Days before filming Alone, Katie received a phone call that ended her 20-year relationship.

Katie Rydge is a woman well-versed in taking on a challenge, but reality TV's biggest challenge became even more daunting after she received some 'shocking' news mere days before she started filming.

Katie appeared on Season 12 of Alone US, currently streaming on Stan, and in an exclusive chat with Mamamia, she opened up about the days leading up to competing in the intense experiment.

For the unfamiliar, Alone is a survival reality show where contestants live in isolation in the harsh wilderness, getting by with limited gear, relying on their survivalist skills and mental stamina.

The winner is the last woman or man standing.

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Katie was asked to audition for the American version of the show — a huge honour.

"They approached me and I just felt like I got a tap on the shoulder from the universe," she said.

After getting the green light, the Australian survivalist spent months preparing to uproot her life for the South African wilderness of the Great Karoo desert. She did so alongside her partner of 20 years.

But then mere days before Alone began filming, Katie got a phone call from her then-partner.

"I think it was five days before going out for day one, I got the official phone call from South Africa that my 20-year relationship was over," she told Mamamia.

This is something she had to then work through on Alone, as Katie shared her emotional journey on the series.

"It was a big story for me personally, and it travelled with me through that experience," she said.

When asked if the breakup conversation was a shock, Katie replied, "Yes and no."

Image: Stan.

"Anyone who's been in a 20-year relationship will know, there are years in the making, but at the same time, I think the timing of it was shocking for me, and I didn't have a lot of time to digest it," she admitted.

"I had to put it to the side and then just survive. When you do go into a breakup like that, you can feel like you're in survival mode, and I ended up actually in survival mode in South Africa."

Katie had to navigate the complicated feelings that arise through a breakup, but without the luxury of distractions from modern technology, friends or family.

"Alone is such a huge mental and emotional challenge for everybody that goes out there," she said.

"It was definitely with me in my heart through the journey. I was thinking about my kids and my life and, just thinking, 'What am I doing in South Africa? Hang on a minute, what's going on here and what's life showing me and teaching me?'"

Ultimately, Katie realised that what was meant to be will be. "It was just a big turning point in my life, and the life I'm living now is… much more aligned to what feels right for me as well," she said.

Image: Stan.

The road to Alone was not a straight path for Katie, who these days, works on Nature Philosophy Australia, a program she co-founded, emphasising connection to nature and survival skills, inspired by her experiences living and learning from the Yolngu people in the Mäpuru community of North-East Arnhem Land.

Before discovering her passion for living off the land, she completed a business degree, worked in sales and marketing, but said she felt like she was "dying inside."

When she was 22, she felt the urge for a dramatic change. "I got this really, really strong calling to go spend 10 days on my own in the natural world… that experience was really formative."

She went to the US and studied at Tom's Brown Jnr's school in the New Jersey Pine Barrens to hone her survival skills and start her spiritual journey. "I just feel like it's my path. It's what I came here to do," she said.

The decision to do Alone was not an easy one, as it meant temporarily leaving her kids behind: her son named Hunter, who recently turned 13, and her daughter named Ella, who is around 15 years old.

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"It's probably the only excuse I could have to leave them for that length of time: Mum's been asked to go on this survival show. They were super excited," she said.

"They were super proud of me, which is ultimately what counts."

Katie hopes that her decision to do Alone in the middle of heartbreak will inspire others that they can get through more than they realise.

"I hope that people can see just how resilient we can be and how resilient mums are. I'm not a 30-year-old survivalist. I'm 47 now," she said.

"I would really hope that my story could inspire other women and men who also go through similar things — you can make it through.

"Often when there's a big death, in the death, there's a birth, and focusing on what you're birthing in your life is the key — that's the key thing."

Alone US is currently streaming on Stan.

Feature image: Stan.