Benjamin Russell Driebergen[1] (born January 1, 1983) is an American Marine Corps veteran and reality television personality, best known for competing on and winning Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers.
[4] Once, while stationed in Fallujah, he came across an elderly couple that couldn't evacuate the city due to the wife's illness.
When Levu lost the first immunity challenge, Driebergen joined the rest of the Heroes in voting out Trina Radke.
During Tribal Council, Hofbeck revealed that since she won immunity, she had to choose one person to bring to the Final Three with her, while the other two castaways were to go against each other in a fire-making challenge.
He was applauded for finding multiple idols, and his strong strategic play, but was condemned particularly by Joe Mena for his weak social game.
When Zahalsky and Mena encouraged Driebergen to explain why he believed he should win, he opened up to the jury about his post-traumatic stress disorder and how he has learned to live with it, stating that he hoped to show fellow veterans that while life after the military is difficult, there is more to look forward to in the future.
After reaching the merge, Driebergen found himself in a comfortable position, having joined Tony Vlachos's majority alliance.
Driebergen had developed strong bonds with Vlachos, Lacina, Clarke and Denise Stapley during this time.
Furthermore, Driebergen quickly developed a rivalry with Jeremy Collins, who had found himself on the wrong side of the numbers at the merge.
When Natalie Anderson rejoined the game from the Edge of Extinction, Driebergen sensed she and Fitzgerald were going to take another shot at him, so he played his idol at the Final Six, negating two votes cast against him, resulting in a 0–0 tie.
Driebergen became the eighteenth person voted out from the game and joined the jury having come to terms with his fate and accepting it.
At the Final Tribal Council, Driebergen specifically credited Fitzgerald's win in Survivor: Kaôh Rōng and praised her gameplay, stating that as a "fellow controversial winner", she should be proud of her achievement.
[13] After completing his service to the Marines, Driebergen worked several regular or odd jobs around the United States.
[14] He currently works as a real estate agent in Boise, where he lives with his wife Kelly, and their two children, Wyatt and Gracie.