“I Definitely Interfered with Some of His Game” – RealityNewsOnline’s Exclusive Interview with Survivor: Samoa’s Monica

RealityNewsOnline: Hello, Monica, and thanks for taking the time to talk to us here at RealityNewsOnline!

Monica: No problem.

RNO: Heading into your final Tribal Council, what did you think your chances really were?

Monica: I definitely knew I had a very, very, very slim chance to no chance at all heading into that Tribal Council. But I also knew that if they had any chance to flush the idol and possibly go for Russell, that now was a pretty attractive time to do so.

RNO: Did you think your last-minute seed-planting might work, or was it more a case of revenge against Russell at that point?

Monica: I thought it might work, I thought they might swing at the last moment. There was really no risk involved for them – it was either I went home and Russell played the idol or Russell didn’t play the idol and he went home.

RNO: At your final Tribal Council, Russell suggested that if you’d played as hard all game as you did at the end, you’d be in charge. You countered that you might have just gone home earlier. He replied that he played that hard the whole game and he’s still there. What do you think of what he said?

Monica: I just don’t think that at any other moment in the game, there was an opportunity to play that hard. If I had played that hard to begin with, people feel threatened by that kind of game play, especially by a woman.

Even though they really don’t show it, there was a lot of strategy involved, especially at the beginning, and I really thought I formed good alliances in the beginning.

RNO: Can you expand on the alliances you formed?

Monica: The person I obviously formed my alliance with was Laura from Day 2. From there we built upon that with Kelly and then Dave and Brett. We had a pretty solid alliance even though it seemed like Brett and Dave were allied with the boys – in the end they were closer to me, Laura, or Kelly.

RNO: Going back to the beginning, what was your strategy coming in to Survivor?

Monica: Coming into the game, I definitely wanted to play with my social game. I knew I wasn’t as athletic as some out there. If I just made it to the merge, I knew I could play up my weaknesses as a physical competitor and make myself out to be less of a threat. In the beginning of the game, that doesn’t work as well, you have to hide that athletic weakness.

RNO: Speaking of which, did you realize how much danger you were in of going home much earlier if Russell S. hadn’t been taken out of the game due to his medical issue?

Monica: I had an idea. I definitely knew John and Erik were coming after us. I really don’t think I would have ended up going home that night – I think it would have been Shambo. I don’t think Brett and Dave would have voted with them. I knew Erik and John were both gunning for me big time. You can definitely tell by your gut feeling – it’s an unspoken tension in the air.

RNO: Moving back to your final Tribal Council, what do you have to say about Russell H.’s comments when he voted against you, calling you a “stupid little girl” and saying it was a “bad strategy”?

Monica: (Laughs) I think he definitely contradicted himself. Sometimes it was a smart move, a strategy I should have done earlier. Which was it? A smart move or bad strategy? I think he contradicted himself.

RNO: Do you his strategic personality was conflicted with emotions by you targeting him?

Monica: I think I definitely interfered with some of his game at that point and his emotions definitely ran rampant, and I don’t think he liked that.

RNO: You certainly seemed to like it, with your big smile during Tribal Council!

Monica: (Laughs) I was definitely proud of the fact that I got under his skin and found a crack in the Foa Foa armor. I wish I could have done more with it. But unfortunately, the people in the game weren’t interested in making it completely to the end. I think they were happy sending me home and not going home the next Tribal Council because there were still other targets. They were afraid of making a major, major move and not taking Russell out. That would have put them at a risk.

RNO: With the benefit of hindsight, what would you do differently?

Monica: I would not have voted for Russell when he had the second immunity idol. I think that was a huge changing point of the game. It think we definitely underestimated him – it kept lingering in my head in the moments leading up to that Tribal Council. It would have been nearly impossible to split the vote, but maybe go after Natalie or Mick or Jaison – obviously he loved those idols and he was not going to give it to Natalie or Jaison or Mick.

RNO: What was the most eye-opening thing you saw on TV that you didn’t know about while you were there?

Monica: I was really shocked to see Russell’s actions at his Foa Foa camp with pouring water out of the canteens and burning socks and calling the girls stupid. It was really shocking to see him treating his tribe that way. It’s no wonder they were losing in those challenges!

Also, to see the boys come together and vote Shambo as leader to make her feel better about her position. I knew something was going on there but looking back I was like, “How did I not see that?”

RNO: We’re about out of time, so do you have anything else you’d like to tell us about your time on Survivor?

Monica: I appreciate my time on Survivor. It’s been a life-changing experience for me. It’s the beginning of the journey and has prepared me for the rest of it. I’m really proud of it and happy to have spent my time out there.

RNO: How has it changed your life?

Monica: It’s changed how much I appreciate things around me. Last night I jumped in the shower and I was like, “Oooh. Oh look, there isn’t brown water from 33 days on the island.”

I still cannot control my appetite or eating habits. It’s been a lot harder to get back to a normal diet or normal routine. It definitely puts everything into perspective.

RNO: Thanks again, Monica!

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