Survivor winner Pia Miranda is still smiling, even though fourth-place star Luke Toki’s GoFundMe far surpassed her 500k prize money

Pia Miranda is ‘so happy’ for Luke Toki in light of his staggering GoFundMe win (The Project)

The GoFundMe page set up to assist Australian Survivor contestant Luke Toki has been closed — and a portion of the funds will be “given back to the community.”

The donation U-turn comes after the campaign’s organiser had vowed to “absolutely” keep the page open once the initial fundraising target of $500,000 was reached, enncouraging those donating to “strive for $600k, then $700k and so on until this crazy ride comes to a natural end.”

In an update to the GoFundMe page today, organiser Dave Skow wrote: “As we reach $550,000, the decision has been made to close the donations on the Go Fund Page. Luke & Mary have decided that anything over what would have been Luke’s prize money on Survivor ($500,000) will be given back to the community (exact details yet to be confirmed).”

It’s unclear whether the $50,000 will be given back to those who donated or donated to a charitable cause.

Skow wrote that the Toki family would soon post a video on the GoFundMe page thanking fans and contributors.

“The past 60 hours since the fundraising page was created has been mind blowing and has surpassed everyone’s wildest expectations, but collectively we have been able to do an incredible thing for an incredible family.

Australia, give yourself a pat on the back. We done good,” he wrote.

PIA’S REACTION

With the news Toki will take home more than the 500k prize money thanks to the viral GoFundMe campaign — fans would surely be wondering what winner Pia Miranda has to say about it all.

Speaking on The Project Wednesday night, the “smiling assassin” was still smiling, and said she’s “so happy” to see the outpouring of support for the young dad.

“I texted him before and I’m like, ‘you are richer than me, you take me out for dinner’,” the actress joked, referencing Luke’s comments during the final Tribal Council on Tuesday night.

“The thing about Luke, he captured everyone’s hearts because he’s such an incredible guy, an incredible player,” she gushed.

“He was one of my best friends out there. And so I really feel like there were two winners of Survivor this year,” she said, adding that if the program had a “most popular player” prize like they do in the US, he would have won it.

“To see everyone rally behind him and have him come home with so much money, it’s a great thing,” she said.

Luke, affectionately dubbed “King of the Jungle” when he appeared on the 2017 season of Survivor, secured himself as a favourite early on this season — and fans were left heartbroken when the tribe sent him home on Monday night.

The decision was particularly heartbreaking in light of Luke’s powerful reason for signing up to the show and vying for the $500,000 prize money. His two boys are both on the autism spectrum, while baby Madeline, born just six weeks before Survivor started filming, has cystic fibrosis.

Throughout the season, he was vocal about his intentions to use the money to provide a better life for his family.

‘THOUSANDS OF ACTS OF KINDNESS’

Regional Manager at GoFundMe, Nicola Britton, said Toki’s GoFundMe page was the third-biggest call for donations in the site’s history to date, and the fastest-growing this year.

“Over the past 48 hours, we have witnessed thousands of individual acts of kindness as Aussies across the country have chipped in to help a family worthy of their dollars,” Ms Britton said.

“Over $500,000 has been raised to support Luke Toki and his family, making this fund the fastest-growing on GoFundMe Australia in 2019 and ranking as the third biggest to date.”

The super fan behind the fundraising page, Dave Skow, wrote that Luke was “the best Australian Survivor contestant, ever”.

“Leaving behind his young family, he had one aim — to take out the title of Sole Survivor and, in turn, win $500k to provide a better life for them.”

KING OF THE JUNGLE GETS EMOTIONAL

Speaking on The Project on Tuesday night, Toki admitted he felt “a bit teary” about the generosity of fans.

“It’s extremely humbling, I’m the first returnee and I felt I had a lot of weight on my shoulders to perform and do well and I hav e and much love to everyone who’s donated and sent (money) my way,” he said, before joking: “It’s going straight to the casino! Nah, nah, I won’t … well, maybe just a little bit.”

On last night’s episode of Survivor Pia was forced to make a super tough decision - throw Luke a lifeline to secure his spot next to her in the finale - or send her friend packin’. The result was a very emotional farewell for the much-loved ‘King of the Jungle'. pic.twitter.com/PgMnCJviO2 — The Project (@theprojecttv) September 17, 2019

Meanwhile, Looking for Alibrandi star and mum-of-two Pia, 46, defeated runner-up Baden Gilbert in a nailbiting finale on Tuesday night, with Harry Hills finishing in third place.

Pia endured extreme backlash among fans with her decision to vote out former ally and Champions teammate Luke earlier this week but had a redemption of sorts with her passionate plea to him during the last tribal council.

Luke was the last to quiz Pia and Baden in the final tribal council last night and he saved a stinging question for Pia.

“I like to think I helped you twice in the game, and it’s obviously got you to where you are now. I would’ve loved to have had that favour repaid. It wasn’t. Why should I give you my vote?” Luke asked her during the tense meeting.

Pia was emotional with her response.

“How we much we wanted to win this for our families — and I will never get over having to take that dream away from you.

“Last night, when I was on that podium for six hours and 40 minutes (during the final challenge), I wasn’t doing it so that I could break a record … If I took away your chance to be here, I was going to make damn sure I was here instead. Because I didn’t want voting you out to be futile.”

Earlier in the episode, Pia admitted that her decision to turn her back on Toki would weigh on her forever.

“I took away Luke’s dream. It felt really horrific to vote him out,” she confessed.

“He’s been a real ally of mine. I’m going to sit with that decision for the rest of my life.”

Were you happy with the result? Was Pia a worthy Sole Survivor? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below