After Years of Applying to “Survivor, ”Die-Hard Fan Films Her Latest Application on Her Wedding Day (Exclusive)

After a transformative few years, Jeni Schmidt wants to put herself to the ultimate test

• A lifelong Survivor fan is hoping to become a contestant on the show
• After many changes in her life in recent years, Jeni Schmidt has wanted to compete on the reality series, but hasn't heard back after submitting three application videos
• Schmidt tells PEOPLE how she got the idea to make the latest application video a part of her wedding day

A woman deeply connected to Survivor incorporated her desire to get on the show into her wedding day.

Jeni Schmidt of Austin, Texas, tied the knot in November 2024. When she was planning her special day, she found time to include a game — a DIY creation she made with her husband. The puzzle game is similar to the type one might encounter on the reality competition series.

"I have been watching Survivor my whole life. It started in childhood. I literally hated taking baths when I was a kid and so one of the only ways my parents could get me to do [it] was to put Survivor on a little TV," Schmidt tells PEOPLE.

"The way some people would sit down and watch a sport with their parents, watching Survivor is my activity with my parents," she continues. "As I grew up a little, I wasn't watching it every season or every week. Then I rekindled it a few years ago, during COVID. Like a lot of superfans, I had all this free time and the seasons were all online. So I went back and watched from season 1 all the way up to the present. We started a group chat and it just became our favorite thing to talk about."

Aside from her work at TikTok, Schmidt is also a serial entrepreneur alongside her husband. The two decided to recreate the Survivor puzzle as one of their many projects. It was also good practice for Schmidt, who had started applying to be on the show a few years back.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

@jenischmidt2

#ahahah #workout #yougotthis #running ♬ Ah ah ah - kriptozavr

Related: Inside the Survivor Casting Process: Here’s How to Apply (and Prove You Have What it Takes!)

"We're very crafty. We love to build and design and so we made our own cornhole boards. We made our own ladder ball. We decided on the puzzle and when we did it, we're like, 'I have to have this at our wedding. This could be my actual moment to catch their eye, because if I'm in my wedding dress with everyone around me, it would be something different,' " Schmidt shares.

"Up until this point, my application videos have been just me filming myself privately, no one around or listening. They do say you can include some of your family and friends to show what you're like when you're around them. So this was an epic way to try and capture attention."

Schmdit auditioned three times prior to her latest attempt. The tries came after she went through a major shift in her life.

"A couple of years ago, I went through a pretty big breakup amid COVID and took the time to really do the work on myself. I trained and did a half marathon, all the therapy in the world. I was living in Portland all the time, so I was out hiking in nature and connecting with myself. I needed to do something for myself and I thought about Survivor," she says.

@jenischmidt2

#mindfulness #affirmations #fyp ♬ original sound - Jeni Schmidt

"It's putting yourself to the ultimate test. I've done so much work and Survivor was a way to put myself to my roots, strip away everything. It would be an awesome spiritual experience. It just felt like the right next step," she adds.

"I'm not one to sit in front of the camera and talk about myself. The first time I auditioned, I made my video while I had roommates, so I was a little nervous. I didn't want people to hear me so I was pretty quiet on my phone. It didn't come off strong or reflect my full self because I was trying to keep it quiet," she recalls.

"I remember talking about my role at TikTok, what I do for work and how that translates to Survivor. My slogan was, 'I help brands spend millions of dollars every day. Now it's my turn to figure out how to spend a million dollars.' I also talked about bringing my dogs as my loved ones for a family visit."

@jenischmidt2

Just know somewhere out there are a bunch of superfans making their first Survivor challenge or puzzle, life is good