Jeff Probst Wells up on 'Survivor' Season 48 — He's Never Been This Emotional

Something truly out of the ordinary goes down on Season 48, Episode 5 of Survivor, so extraordinary that it just might bring host Jeff Probst to tears.

The episode teaser warns, "In 48 seasons, there has never been a Survivor episode like this," before cutting to Jeff on the verge of breaking down.

His voice shakes as he says, "Wow, this has never happened," but we also hear him in the teaser saying, "This is a dangerous spot," while another voice urges, "Breathe, sis." A third voice chimes in, "Tell yourself you can do it."

Naturally, fans are already speculating about what could possibly unfold, but many are looking for clarification on why Jeff is crying on Survivor. Here’s what we know.

Season 48, Episode 5 revealed why Jeff was welling up during Survivor. Jeff’s emotional reaction came from 24-year-old Eva Erikson, who is making Survivor history as the show’s first openly autistic contestant. In a four-minute clip shared by CBS, viewers see Eva opening up to Joe, a fire captain, about her autism, explaining the signs to look for when she's having an episode and how to help. She shares that she sometimes gets "super overstimulated," which causes her to "get stuck in a loop" in her head.

After losing a challenge, Eva admitted she felt overstimulated and couldn't stop herself from screaming and crying in what she called an "autistic episode," unbeknownst to her teammates who were trying to comfort her. Her fellow contestant, Joe Hunter, the only person she told about her diagnosis at the time, then came to her rescue by hugging her and breathing deeply while asking her if she was "coming out of it."

“Come back down out of it. Easy does it now. Let me see your hands again. You’re in a safe place,” Joe said in the episode. Eva responded, “I’m good, I’m good, thank you, thank you."

The heartfelt moment pushed her to tell the rest of the cast that she often experiences similar episodes due to her autism and encouraged other people with autism not to hide their meltdowns either. Through his tears, Jeff shared how monumental Eva's brave moment was for the aufience.

"There is a young girl or boy just like you watching right now going, ‘Hey, mom, hey, dad,‘ ” Jeff said as tears eventually started to come in. “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.”

While it seemed fans collectively believed Jeff crying had something to do with Eva, the first openly autistic contestant, as he didn't seem truly sad but more moved, some fans have come up with pretty wild theories involving a death. Redditor @Expensive-Sky4068 wrote, "I mean we saw Sai with a knife in the preview, so maybe she killed someone?" to which someone replied, "That's gotta be it."

Another Redditor even speculated how this scene might play out. While that would certainly check the box for something never happening in 48 seasons, Jeff made it clear to fans the matter was serious by his tone in the teaser.