Bi Nguyen, a true Survivor who endured years of abuse, is now an MMA and reality TV star

The reality television series Survivor gives us couch potatoes a front-row seat as fellow human beings are pushed to the outermost limits of their physical and mental endurance while sometimes being forced to face their innermost fears.

But you can forget about all that when it comes to Bi Nguyen, who on Wednesday joins the cast for the premiere of the 37th season of the series, titled “David versus Goliath”.

From political refugee to teenage runaway to the horrors of life in an abusive relationship that only ended when her former partner was locked behind bars – talk to Nguyen and you’ll walk away convinced she has already lived countless lives, even though she’s still 28 years old.

The term “survivor” only begins to tell Nguyen’s story.

“My life has thrown up enough challenges so that nothing really fazes me,” the Vietnamese-American says. “Now I just I say bring it on. I’ve always been a person who says ‘What’s the thing that scares me the most – let’s go that way’.”