NEED TO KNOW
Survivor alums Katurah Topps and Sabiyah Broderick took to Instagram on Sunday, June 22, to announce their relationship
The couple both competed on season 45 of the long-running reality competition series, which aired in 2023
Topps and Broderick celebrated being the “FIRST Black Queer Woman Couple” in the show’s history in their post
Love is in the air for two Survivor alums!
Katurah Topps and Sabiyah Broderick, who both competed on season 45 of the long-running reality competition series in 2023, took to Instagram on Sunday, June 22, to announce their relationship alongside a carousel of photos and videos of them together.
“On Survivor, we both struggled with fire 🔥 I couldn’t make it and she went a week without it. But what we’ve built together? That’s a fire that finally lit itself! ❤️🔥❤️🔥,” the joint statement began.
The couple continued, “from Players to Partners, from Castmates to Co-dreamers… Meet Survivor’s FIRST Black Queer Woman Couple ✨🏳️🌈.”
Katurah Topps/Instagram
Sabiyah Broderick (L) and Katurah Topps (R)
Topps and Broderick’s post received a slew of supportive comments from fellow alums.
Season 44’s Carolyn Wiger, season 47’s Teeny and season 48’s Saiounia “Sai” Hughley as well as season 45’s Jake O’Kane and Austin Li Coon all left messages in the comment section.
The show’s official Instagram account even commented on the post, writing, “Happy pride 🥹❤️🌈.”
“THANK YOU 🙏🏾❤️,” Broderick responded, while Topps replied, “thank YOU for introducing us!! ❤️🔥😎.”
Topps and Broderick saw each other on the plane ride to Fiji for their Survivor season, but they didn’t get the opportunity to interact much during filming.
Broderick was on the Lulu tribe while Topps was on the Belo tribe.
While Topps went on to make the merge and became the last jury member when she was voted off on day 25, Broderick was the third person voted off of the season, getting her torch snuffed on day 7.
Robert Voets/CBS via Getty (2)
Katurah Topps (L) and Sabiyah Broderick (R) on ‘Survivor 45’
Ironically, Topps was put on the Lulu tribe the day after Broderick’s exit due to a tribe swap.
Topps said their first time truly meeting each other was on a cast trip to Cape Cod after filming wrapped, but before the season aired.
“We’d talked on the phone a bit [prior to the trip], but this was the first time we saw each other in person and the true beginning of our friendship,” Topps told Out.
“We realized that our friendship — being ‘besties’ who talked every single day — was turning into something more last fall, around August 2024, and we decided to explore it casually,” Topps continued. “But, by January of this year, we knew we needed to make it official.”
Katurah Topps/Instagram
Katurah Topps (L) and Sabiyah Broderick (R)
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As for why they decided to go public with their relationship now, Topps said it was all about timing, as they just celebrated their six-month anniversary on June 20 during Pride Month.
“After making sure our foundation was solid,” Topps said, “we’re finally ready to share this love with the world.”
Read the original article on People