Luke first appeared on the second season of Survivor, where he was a favourite character from the very first few episodes.
A member of the Asaga tribe, he refused to follow along with alliances, and instead spent his time either whispering in people’s ears, or eavesdropping among the bushes, trying to make the game go his way.
He revealed early on that he was doing Survivor for his sons – now his two eldest children.
Lennox, who is 10, was revealed by Luke on the show to have autism spectrum disorder, and his second son, Nate, who is now almost eight, had exhibited similar traits at the time.
However, the pair are very sociable, and have been said by Mary to take after their dad.
“There’s that fine line where it’s like, how cheeky are you going to be before it comes across as naughty?” she said to WHO in 2020.
“Right now, they’re still on the good side. At least they have a good sense of humour!” she added.
Luke was unsuccessful in his first bid for sole survivor and came seventh on the show.
However, he struck up a close friendship with Jericho Malabonga, the eventual winner, and his other lasting friendships from that season of Survivor can be seen across his socials.
Luke returned for season four in 2019, where he competed in a Champions v Contenders season.
Again, Luke did it for his family.
By the 2019 season, Luke and Mary had had a third child, Madeline, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis shortly after birth.
Luke made it to the final four, but once he was voted out, fans created a GoFundMe page to secure Luke the funds he would have received had he won Survivor - $500,000.
Luke used this money to give his family security – he paid off their mortgage and continued to work his regular job as a mining technician.
The excess cash was donated by the Toki family. They gave money to Telethon, to a local lady who was suffering from cancer, $10,000 to Perth Children’s Hospital, plus more.
Madeline also got a healthy prognosis, with Luke telling The West Australian that her doctors had been “surprised at how well she was going,” at the very end of 2019.
Madeline is now two and a half and seems to be living life to the fullest.
Recently, the couple put out a call on social media for their followers to sign a petition that would hopefully bring a form of medication for cystic fibrosis to Australia.
“We are certain this one would be the one she could possibly have access to in the future to extend her life significantly,” Mary wrote of the medication.
This year, Luke walked on Talking Tribal, the recap series on 10Play that delves into each episode of Survivor. He seems to carry a lot of love for the show still.
He also recently attended the wedding of Harry Hills, who starred in season four alongside Luke, and again in season five.
He posted pictures from the wedding with his fellow Survivor alumni, including Nick Iadanza, Aaron Knight and David Genat.
Although he’ll be joining the world of Big Brother, and returning to reality TV, there’s clearly a special place for Luke not only in the Survivor family, but in the heart of Australia as well.
