Dylan Hyatt-Jacobson isn’t braving the Arctic Circle just for the adventure. The Alone Australia contestant has a deeply personal reason for taking on the challenge – his son, Jensen, desperately wants a sibling.
“He wants this very badly,” the 35-year-old Queenslander tells TV WEEK.
“Six years ago, my partner and I started trying to expand our family. It wasn’t working and, after every test imaginable, we were told it was unexplained infertility.”
The couple spent tens of thousands of dollars on multiple rounds of IVF before finally welcoming Jensen, making the $250,000 cash prize on Alone all the more appealing.
“Since then, it’s been quite challenging to have a second child,” Dylan admits.
A proud Palawa man, former Army veteran, search and rescue tracker and DFV high-risk team specialist, Dylan says his wife Jemma has carried much of the burden of their fertility journey.
“It’s a very emotional and psycho-logically intense experience,” he says. “It’s a rollercoaster of grief and hope. Jemma makes so many sacrifices with the hormones, medication and physical side of things.”
In this week’s opening double episode Dylan faces the brutal realities of life in the Arctic Circle, where freezing temperatures and unforgiving terrain test the contestants from the very first day.
But it wasn’t the harsh conditions that challenged him most.
“The most difficult part was the isolation,” he reveals. “Before this, the longest I’d ever been away from my son was two days.
“I didn’t know how long I’d be out there for, and I’d never experienced such a strong pull to be back with my family.”
Alone Australia airs Wednesday at 7.30pm on SBS and SBS On Demand.
.png?resize=280%2C210&format=auto)
.png?resize=280%2C210&format=auto)
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
