“I Played As Hard As I Could Play” – An Interview with Survivor: Micronesia’s Winner, Parvati

Parvati has had a whirlwind 24 hours – with no sleep! Yet she still managed to hold her own quite well in this interview, explaining her moves and her thought process throughout the game. Read on to see what she had to say!

RealityNewsOnline: Hello, Parvati, and thanks for taking the time to talk to us here at RealityNewsOnline. First of all, congratulations!

Parvati: Thank you.

RNO: When I first interviewed you back in 2006, you told me, “I’m a very loyal person and I stayed true to myself. I knew I didn’t want to stab anyone in the back if I didn’t have to.” Obviously, you switched tactics this time around! Why such a big change?

Parvati: That still rings true. I didn’t really stab anybody in the back that I didn’t have to. It was just the way it played out. I’m not saying I played a loyal game this time because I didn’t this time. I made some moves that strategically were pretty good moves to keep me in a position of power. Yeah, I had to stab a couple people in the back, but for the most part, I did what I told people I was going to do.

I told Amanda and Cirie I’d go to the final three with them, and I did. I told Natalie and Alexis I’d do what I could, and I did. I never had anything with Jason, Erik, or the others. The only person I really screwed over was Ozzy. I didn’t even have a chance to vote out James.

I only did it to one person. I’m getting a huge backlash. It’s because Ozzy is a huge Survivor hero and it was a shock when he was gone. I needed to make that move, it was kill or be killed. It was the only time to make that move. He was the biggest threat in the game, he would have won hands down.

RNO: When I spoke to Ozzy, he indicated your decision to betray him would affect your relationship outside the game. But then at the reunion, he said no, you’re fine. Have you talked to him about this all yet?

Parvati: No, I haven’t because I didn’t want him to think I was trying to talk to him in order for him to be nice to me at the reunion. I didn’t want him to think I was trying to use him, so I haven’t talked to him really at all about it.

I love Ozzy – I think he’s great. I was separating friendship and strategy and not making any decisions based on emotions. I was making them rationally and methodically and I planned out everything and stuck to it. I definitely was able to separate the game from my friendship. And I think Ozzy wasn’t thinking like that.

RNO: Speaking of emotions and strategy, did you have any real feelings for James, or was it just flirting and game play?

Parvati: I really care about James and like him a lot. I think he’s fantastic. He was like my support system out there, so comforting and big and strong. If you can find any comfort out there in the worst elements in the rain and the bats and rats, you latch onto it. I wasn’t using him and playing him, I really did care about him and think he’s a wonderful person. And he saw me get emotional, I don’t get emotional.

RNO: Just to be clear, though, James did vote for Amanda, right?

Parvati: Right.

RNO: What did you learn from your previous time on Survivor that you brought with you to Micronesia?

Parvati: I learned a lot on Cook Islands, like don’t take everything at face value, always double-check and check your gut and listen to yourself and not other people, because that’s how I got messed up the first time. I got screwed over by Jonathan because I was listening to other people. This time I trusted in myself to make the right decisions and it really paid off for me.

RNO: Do you think it was your strategy or your social relationships – or a combination of both – that won the game for you?

Parvati: I think it was both. I think my relationships with Natalie and Alexis really helped me with jury votes. And I think Eliza and Jason respected my game play. Cirie was just my favorite person out there. I think she did a little bit of both. She and I had a very tight bond. I respected Cirie’s paly and she was the one I wanted to play with the most. I knew she was supposed to go out first [on her season] and made it to the final four. I thought, “This girl has something going on, she’s going to last. And we really clicked. That final three was sad.