contestants Yau-Man and Dreamz, who made it to the last few episodes of the season.

But Michelle was another favorite — the only problem is that she went home too soon. The season started with all 19 castaways (the 20th dropped out the night before, too late to be replaced), on one island that was basically fully furnished.

But once they were split into two tribes, one tribe got to stay on the furnished island as “The Haves,” and the other tribe became “The Have Nots.” The latter tribe was obviously disadvantaged, which showed in the challenges, making for a predictable season.

After the tribe swap, the strategy got a bit more exciting, but Survivor: Fiji ultimately ended with a predictable winner and an unexciting cast. So, it’s no surprise that many Survivor fans have either forgotten Survivor: Fiji, or haven’t even watched it to begin with.

Michelle was on the first losing tribe in Survivor: Fiji — Ravu, the “Have Nots.” However, her tribe kept her around and she proved to consistently be the optimistic voice that encouraged her tribe to move past their losses. During the tribe swap, she ended up on Moto and aligned herself with the season's winner, Earl Cole.

But another Survivor twist came into play that separated the merged tribe into two separate groups for tribal council. As a result, Michelle was voted out in a 3-2 vote. Michelle was the youngest contestant on her season and was also the only original member of Ravu not to receive a vote pre-merge.

Now, Michelle is a pilates instructor who travels around America to teach, as well as for fun. Although she’s no longer on the island of Fiji, Michelle clearly loves to be surrounded by water and nature, so it’s no surprise that she wanted to compete on Survivor. Will we ever see her on Survivor again? It’s unlikely, but with her recent incident, fans may be clamoring for more Michelle.