I love lying and backstabbing on Survivor. I love it when people are blindsided and even wrote an entire oral history about one poor guy who was convinced to give up his immunity and then was immediately voted out of the game. The deceit and deception is positively intoxicating to this longtime reality competition fan.

So imagine my confusion when I felt tears streaming down my cheek as I watched the most emotionally impactful moment in franchise history this week on Survivor 48, and not only did it not have anything to do with manipulation, but was actually quite the opposite — a triumph of human spirit and connection. Of perseverance and support. Of human bonds that transcend the game. That’s what made me and millions of other viewers sob like babies on our couches. And we weren’t the only ones crying.

For the first time in 48 seasons, Survivor host Jeff Probst broke into tears on camera. The host and showrunner was moved by an extraordinary display of emotion and friendship by two contestants, Eva Erickson and Joe Hunter. 

Eva, who has autism, was struggling in a challenge to the point where she started weeping when she could not navigate her ball through a table maze. Joe, her island father figure and closest ally who had been separated from her during a tribe swap, watched helplessly from his team’s mat, unable to go over and lend his support. Eva finally finished the challenge and erupted into emotion — so much emotion that she became over-stimulated and ungrounded. Seeing what was happening, Probst allowed Joe to go over and hug Eva, offering her calmness and safety in his arms.

After Eva recovered and revealed her autism to the rest of the cast (explaining, “Everyone who has autism should not be ashamed to ask for help and ashamed to receive it”), Probst began explaining to her what an inspiration she was until he too found himself choked up. “Now you got me,” he explained through tears. “I’m a parent, too, and I do see it. Wow, this has never happened. But I see it too, and it’s why I love Survivor.”

It was a truly remarkable sequence of events, and one of the most genuine scenes of pure emotion we’ve seen on any show of any genre.

What did Probst see from Eva while he was calling the challenge? Why did he decide to break protocol and allow Joe to leave his mat? What was his reaction when he felt himself crying for the first time on camera? And how did the moment hit him when he watched it all edited together for TV? We caught up with the host to chat about everything that transpired.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: First off, you knew Eva’s situation with her autism, but the players — outside of Joe — did not, so once you saw her really struggling emotionally during that challenge, how did you want to handle things in terms of how you called it with your play-by-play?

JEFF PROBST: In terms of calling the action of what was happening in the challenge, I really didn’t change anything. I saw Eva was struggling, but it was a pressure situation for both women, so feeling some panic is common. And this was an immunity challenge, so the stakes were high and the challenge needed to play out however it was going to play out.

However, I was certainly aware that this was the kind of pressure that could trigger Eva, so I was definitely paying attention to her while also being very mindful to not interfere with her moment. This is the kind of test that Eva not only anticipated, but on some level wanted when she applied to be on Survivor. So there was a lot going on all at once.

As a general rule, you keep tribes separated before and after the challenge, so tell me about the decision to tell Joe he could go over and give Eva a hug.

My decision to ask Joe if he wanted to go over and give Eva comfort wasn’t really a decision at all — it was instinct. I’m sure somewhere in the back of my mind I ran through a quick mental checklist to make sure I wasn’t compromising the integrity of the game. But the truth is, moments like this transcend anything else that is happening. It’s not about logic or rules, it’s about being human. You don’t analyze those decisions, you feel them. You act before you even know what you’re going to say.

Eva was visibly struggling, and in that moment, everything else fell away. I knew that Joe was the one person she had confided in about her autism, and the challenge was already over — so there was no question of fairness. All that mattered was connection. Compassion. Letting her know she wasn’t alone. And I know I speak for everyone when I say that words fall short when trying to describe what Joe did in that moment. You have to see it to understand it. Talk about instinct. It was one of the most intense and beautiful displays of saying “I got you” that I have ever seen.

What was your first reaction when you felt yourself getting choked up telling Eva about kids at home watching her do what she just did?

Let me pull back the curtain a little bit. Remember, I too was watching it as it was happening. I saw the same thing everyone else saw — Joe and Eva experiencing an incredibly powerful moment of true grace and tenderness and humanity. So I was already very emotional. I was working so hard to stay focused on the story so I could do my job as host while trying to hold back my tears. As Eva was telling her story, I was so proud of her that my emotions started to even out and I actually thought I had a handle on things.

But when I said the words “mom and dad,” it triggered the parent in me and something cracked open. It wasn’t just about Eva anymore — it was about every young person searching for the words to express who they are, and every parent trying to understand, support, and protect their child through it. My tears came from that overwhelming mix of emotions every parent knows — fear, joy, worry, hope — all tangled up at once.

To witness a young woman standing there, without her parents beside her, carrying that weight on her own and doing so with such bravery — it was powerful in a way that went beyond the game. And I imagine that anyone who watches this moment will experience their own version of what I felt. Something very deep and personal — a place where words fall short, but the feeling stays with you. This is one of those Survivor moments I will never forget.

The shots of Joe sitting there quietly watching Eva struggle in that challenge, and him, in turn, struggling to watch her go through that are some of the most impactful I have ever seen on the show. What was it like watching all these shots put together on screen, and how many times did you cry watching it?

I could talk for 20 minutes about how proud I am of our entire crew for how this moment was handled. It goes all the way back to our casting team bringing us Eva, believing she was ready for this kind of adventure. To our director and cinematography teams who captured those shots, to our audio teams who captured those beautiful words. To the score and the sound mix. And, of course, our producing and editing teams who worked so hard on this moment so that we could take the viewer inside the emotion of one of the most powerful exchanges between humans we have ever seen. And, of course, our incredible support teams that keep the Survivor engine running day after day. It literally takes a village.

I’ve watched this scene more than any other scene that has ever happened on our show. We put more time and energy and thought into getting this scene right than anything I can ever remember. We knew we were a witness to magic, and we wanted the audience to feel it too. I will be totally honest: I cry every single time I watch it. I just watched it again, and I cried again.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly‘s free daily newsletter to get breaking news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.