TVLINE | There were a lot of moments where it seemed like you were in a pickle. But which moment did you feel most worried?
I really felt the most worried about the Ozzy vote. You see me crying after that rock draw. Rizo, Jonathan, Ozzy, and Joe had been on the beach that morning, they were bro-ing down. I’m like, “Oh, these guys are together. I have no shot.” And at that point I didn’t even realize how close Ozzy and Rizo were, but that one I felt like I had no shot and wow, we made it happen.
TVLINE | You certainly did. Now at the live show last night, Jeff accidentally revealed a fire-making spoiler, letting it slip that Rizo was the 11th and final juror. I know you weren’t on the stage, but what was happening backstage? Was it anarchy?
I knew the moment had happened, but I was freaking out about what I was going to say and having that last minute, “Oh my gosh, did I pull it out?” moment. So I wasn’t overly focused on that and Jeff kind of just owned it and moved on. I was not very fazed. I was a little bit in my own world on that one.
TVLINE | Any moment of the game where you feel like you could’ve or should’ve done something differently?
Man, I think I probably wish I had a different Day 1. It was so interesting. I know Genevieve thought I was coming at her immediately and at that moment, I thought I was just having conversations. Other people were calling Angelina chaotic, Rizo lazy, and I said she was dangerous and I tried to address that with her head-on. I really did, and clearly it did not go over well. I actually started that conversation and I admitted to her that I had called her dangerous to people and I tried to talk to her a lot after that and she did not want to talk to me. The night she went home, she was not willing to work with me. I tried to talk to her, she refused to.
What would I have done differently? At the very beginning, I probably would have made Stephenie feel more comfortable with me. She was always worried that I would not commit to her, and I think that Stephenie and Colby were the keys to the alliances that formed on their first tribe, and I didn’t make Stephenie feel comfortable enough.
TVLINE | Now, the Stephs, the Colbys, the old schoolers, they viewed Rizo in certain moments as lazy and very Gen Z. Could you feel the generational gap between them and the new era kids?
I think there’s a lot of people — new era like Jonathan, old-school heart — and there’s some older players I think I could… I think “Kaôh Rōng” was a little bit new era-coded in moments. I could see where they were coming from with Rizo, but man, I was very privy to his wisdom. Rizo is amazing one-on-one, and I would see him going around making relationships, and I’m like, “He’s not just lazy around campus, they say, he’s got something going on.” So, there was a gap. That’s the thing. I know I said I was receptive to people and I was. I was very open to, “What are the different ways I perceive people and what are the different ways people are being perceived?” So Rizo is really interesting. He’s got different sides for different people. Some people just weren’t willing to see the other side of him.
TVLINE | I know we talked last night about Devens boosting the prize pot up to $2 million, but I want to get your take of what that MrBeast moment felt like in person.
Oh my gosh, when I was watching that MrBeast coin flip, I thought I was going to go home. I thought I was after Devens and Devens was safe. I was just so conflicted, and part of me wanted to flip it. I was like, “I don’t know, I could be in a weird spot. Maybe I go for it.” But something inside of me was just like, Devens was born for this. He really was. He is a wild man. I played with him on the edge and I just knew he was supposed to do it and I just listened to my intuition. I can’t even describe that moment. It was… [the coin] was spinning! It was wild.
TVLINE | I know you’ve played four times and just won, but could Aubry Bracco return for a Winners at War 2 or something like that?
I’m so honored and grateful, but I’m so ready for other people to have their shot. I can get emotional thinking like I’ll never play again because it’s just so fun. I don’t always make it look easy or fun, but I’m having fun. But I think it’s time for other people to have their shot. There’s a long list of people who deserve it.
TVLINE | Any final comments on your entire year-long experience of “Survivor 50”?
You know what? This is funny. People have asked something you didn’t see. I cut off a lock of Ozzy’s hair with a machete and I buried it on the beach because he wanted to leave pieces of himself around Fiji. You’re the first person I’ve told, I totally forgot that!
