Each weekday, EW will post the answers from a different player.
“Lauren O’Connell can totally win this game.”
As a former Division 1 soccer player at Baylor, Lauren had the athleticism.
Timothy Kuratek/CBS
As a student about to attend Georgetown for her Masters in Physiology and Biophysics, Lauren had the smarts.
Do you want a heaping helping of insight and intel?
Well, you’re about to get it courtesy of Lauren O’Connell, so dig in!
Robert Voets/CBS
What is your proudest moment ever from playingSurvivor?
He said that was a “rare kind human.”
The night before we were marooned, I wrote down a few goals I had for the game.
Robert Voets/CBS
There were five: 5.
To not get voted out first.
To win individual immunity.
Timothy Kuratek/CBS
What is your biggest regret from yourSurvivorexperience?
And the obvious answer, today, having all of the information I now have, is OBVIOUSLY YES.
But that’s the beautiful thing aboutSurvivor:You never have all of the information.
My endgame goal since day 28 was to sit in the final three with Gavin and Julie.
Therefore, I thought there was no chance he would get any jury votes.
This left me with two people in my way: Rick and Victoria.
Chris did not change my thoughts on Victoria, I never planned on taking her to the final three.
So, on day 36, Julie wins immunity.
This means that I have the opportunity to vote out Victoria or Rick.
I had multiple conversations that day.
I talked to Victoria next, who relayed exactly what Gavin had said.
She wanted to vote for Chris.
And then Chris would put one vote on Victoria.
I still believe that two votes will be placed on Chris and one vote on Victoria.
The list of what I didn’t know that day is extensive.
ButSurvivoris far from an ideal world.
That’s what I did.
It didn’t work out and I lost.
But those kinds of screw-ups is what makesSurvivorso fun to watch.
On day 26, there was a reward challenge that was never aired.
I think this challenge and the reward trip that followed ultimately resulted in Kelley being blindsided.
This group of six decidedly controlled the next vote on day 25 when we voted off David.
That is, if we upheld our promise and waited until then.
We drew rocks for captains and then conducted a schoolyard pick.
I drew a captain’s rock and chose Gavin and Kelley.
We decidedly won the reward thanks to Gavin’s coconut throwing skills and Kelley’s puzzle expertise.
This is where the power dynamic comes into play.
Overall, we assumed choosing Warpup would only hurt us.
Whoever did would most likely be next.
How do you feel about the edit you got on the show?
I laugh when I think about my comprehension ofSurvivorat the time I applied.
I just felt lucky and overwhelmingly thankful to have been afforded the chance to play regardless of the outcome.
Overall, I think that my edit was true to who I was on that island.
Anyone who participates in reality TV has to be a little vain, haha.
What was it like coming back to regular society after being out there?
Was there culture shock or an adjustment coming back?
I don’t think I even touched my phone for at least two weeks.
I also had a really hard time regulating my eating schedule, haha.
I never traveled anywhere without food because I never wanted to get hungry.
Physically, my recovery took a long time.
I remember looking in the mirror for the first time and seeing that my arms and legs looked concave.
I think it took about a year to feel normal at the gym again.
I’m sure the waffles, pizza, M&Ms and ice cream didn’t help that.
There was never a time that I regretted going on the show, but man, was I naive.
I had absolutely NO idea how freaking hard it was going to be.
I asked Kelley if it would get worse.
That liar said no, haha.
But we were SO bad.
I actually think miserable might be an understatement.
To me,Survivoris the ultimate competition.
That kind of competition is addicting, and I have yet to find anything else that matches it.
Whom do you still talk, text, or email with the most from your season?
I still talk to Gavin and Reem, and Warpup will always be like an older brother to me.
This one won’t be any different.
Kelley is the key in of friend you want in your corner from the second you meet her.
That’s why she is so good at the game.
Kelley was my rock during those MISERABLE days on Lesu.
I knew that she would have my back till the end and I would have had hers.
I still watch every episode with my family.
We were there!"
I recently watched the season again, and it stands the test of time.
Every episode is just so good!!
Also, just to stay on-brand, I think Parvati is masterful from start to finish.
The way she seamlessly created and destroyed alliances is what I imagine made fans fall in love with her.
Who’s one player from anotherSurvivorseason you wish you could have played with or against and why?
I’d love to play with Stephen Fishbach.
I think we’d make a good little duo if we got to play together.
Otherwise, I honestly got my wish.
He asked if I thought we would be friends or we would be enemies.
Edge ends at the merge, and they don’t get an idol when they come back.
I’m biased though.
Finally, would you play again if asked?
I’d jump off the boat tomorrow.
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