Ricard Foyé (“Foi-yay”) was a cocky, entertaining and memorable contestant from Survivor season 41. Fans may be wondering what happened to Ricard after season 41.
In Survivor 41 Ricard, who’s partially deaf, rocketed to the top of power of his Ua tribe. He carried some strong alliances through the merge, including top ally Shan, but could not take the target off his back. He was eventually voted off in the final five. Ricard is known for his close-knit social strategy and semi-serious/semi-funny confessional interviews. He will be one that will go down in the Survivor history books for being one of a kind and one of the most recognizable faces from Survivor 41.
The fan-favorite contestant Ricard is married to his trans-partner Andy Grier Foyé (he/him). They share two biological children Aurelia and Lucia. Ricard has worked as a flight attendant before Survivor and continues to serve people in the sky to this day.
What happened to Ricard Foyé after his appearance on Survivor 41? Find out, as we delve into his confusing relationships with other contestants like Shan Smith. Are they friends after the season or still enemies like Shan portrayed them to be. Also, Ricard and Hai Giang from Survivor 41 are friends in real-life. How and why? They claim to be friends and share a social past from before both of their seasons on Survivor.
What Happened to Ricard After Survivor 41
Ricard was a boastful and proud player on his season of Survivor. His closest ally Shan was quite the firecracker and felt very betrayed by Ricard after she was voted off. You can see their tense interactions on the Survivor Ponderosa video series. Survivor Ponderosa is the luxury purgatory zone where castaways who are voted off to live together before returning to the real world. Most of the time they are the jury members who will vote to crown one competitor the million-dollar castaway.
“I don’t know where we [Shan and I] are in present day. I don’t know if we’re friends… It’s like I hope that we have a future, but I think we just need some time from the finale to figure things out.” Foyé said while at Survivor Ponderosa.
Shan is the quintessential picture of the castaway that holds grudges after the game. Ricard says he is still open to being friends with Shan; but we have to wait for more updates from this strained Survivor friendship.
Ricard visited his fellow castaways in Chicago to watch the finale of their Survivor season together. He spent a whole day on a tour of the city with Xander Hastings, referring to his friend as “Uncle Xandy.” A reference from nickname he gave him while together on the show. Also, Ricard posted a picture with Shan. In the photo they are both smiling happily and call themselves “Queens.” Hopefully these Queens have mended their turmoil from their season of Survivor.
Ricard Has two biological children with his husband
This is quite the amazing love story between Ricard and his family. In an E! News interview the couple said they had met at a queer youth camp in 2015. At the end of that same year, they eloped on New Year’s Eve. Sometime after their elopement and their larger celebratory wedding in 2018, Andy stopped his hormone treatments. He stopped his male transition hormone treatments to potentially have a child.
The beautiful couple welcomed their healthy first born, Aurelia Foyé, in the summer of June 2019. Andy Foyé refers to himself as a “Seahorse Dad,” because male seahorses get pregnant and give birth. The couple tried again for a second child but they lost it before birth. Their second attempt at a second child came at a tumultuous and more inconvenient time. In Rob Has a Podcat (RHAP) podcast, Ricard explained how he initially went through the interview process for season 41. He told CBS staff that if he competed in season 41 he would miss the birth of his child. Ricard told interviewers that he was still willing to compete on the show because Survivor means a tremendous amount to him in his life. But in a good-will act, Survivor host Jeff Probst personally switched him to season 41.
“When I actually got the call I was supposed to be on season 41… Jeff personally switched me to 41. Because he couldn’t fathom me missing the birth [of my child]… I got home one week before he was born. So I made it in time. ” Ricard told Rob Cesterino on RHAP.
After competing in season 41, Ricard made it one week before the birth of his second born child! They named the baby boy Lucia Foyé.
Ricard and Andy live with their children Aurelia and Lucia, alongside with their fur baby golden retrievers.
Did Ricard Foyé have a relationship with other out-spoken gay Survivor castaway Hai?
A few months after Survivor season 41 ended, Ricard posted an Instagram post with Hai Giang, a Survivor contestant from season 41. It was peculiar because Survivor fans and alumni castaways were puzzled how the two knew each other and why they would meet in-person.
“Wait a minute. I’m so confused. I know this person. And I went through my phone and I was like, yeah, I know this person. It was really cool to see his (Hai’s) game. He reminded me a lot of Shan. Really savvy and really aware. But in the end missed the awareness of that day.” Ricard explained in a RHAP podcast after he saw Hai’s name leak pre-season.
But how do the two know each other? And why does Ricard have Hai’s phone number from before competing on Survivor?
Ricard, on the same RHAP podcast, started by explaining in heavy laughter, “We just met in New Orleans a long time ago. That’s all. It’s just friends.”
Ricard continued to elaborate, “Hai is from Atlanta. I’m from Atlanta. I go to New Orleans every few weeks. He lives in New Orleans. You know, our paths crossed.”
Ricard describes Hai as a “lovely human being”. But what happened between Ricard and Hai years prior to them competing on Survivor? Guess we will have to wait and see if either Survivor alumni cares to elaborate further.
Ricard also posted an Instagram post 3 weeks before Hai’s debut on season 42. Giving a heart-felt message and saying “I’m rooting for you, babe.”
Is Ricard Done With Survivor?
Ricard is very persistent and motivated to play Survivor again. In a Ponderosa interview he played a game where he made a Survivor Mount Rushmore. While on the show, he decided the four most famous and iconic Survivor castaways in his opinion. In Ricard Foyé fashion he put himself first on the board along with Cirie, Sandra, and Tony. In third-person he said with determination, “Ricard, he’s probably going to be coming back within the next five seasons and he’s probably going to win.” Seasons 42 and 43 of the show did not cast Ricard so we’ll have to wait until 2023 or further on to watch Ricard compete again in Survivor.
