Yam Yam Arocho: 5 Things To Know About The ‘Survivor’ Contestant Who’s Making History

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Image Credit: Robert Voets/CBS

Yam Yam Arocho is a contestant on season 44 of ‘Survivor.’
He’s the first ‘Survivor’ player who lives in Puerto Rico.
He is a salon owner.

Yam Yam Arocho is one of the standout characters on Survivor 44 so far this season. The 36-year-old has a bubbly personality that comes through the television screen, making him an early fan-favorite. Yam Yam even showed some game savviness when he helped blindside Helen Li in Episode 2. If Yam Yam can make it to the merge, he’s got a great shot at making it all the way to the Final 3, where his endearing life story could secure him the $1 million prize. Here’s everything you need to know about Yam Yam.

Yam Yam (Photo: Robert Voets/CBS)

Yam Yam is from Puerto Rico.

Yam Yam is from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, but he now lives in San Juan. Yam Yam has made Survivor history as the first contestant to reside in Puerto Rico. He’s also the first contestant to live in a U.S. territory at the time of filming.

He survived Hurricane Maria.

Yam Yam was living in Puerto Rico when Hurricane Maria struck in 2017. He talked about that harrowing experience in his pre-game interview with Parade. “I had to deal with the scarcity of resources that everybody was suffering. And running a business of 25+ people being that young. I was around 31 at that time,” he said. “People older than me were looking at me like I was gonna give them the answers and give them the hope of, “Are we gonna be okay? Is everything gonna be fine?’ ”

He owns a salon.

Yam Yam owns the salon Miranda Beauty in Puerto Rico. The business is located in Condado, a suburb in San Juan. Yam Yam promotes his salon on his Instagram.

Yam Yam on ‘Survivor’ (Photo: Robert Voets/CBS)

He’s gay.

Yam Yam is an out and proud gay man. He’s actually one of six queer contestants on season 44 of Survivor. The others are Frannie Marin, Josh Wilder, Claire Rafson, Carolyn Wiger, and Matthew Grinstead-Mayle.

He’s married.

Yam Yam shows off his husband, Karim Saenz, on his Instagram all the time! The couple tied the knot on March 22, 2021 in San Juan. On their 1st anniversary, Yam Yam shared an Instagram tribute to Karim. He wrote, “Thank you for allowing us to live together all these days and grow from every experience, conversation, laugher, and tear.”

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Cast from SURVIVOR Season 43. Pictured (L-R): Justine Brennan, Jesse Lopez, Noelle Lambert, Dwight Moore, Nneka Ejere, Cody Assenmacher, Elisabeth "Elie" Scott, Owen Knight, Morriah Young, Sami Layadi, Jeanine Zheng, Mike 'Gabler' Gabler, Lindsay Carmine, James Jones, Geo Bustamante, Ryan Medrano, Karla Cruz Godoy and Cassidy Clark. — Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2022 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.