The Challenge Was Clear: An Interview with Survivor’s Michelle

Michelle thought she was in a more-or-less solid alliance but suddenly found herself on the chopping block instead. What were her first thoughts when Burton was voted out? How did she prepare for the game? How did she deal with Jon?! RealityNewsOnline has your answers in this interview.

RealityNewsOnline: Hello, Michelle, and thanks for taking the time to answer these questions from RealityNewsOnline! What was your first thought upon learning you were entering the game with nothing but the clothes on your back?

Michelle: My first thought was what could I sneak in my pockets before I have to jump ship. I had my book bag with me and took out a hair tie (I also grabbed one for Darrah), some lip balm, and a piece of gum. The lip balm fell out of my pocket on the jump, the hair tie got lost after a few days, but the one thing that stayed with me until the day after Burton left was my gum! I'm telling you, this gum outdid itself! It lost its flavor but it still neutralized which was nice. It did a really good job of making me feel at home!

RNO: One question that has come up from viewers is why, when Shawn lost the tip of the spear in the ocean, nobody else seemed terribly concerned and they didn't appear to help Rupert find it. What was the situation in the tribe as far as that was concerned?

Michelle: Have you ever seen a man that size get mad?! Most of us ran deep in the jungle! Just kidding, but the truth is that when Rupert gets mad, stay out of his way! Shawn was toast, which we all agreed that he deserved. Yes, he made a mistake, but at the same time, an accident is an accident. It was a crucial tool for us, but we did have other things on our island that we could build a new spear with if we absolutely had to. I tried to be as optimistic as I could and was thinking of ways to replace it rather than wasting my energy yelling at Shawn. When Rupert went back into the ocean, all of us realized that he needed to cool off. The ocean is Rupert's fish tank and I believe it was actually therapeutic for him. It wasn't as though we didn't want to help him, it was just that we realized he needed to vent alone while we came up with an alternative for the lost piece.

RNO: Your tribe had almost two full weeks before the first Tribal Council – what went on as far as alliances forming and the like that we didn't get to see? For example, how did you end up in a supposed alliance with Shawn, Burton, and Jon?

Michelle: I think that may have been the strangest part of the whole experience. We were two weeks into it and felt as if the game hadn't even started yet! We obviously were a little too anxious to get into the game. We proved that by throwing the challenge last week. When we actually had to test our friendships and start to classify them as alliances, so much drama had already happened. Up until that tribal council, we had our ups and downs with each other. Friendships had been formed and some even had the chance to fade in those two weeks. For example, the first day on the island Sandra and I did a lot together. As time went on, we got annoyed with each other. Our friendship was very short. That happened with a lot of people. You don't see all of us interacting on the show because there simply isn't enough time on the show to show it.

RNO: Did you have any inkling that Jon would be anything but loyal to your foursome before that first Tribal Council?

Michelle: No, Jon is the most trustworthy person I have ever met! Wouldn't you trust him?? Jon doesn't have a black heart or anything! (Kidding) No really, obviously Jon is not the guy you want to share all your secrets with. He made me very nervous, but then again, almost everyone out there made me nervous! The name of this game is lie, cheat, and steal! The only way you can trust someone is if you are offering them the best option for themselves. That way they would be stupid to turn on you. Between Trish and Jon, I was very nervous. Both of them told me that they were on my side but having Shawn on our alliance made people edgy. Both Burton and I were hell bent on selling them on the advantages of our plan but having Shawn on our side took away from a lot of the benefits!

RNO: Any other thoughts you'd like to share about Jon and his behavior?

Michelle: Jon is quite the character. People have asked me if it is just an act. I hate to tell you this but Jon is like that all the time! He tells it how it is without sparing anyone's feelings. He loves to be hated! The good thing about him was that you knew what he was thinking because he would say it directly to your face. You have to respect that. The other thing about Jon is that he was really entertaining. He got annoying but when you are out there with no luxury items and nothing to play with but the hermit crabs, his antics really aren't that bad. Plus, come on; I have never seen J.Pro [Jeff Probst] that mad with any past Survivor. J.Pro is the only one who could legitimately shoot Jon down and we all loved seeing that!

RNO: What thoughts were running through your mind when you realized that Burton was being voted out and you were the only one who voted the same way as he had?

Michelle: Two words: Oh S*&# !!! My next few days would be really hard for me because I would have to convince the rest of the Drake tribe that I was not upset and I would be loyal to them. With thoughts of the merge on everyone's mind in order to have a strong Drake tribe they had to get rid of me. Everyone out there knew that, including me. That's when my game really started. My challenge was clear and it was just a race against time; could I convince them before our next visit to tribal council? Unfortunately, I lost!