Zeke Smith may have been voted off the island, but he's got no hard feelings about it.
E! News caught up with the former Survivor: Game Changers contestant at the GLAAD Media Awards in New York last night, where the star was all smiles despite missing out on the season's grand prize.
Zeke became a favorite among other contestants (and fans), but the reality star said he knew he couldn't win after his now infamous public outing by co-star Jeff Varner.
Despite the controversy, Zeke had nothing but kind words on the red carpet, revealing to E! News that he and Varner are working on patching things up, describing their relationship as "a work in progress."
"I hugged him that night as a sign of forgiveness and as a chance to start healing because I think that anyone who expresses sincere remorse for what they have done as he has should be embraced," the reality star said, adding, "That's how we encourage people to change."
The star was even sympathetic after Jeff lost his job following the incident on Survivor: Game Changers.
In one of the most shocking moments in the show's history, Jeff Varner outed Smith as transgender to the rest of the contestants—and, subsequently, the world when the episode aired. Varner had been in danger of being voted off and, in an effort to save himself, sealed his fate by making an ugly scene.
"There is deception on levels here that these guys don't understand," he told the Tribal Council and, turning on Smith, asked "Why haven't you told anyone you're transgender?"
"I didn't want to be the 'trans Survivor player,' and I wanted to be 'Zeke the Survivor player,'" Smith explained. "I don't even need a cheerleader because I know I can do whatever I want to do."
Since its initial airing, Jeff has publicly apologized to Zeke, sharing on Twitter, "I offer my deepest, most heart-felt apologizes to Zeke Smith, his friends and life allies, his family and to all those who my mistake hurt and offended...I was wrong and make no excuses for it. I own responsibility in what is the worst decision of my life."
While Varner has expressed remorse for his actions on the show, Zeke shared that he had no regrets about his time on Survivor.
"There's not a thing I would've done differently, no regrets at all," he told E! News.
As Smith shared in an interview with People, being a part of the show helped him regain the confidence that was "obliterated" when he transitioned.
"I realized that I needed to take on a big challenge to become the man I wanted to be," he said. "For some reason, that was Survivor."
After being so publicly outed, the former contestant offered some advice to anyone going through a similar experience.
"I think you cant control others, you can only control yourself. So behave in a way that you're gonna be proud of if you had to watch it back on national television."