Australian Survivor's Flick Palmateer reveals why she remained on the show after her mother died

It’s a tough time for Australian Survivor star Felicity ‘Flick’ Palmateer.

The professional surfer has been grieving after the death of her mother, Pauline Burggraaf, from early on-set dementia two months ago at the age of 52.

Felicity was competing on Australian Survivor Brains vs Brawn at the time and had made the difficult decision to stay on the show instead of flying back to her home in Western Australia.  

‘It’s a very difficult thing to come to terms with’: Australian Survivor star Flick Palmateer has reflected on the passing of her mother and the tough decision she made to honour her

‘It was so hard because talking to all of my family, they all tried to encourage me to stay, saying that that is what my mum would have wanted me to do,’ the 28-year-old said in an interview with PerthNow.  

She explained that all she wanted to do while competing on the Network 10 series was to ‘teleport back’ to her family.

Palmateer’s mother was diagnosed with early onset frontotemporal dementia at 46 and her memory and health began to decline rapidly.

Tragic: The 28-year-old was competing on Australian Survivor when her mother passed away from early on-set dementia. Felicity had made the difficult decision to stay on the show instead of flying back to her home in WA

Felicity admits, even though she said ‘goodbye’ to her mother years ago, she still couldn’t believe how quickly she would pass. 

‘I thought I would have at least another year and a bit with my mum. I had been grieving my mum passing away for a long time, with dementia, you start to grieve for them while they are still alive. (It) is a difficult thing to come to terms with.’   

The reality TV star claims her fellow Survivor contestants were supportive and helped push her forward during the competition in the midst of grieving. 

‘They feel like my second family’: The reality TV star claims her fellow Survivor contestants were supportive as she grieved and helped push her during the competition

‘I couldn’t have asked for better people (around me),” she said. ‘My family would have been amazing to see, but these people, honestly, they feel like my second family.’

Felicity says that making the decision to stay on the show was ‘me living for my mum, honouring her’ and the ‘reason I wanted to play (survivor) in the first place.’  

In memory of her mother, the 28-year-old has since set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for Dementia Australia and the WA-based Perron Institute.

You can donate through Felicity’s GoFundMe page here.  

A good cause: In memory of her mother, Felicity has since set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for Dementia Australia and the WA-based Perron Institute