Julie Berry didn't win anything for her efforts on "Survivor: Vanuatu." Except, apparently, the show's host.

Jeff Probst says he and Berry, who finished fifth on the show's just-completed season, are dating. Probst emailed Berry, who turned 24 this week, after "Vanuatu" finished filming just to keep in touch. The relationship has grown from there, though.

"Nobody is more surprised than me that I could find my love affair on a show that I host," Probst, 43, tells People magazine. "But the truth is when something like this gets dropped in your lap, you don't look at how it's wrapped, you don't look at how it's being delivered. ... [T]his is my love affair and there's no question in my mind about it."

Gossip has linked Probst to other female "Survivor" contestants in the past, but Berry is the first person from the show he's actually dated. Some fans thought they saw a spark between the two when she crafted a temporary tattoo of a heart with "Jeff" across it during the show.

"The funny thing was there was this perception we were flirting on the show, and that was actually just fun stuff on the show," Probst says. "I didn't really talk to Julie until long after the show was over."

Rarely one to mince words, Probst tells the magazine that he's "in love. I'm with her. I'm with her family, and there ain't no turning back."

Berry, who hails from Maine, is planning a move to California to pursue a master's degree in family counseling. Probst lives in Los Angeles when he's not on location for "Survivor."