It was not love at first sight for "Survivor" host Jeff Probst and contestant Julie Berry — he made her cry the first time they met during auditions for "Survivor: Vanuatu."
"It's interesting that Julie and I ended up as a couple. . . . We ended up going at it pretty hard," Probst said.
He gets involved in the casting process for the show when it nears an end — when the finalists (winnowed from hundreds of thousands of applicants) are brought to Los Angeles for face-to-face sessions with the "Survivor" production staff. Berry, who was adopted at birth, talked about finding her biological sister "and she got very emotional. And I just didn't buy it," Probst said. "I didn't know anything about Julie, and I was trying to see if she was for real. And I kind of said as much.
"She left the room crying and definitely did not think much of me. And I felt badly because I realized I'd inadvertently hit a sensitive area."
Not the greatest first impression. "But what I thought as she left was, 'That may be the most beautiful woman I've ever seen,' " Probst said. "So maybe the seeds were there early. But it took us awhile to recover from that."
Berry finished third in "Vanuatu." And Probst wants to make it clear that he did nothing to influence the outcome.
"Me and Julie happened after the show," said Probst, who divorced in 2001.
But the 43-year-old host had no hesitation talking about his relationship with the 24-year-old former contestant, saying it's "going great."
It's definitely set a new standard for me in terms of what I want from a relationship, and I hope that this is the last time that I ever consider it," Probst said. "I'm very happy. We have a great time together and she's a sharp woman. She went through a lot early on and it really gave her a lot of wisdom.
"You never know where things are going to lead, but I definitely am in love. It's not like I'm just dating Julie. That's the person I'm with and I hope it lasts forever."
The relationship, ahem, survived the separation necessitated by production on "Survivor: Palau," which airs tonight at 7 on Ch. 2 (a day earlier than usual because of CBS's coverage of the NCAA basketball tournament).
Berry did not accompany Probst to the South Pacific, but he's not ruling out taking her along next season.
"I don't see why not," he said.
PROBST WASN'T A UTAHN, but he used to be the host of "Utah Home and Garden."
Way back in 1992 — when KSL was still a CBS affiliate and KSL's parent company still owned the CBS affiliate in Seattle, KIRO — Ch. 5 introduced a Utah version of the Washington show. Produced in Seattle and hosted by Probst (who did a number of shows for KIRO), it was an attempt at corporate synergy that didn't last long.
But things turned out just fine for Probst, didn't they?
"THE CONTENDER" IS BOMBING, which really isn't much of a surprise to anybody but NBC and producer Mark Burnett ("Survivor," "The Apprentice").
The boxing reality show aired three times in seven days with little success. The 90-minute Monday premiere finished third in its time slot, drawing 8.4 million viewers (compared to CBS's time slot-winning duo of "Two and a Half Men" with 17.45 million and "CSI: Miami" with 21.68 million).
It was far worse for the second episode of "The Contender" on Thursday night, even though it drew more viewers (9.16 million), a number far below what "ER" normally does in that time slot. What with the non-competition from "The Contender," CBS's "Without a Trace" did its best numbers ever, attracting 23.36 million viewers to easily win the time slot — and give NBC its worst numbers with an original show on Thursdays at 9 p.m. in at least the past 18 years.
Finally airing in its regular time slot on Sunday at 6 p.m., "The Contender" was out of contention, finishing fifth in a five-way network-ratings battle and drawing only 6.71 million viewers.
Apparently, both NBC and Fox (which failed miserably with "The Next Great Champ") greatly overestimated TV viewers' interest in boxing.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com