reality tv

"I’m very lucky." Pia Miranda on being diagnosed with an autoimmune condition on Survivor.

 

Australian Survivor favourite Pia Miranda has shared her experience with a skin condition while filming the reality show.

The Looking For Alibrandi actress, 46, revealed on Instagram that she discovered she had autoimmune condition Vitiligo while on location in Fiji.

The effects of the Vitiligo were not super noticeable on screen, but Miranda said she had been asked about her skin by a few very-observant viewers.

Sidenote: Mamamia met Survivor villain David and asked him some very important questions. Post continues below video.

Video by Mamamia

“A few people have been asking me about my skin on Survivor, and if you have been watching you may have noticed that it’s going through somewhat of a transformation,” she wrote.

“Well it turns out that whilst playing I had a flare up of an autoimmune condition called Vitiligo that I didn’t know I had. I was made aware of it but I decided to push through and not stress about it until I came home because… Survivor!”

Miranda said it has been “confronting” to know her skin was changing while filming a reality TV show without any makeup on.

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“Since seeing a specialist I’ve been told that it’s a condition that needs lifelong management, but I’m having some amazing treatment and it’s working really well so I’m feeling very lucky.

“It’s not ideal that it happened in real time on TV, as it was pretty confronting knowing I was being filmed, but I think what initially felt like a negative, can be a positive.”

 

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She wanted to be open about her skin in hope of helping others with Vitiligo and other conditions that impacted their confidence.

“For anyone who might be suffering from Vitiligo or any other condition that makes you feel like you look less than perfect, I hope that watching me out there kicking butt on Survivor (and also getting my butt kicked) without a stitch of makeup on, lifts your spirits.

“I’m thinking there are enough perfect looking people on TV, so I’m happy to offer an alternative and be someone who is perfectly fine with being imperfect. Anyway, a bit of a skin thing isn’t going to stop me playing hard and having fun, so I hope you enjoy my journey because I sure did.”

Before Survivor began airing in July, Miranda told Mamamia she was a “superfan” of the reality show, but being a competitor “was so much harder than I expected”.

“I’ve seen how bad the elements can be and nothing can prepare you for what playing Survivor is really like,” she said.

Pia Miranda Survivor Australia
Image: Channel 10.
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Indeed, the experience changed her perspective on life when she returned home: "I think as people we’re always looking for something else, or what can I do next and what can I have next but what I realised is what I have is perfect and I don’t need anything else".

Although we’ll have to wait to see how the rest of Miranda's journey on Survivor plays out, she told Mamamia she has no regrets.

"I think it’s one of those things that if you think too hard about it you might question what you did or how you did it. But at the end of the day, I wanted to go in and play because I love the game of Survivor so much.

"So I don’t regret playing the game. Because I really tried."