Do ‘Naked & Afraid’ Contestants Get Paid? Questions Answered About Discovery Series

Surviving the wilderness without a stitch of clothing is hard enough when you have a companion. But Naked and Afraid: Solo, the newest iteration of Discovery’s hit survival franchise, takes the buddy system out of the equation.

“This arced series takes place in some of the most remote and harshest environments in the world — and in locations spread out over three continents,” Discovery says about the current season. “Whether it’s a bug-infested South American rainforest, a frigid African scrubland or a blistering Mexican jungle, each episode follows multiple survivalists as they take on the most difficult challenge of their lives. … Enduring 21 days solo will test the most experienced survivalists in the world — and bring many to their knees.”

So, there has to be a little financial incentive for these brave souls, right? Well… perhaps less incentive thank you think. With Naked and Afraid: Solo airing alongside a new season of Naked and Afraid on Discovery, we’re answering some of fans’ frequently-asked questions about the docuseries and its spinoffs.

What is the necklace that Naked and Afraid contestants wear?

The bead on the necklace that the contestants wear holds a microphone, and that microphone connects to a wireless transmitter in their satchels, according to The Denver Post. “That’s why we can’t modify this bag [and] we can’t take it off,” contestant Dani Beau explained to TikTok viewers last year. “We have to wear it.”

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Do contestants ever hook up?

“That’s the biggest question I get,” contestant Alyssa Ballestero told People last year. “The answer is no. That’s not what happens out there. Everyone is dirty and tired; it doesn’t really happen.”

Added costar Stacey Lee Osorio, “You have no libido out there at all. It’s really not a sexual experience.”

Do contestants get paid?

Ballestero and Osorio revealed to People that participants get a few thousand dollars and that it’s more about the experience than the money.

“We’re taking them away from their job, and we realize that,” casting director Kristi Russell told Channel Guide Magazine in 2015. “And so we give them a weekly stipend to compensate for their lost wages.”

Do contestants know where they’re going ahead of time?

“Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t,” Russell said. “It depends on the location. If the location has very specific survival requirements, we will give them a very short amount of notice so that they have time to adequately do some research and give themselves the best chance for survival. And sometimes with advance notice of where they’re going, they therefore can tailor their item [the one item the contestants are allowed to bring] accordingly.”

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Do contestants get tampons?

“They give us tampons!” Ballestero revealed to Refinery29 in 2016. “Our one saving grace is that it’s television, so they don’t want viewers to see… that. But for me, my body was so malnourished from a lack of food and water that I didn’t even get my period.”

What’s the worst part about the Naked and Afraid experience?

For contestant Paolo Di Girolamo, it was the hunger. “I psychologically prepared myself for not seeing friends and family, so that wasn’t too bad, but not eating took a bigger toll than expected,” Di Girolamo wrote in a 2018 Reddit AMA. “On the second day, I had a little internal freakout when I realized the only way I was going to eat was to hunt or forage enough to feed myself and Kristin [Young]. This was during the dry season. [I] lost 35 pounds.”

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Do crew members really not feed the contestants?

“Not even a little bit!” Di Girolamo told fans. “There was one day where I barely had the energy to stand and was laying down in the shade. The camera crew got the lens right on my face and was trying to get me to be active. I could hardly think, let alone play Tarzan.”

And, perhaps most importantly, what do contestants use instead of toilet paper?

In a 2020 feature on the Discovery website, Sara Burkett recommended using “nice fluffy moss and large leaves” in lieu of toilet paper, while Lauren Fagen advised doing a handstand under a waterfall, calling it “nature’s bidet.”

Eva Rupert offered an alternative in the 2014 special Naked and Awkward (via E! News): “I’m very adamant about the fact that a smooth stone is absolutely the best butt-wiping squeegee on the face of the planet,” she said.

Naked and Afraid, Sundays, 8/7c, Discovery Channel

Naked and Afraid: Solo, Sundays, 10/9c, Discovery Channel