‘Survivor’ Alum Parvati Shallow Opens up about Her Divorce From John Fincher

Survivor winner Parvati Shallow filed for divorce from her now estranged husband, John Fincher, on August 24, after nearly four years of marriage. But days after the filing, she was granted a temporary domestic violence restraining order against Fincher. 

According to court documents, Shallow requested Fincher, a Survivor alum, to stay at least 100 yards away from her home, workplace, and vehicle. In addition, she asked her ex-husband not to “harass, attack, strike, threaten, assault” her or contact her "in any way."

She also requested supervised visitation for their 3-year-old daughter, Ama. However, the judge denied him visitation altogether, and he has to stay at least 100 yards away from her as well. 

Contrasting Stories

The couple offered different stories of what led Shallow to file a domestic violence restraining order during their recent court appearance. On August 20, the couple argued over whether their daughter should sleep at a friend’s house. 

Shallow claimed Fincher got verbally and physically abusive, which was not the first time during an argument. He then “lunged at [her], grabbed [her] arm, wrestled [her] phone out of [her] hands” and ran out the door. All this happened while their daughter was next to them. 

It made me feel terrified, like he’s crossed a line, and his rage has overcome him, and that he can’t stop himself. 

The yoga instructor added that Fincher told her to kill herself during the argument, and he did not care if she walked into traffic, jumped off a cliff, or blew her brains out with a gun. After that, she called the police. 

She noted she had constantly dealt with Fincher’s violent outbursts when they were alone, but she now fears for her daughter’s physical and emotional well-being. 

In his defense, Fincher gave a very different version of the incident. He claimed they raised their voices at each other, and at the end of the argument, he reached for Shallow’s phone, which was on the couch, and when he picked it up, Shallow swung her arms at him. 

After that, he did not use Shallow’s phone and put it on the table before he “walked away, toward the front door of the house.” He added that there was no physical altercation involved and proposed a temporary custody agreement for their daughter. 

Parvati Shallow and John Fincher's Relationship

Although Fincher and Shallow are Survivor alums, they did not meet on the show, but it brought them together. Shallow appeared on Survivor: Micronesia- Fans vs. Favorites in 2008, while Fincher appeared on Survivor: Samoa a year later. 

They actually met through mutual friends from the competition show in 2013. Shallow was in a carpool with Fincher and two other friends while making their way to play in Ethan Zohn’s Grassroot Soccer charity game in L.A. 

Fast forward to 2017, and the couple got engaged. Shallow revealed that under the light of the full moon, Fincher got down on bended knee, and the entire night was magical. They had dinner at Nobu, went to a rugby match at Twickenham, and flew to Paris the next day.