What Is Former Survivor Winner Kim Wolfe Doing Now?

Kim Wolfe became a fan favorite after she won "Survivor: One World" for Season 24 of the show in 2012. Many viewers considered her one of the best to ever play the game. "I love that, and I've been flattered to read things like that for the last few years," she told Entertainment Weekly in January 2020 before participating in "Survivor: Winners at War." A lot had changed for Wolfe since she last competed, as she remarried and started a family. "And this time around, I think I know how to grind way harder than I did last time. I mean, having three babies in three years was beyond anything I had experienced," she told EW.

The changes in Wolfe's personal life also led to her making a career change. She invested her "Survivor" winnings in a 1940s home and completely renovated it. Afterward, Wolfe sold that home and started buying other properties, which led to her husband making a suggestion. "He was like, 'How about you do this professionally and stop making our family move every time you want to try a new tile?'" Wolfe joked to HGTV about her choice to become an interior designer.

In March 2022, Wolfe combined her reality show experience with her interior design skills and starred in the HGTV series "Why the Heck Did I Buy This House?" On the show, Wolfe helped regretful homeowners in the San Antonio area redesign their homes. The show not only featured the "Survivor" winner but her family as well.

"Why the Heck Did I Buy This House?" starring Kim Wolfe alongside her husband, Bryan Wolfe, returned for Season 2 in November 2023 on HGTV. The show had expanded from the initial seven-episode run. "In Season 1, it was me, one other girl, and Bryan. In Season 2, we had a team of 10 people," Kim told TV Insider in December 2023. Working alongside her husband brought challenges for the former "Survivor" winner. "I'm not risk adverse. The more challenging and crazier it sounds the better. Bryan loves a safety net," she said. The couple also involved their three children in filming, but according to Kim, none of his kids were starved for the spotlight.

Just as in the first season, Season 2 followed Kim, her husband, and their team as they helped homeowners with buyer's remorse renovate their properties into more livable spaces. "My whole thing is trying to give homeowners the best version of what they're wanting to see happen," she told Realtor.com in December 2023 while discussing the show. 

In addition to her own series, Kim returned to reality TV competitions with HGTV's "Battle on the Mountain" as a mentor for a team of designers renovating a mountainside home. Although she was involved in the competition, Kim shot down the notion of returning to "Survivor" when she spoke to TV Insider. Kim did, however, reunite with a fellow "Survivor" competitor on another series.

Before Kim Wolfe was given "Why the Heck Did I Buy This House?" she appeared on an episode of "Southern Charm" in 2019. This was a prototype of sorts for her HGTV show as she helped her friend and fellow "Survivor" alum, Chelsea Meissner, renovate her home. "I had been working for another designer here in San Antonio before that. And so that was my first foray into seeing what I could do," Wolfe told Showbiz Cheatsheet in April 2022.

Meissner not only had Wolfe on an episode of "Southern Charm" to show off the remodeling her friend did, but she also invited Southern Living into her home to do a full photo spread. The publication captured stunning photos of the renovations, which helped show off Wolfe's talents. As the friends collaborated on the new designs of the house, Wolfe brought Meissner out of her comfort zone. "I was initially hesitant about the Cole & Son Palm Jungle wallpaper, but it turned out better than I could have imagined," Meissner told Southern Living while discussing her Costa Rica-inspired room. The former "Survivor: One World" contestant found herself in the same predicament as people on Wolfe's HGTV series. "Due to the high-priced real estate in the area, I realized a fixer-upper was all I could afford," she said.

The connection between the pair extended beyond reality TV. In October 2018, Meissner called Wolfe "my best friend" in an Instagram post discussing the renovations.