Watch Romeo come out as gay to his entire tribe in Survivor deleted scene

One of the most touching scenes so far on Survivor 42 took place when all the players congregated on the same beach during the show's semi-merge. After Hai Giang talked about his dating life and meeting someone on Tinder, Romeo Escobar took his new tribemate aside to open up about his own journey and how he had not shared his true sexuality with many members of his family, including ones who would find out he was gay by watching the show.

It was a moving scene that illustrated the different paths often taken when it comes to sharing such intimate details both privately and publicly, but there was an equally important moment that took place on day 17 of the game that didn't make it to air.

In an exclusive deleted scene from this week's episode, we learn that while Romeo had shared his story with Hai, he had not, in fact, shared with it with the entire cast. "I didn't come into Survivor with the intention of hiding my sexuality," he says, "but I was put in a tribe with one of the most macho men out here, with Rocksroy, so I just didn't say anything. But now, moving forward, I wanted to get rid of that baggage."

As if the emotional burden of playing Survivor is not enough, it seems Romeo had been carrying the burden of his secret with him in the game as well. "Romeo is a soft-spoken person," Hai observes in the clip, "and I think that out here players like that tend to have a hard time opening up. Unfortunately for Romeo, he's had to live essentially in the closet for the first half of the game."

But that all came to an end on day 17, when Romeo addressed the Kula Kula tribe, opening with, "Can I share something with you all?"

Romeo would to on to explain how "Coming out here to Survivor for me… it took me back to high school and college, where I had to hide who I really was. In high school I had to fit in, and the way I would fit in and not be picked on was to date a cheerleader. And then when I got to college, I was like, 'Okay I have to fit in again. I want to be a part of it.' So I joined a fraternity. And I did that. And I felt like, 'Now I fit in…'"

He continued: "It wasn't until after college that I said, 'Screw it, now I'm going to be me.' And coming to Survivor, I kind of reflected on myself, like why for so many years I wasn't myself was because I was scared that when I was my true self that people weren't going to love me anymore."

The reaction from the tribe was nothing but support — lots of hugs and love all around, even from Romeo's island frenemy Hai, with whom Romo has had an up-and-down ride, to say the least. "You're playing this cutthroat game with these people," Romeo said, "but for that one minute, the game just stopped and we were human beings. That moment for me goes beyond the game. It was a moment of finally being free."

In sharing his story in such a public forum — both on the beach and on TV — Romeo hopes he makes an impact beyond the game: "If I go out next, at least I can do something good in this game and hopefully can inspire someone who was struggling like I was for so many years with themselves and being scared with living their truth. Maybe I can inspire someone to not be afraid anymore."

Watch the entire scene unfold in the video above, and be sure to check out our recap of the latest Survivor episode and that landmark Tribal Council.

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