The ‘Win the Wilderness’ Winners Are Not Living in Alaska Full Time (SPOILERS!)

 A new competition show just hit Netflix, and it’s a perfect blend of Survivor meets Alaskan Bush People, and it’s going to be a new obsession. 

Initially a BBC2 production, Win the Wilderness follows six British couples looking to find their little slice of wilderness heaven. While the show hit Netflix on April 22nd, it was filmed back in May or June 2019, and people who have already burned through the season want to know what has been going on with the Win the Wilderness winners now. 

The description Netflix explains the new reality TV show as being, “six couples compete to prove they’ve got the survival skills to win the deed to an extraordinary home deep in the vast, rugged wilderness of Alaska.” 

Each of the six couples is originally from England, and during the competition, they have to prove they have what it takes to care for the massive off-the-grid property in Alaska. Win the Wilderness aired initially in the UK in January 2020 before it was picked up for an American release on Netflix. 

Here’s your alert, if you haven’t watched yet and you don’t want to be spoiled, bookmark this and come back in a few hours. 

The property the couples are fighting to win was built and manned by Duane and Rena Ose, and they’re also the people who ultimately decide the winner Win the Wilderness. After putting each of the paired contestants through the ropes, one couple came out on top: Mark Warner and Emily Padfield. 

That means there is no waiting to find out who won, no weekly suspense drips of new episodes. You can sit, and binge-watch the whole season and follow along with the exciting ways each couple has to prove they are the perfect fit to take over the property at the end of the competition. 

Perhaps they were seen as the underdogs in the show, given Mark’s age and the fact Emily was living with Multiple Sclerosis, but in the end, their hard work and determination won over Duane and Rena.

“The reason we chose you two is because you’re basically in the same situation we were in when we started this,” Duane and Rena said. “You two make a great couple.”

And they won over the property, too. 

It’s been nearly a year since Mark Warner and Emily Padfield won Win the Wilderness, and the good news is the two are still together, and yes, they really do own the property in Alaska. Emily has an Instagram account and keeps fans updated on their life on their farm in the UK and the giant Alaskan property they won from the show.  

The couple doesn’t live on their new Alaskan property full time due to Visa issues, according to Emily’s Instagram account. Someone commented on a photo asking if she and Mark live at the new property, and she replied, saying it’s a little complicated.

“We’re looking into visa options, but hoping to get back out there as soon as possible,” she said under a photo she posted on April 22nd. “Who knows then that might be but keeping in contact with friends in Alaska which isn’t too badly affected. But flying is a worry. Then hope to get a longer visa than an Esta and go from there. Lots to do and sort out!”

According to TheCinemaholic, the couple said they have friends in Alaska who are helping to care for the property while they’re in England.