This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

A Utah woman exposes herself on "Naked and Afraid" — in more ways than one. Chalese Meyer bares her body and her soul in the season premiere of the Discovery Channel survival series on Sunday.

"I am super-comfortable being naked," said Meyer.

She had to be. The premise of the show is that two strangers — one male and one female — spend 21 days in the wilderness with no food, no water and no clothes, and they have to find a way to survive.

But the 26-year-old, who grew up and Spanish Fork and now lives in Salt Lake City, did more than just survive in the backwoods of Alabama. Did more than just spend three weeks naked in the wilderness.

"I actually came out on the show," Meyer said.

Which provides a very easy answer when people get curious about her relationship with her partner, Steven Lee Hall, a 32-year-old artist from Florida — with whom she shared what turned out to be a dirty, grungy experience.

"It's definitely not sexy," Meyer said. "I've had people ask me, 'Did you hook up with him?' That's definitely the last thing on your mind.

"And I'm gay, so that wasn't an issue."

No, she didn't decide to go on the show to make a Big Announcement. But the show's producers encouraged her to talk about it, and Meyer's plan "was to go out and be vulnerable and open. So I just kind of went for it."

Since she returned from filming the episode in July and August, she's told family members who weren't already aware that she's gay. And the reception hasn't been altogether positive.

"I grew up LDS, so my LDS friends and my family were just, like … ," Meyer said, her voice trailing off. "My grandma hasn't even spoken to me about it. She just can't believe I was naked with a man and how disrespectful it is.

"But, whatever. I really don't care what they think."

It takes no small degree of courage to open yourself up like that. And almost makes the whole naked thing seem the easier part of "Naked and Afraid."

Well, except maybe for the bugs, the heat, the humidity, the rain, the cold, the hunger, the thirst, the lack of sleep and the snakes.

"Oh, being naked was nothing for me," Meyer said. "Being naked in the wilderness and sleeping — that was hard because it was uncomfortable and gets cold in Alabama at night. That was the only hard part for me."

By the way, the show is edited so that the various private parts of the two survivalists are hidden. This is the Discovery Channel, not Cinemax.

"I work with kids at a youth center, so I didn't want to set a bad example. But I don't really care too much, to be honest," Meyer said with a laugh. "We all came into this world naked. Everybody's seen it."

When she had to speak into the camera about the experience, "That was really awkward for me. But the nudity — not at all."

Perhaps the most astonishing piece of Meyer's story is that she "had never even heard of the show" before she was cast on it.

"I don't have cable. I've never had cable. But I saw something on Instagram," she said.

It was a pitch to people who love the outdoors and wanted a free trip, so she spent 10 minutes filling out the online application.

"And I thought it didn't go through, so I thought, 'Well, screw that. I just wasted 10 minutes,' " Meyer said with a laugh. "And then the next day I got a call from some woman talking about 'Naked and Afraid.'

"I said, 'I don't know what that is.' And she said, 'Well, you applied for it.' "

Despite the fact that she doesn't watch TV "at all," Meyer agreed to sign on.

"Once I found out what it was, I thought, 'Damn, if I could do 21 days naked in the wilderness with somebody else, I could really do anything.' It was kind of more like a self-exploration journey," she said. "I've never pushed myself so hard."

Was it worth it?

"Yes, and I would do it again," Meyer said. "It was just a really cool experience to go through."

Scott D. Pierce covers TV for The Salt Lake Tribune. Email him at spierce@sltrib.com; follow him on Twitter @ScottDPierce. —

On TV

The episode of 'Naked and Afraid' that features Utahn Chalese Meyer debuts Sunday on the Discovery Channel ­­— at 8 and 10 p.m. on DirecTV and Dish and 11 p.m. on Comcast.