Even though Jenny seemed to be in control of things before the vote — would she choose an all-girl alliance to save Alecia, or stick with her original alliance of Scot and Jason? — things turned at the flip of a switch when she revealed that things were “up in the air” by the time tribal came around, and obviously, this admission pissed everyone off. (READ OUR FULL RECAP OF THE EPISODE HERE IF YOU NEED A REFRESHER). But Jenny tells us things didn’t happen quite the way we saw it!
What did we miss at tribal? Was it made clear that you were going home or did you think you had a chance?
I didn’t know I was going home. [Before tribal] Alecia approached me, although it doesn’t show it that way. She’s on the bottom, so she’s gonna scramble. She said, ‘Let’s do an all-girl alliance [with Cydney].’ I thought about it. Jeff [Probst] said, ‘Make big moves,’ so I’m like, ‘That’s a great idea. That will guarantee the three of us going into the merge or at least a tribe swap.’ We talked about it for at least an hour. They had me fooled because I thought that was the case. How sweet? Brawn, all-girl tribe, first time in history, let’s make an impact. And it’s somewhat inspiring because it’s hard for girls to have an alliance! I’m not sure how long it lasted, but obviously not very long because I instantly knew they betrayed me. So I knew at tribal that my only recourse was to be honest. Everyone said it was the worst tribal ever. Everyone said I was so dumb for being so honest. What was I gonna do? My back was against the wall.
It’s hard to go back to your original alliance, but I had to appeal to their logic and tell them that this is Survivor, this s*** happens all the time. Why are you guys acting so butthurt that I considered this? Welcome to the game — have you ever seen this before? It was tough to watch them be so angry. It was painful to watch. I knew Jason, Scot and Cydney were the Top 3, but they told me I was, too. But I knew better. But, come on, just keep me around so we can win some challenges!
It was an hour and a half of me grandstanding: ‘I’m gonna say this one more time. Here’s why you keep me.’ Over and over again.
Were you gunning for Alecia the whole time like you were at tribal, or were you actually considering the all-girl alliance?
Here’s what I don’t understand: I was with Alecia and Cydney all the way on this all-girl alliance. I wasr really the only nice one to Alecia. I helped her the entire six days. I helped her, I was showing her how to do things. So for her to turn on me, of all people, like…really? Jason and Cydney hate you, you annoy the s*** out of Scot, and you turn on ME? Talk about desperate for attention! I’ll let you seal your own fate. That was shocking because I did care. She’s not a bad kid.
What was your gameplan if you were able to stick around longer?
That’s a hard one to answer because it never actually became an all-girl alliance. It’s not like Cydney and Alecia were every fully on-board. So I never got a chance to test that idea because they betrayed me instantly, so it was like…so much for that idea. But I work in a male industry and I love when women can band together and stick together.
What shocked you the most?
I had no idea it was coming because Alecia seemed so sincere and Cydney seemed to sincere. They just don’t show how much I was like…’Were doing this, right? You’re not just bulls***ing me? You’re not just trying to stay, Alecia?’ It surprised me that it was Cydney [who voted for me in tribal]. These past 10 months I thought it was Cydney who voted for Alecia. I was happy to see it was Scot. He was my favorite out there. Before Jason got all mean he was also my favorite, but Scott was my favorite out there. He promised he’d never write my name down and he didn’t.
What was it like going through that crazy night with the bug in your ear? Did you think about quitting?
Definitely not. I actually had to start hyping myself up to go to the challenge with that thing in my ear. I was like, ‘Breathe, breathe, breathe. You’re mentally strong. You got this.’ I kept asking myself, ‘What would a warrior do?’ I just kept myself busy because quitting was not an option. I was hoping medical would come out, but oh well.
Would you ever play again?
Of course! They say Survivor isn’t for an honest person, but I think it is. I think there’s a place for everyone in that came. We all come from different backgrounds and there’s a lot of different people out there.
Who do you think is a big threat on the Brawn tribe?
I think Jason will go far. He’s very good at getting people to do his bidding. He’s a bully, but in his business [bounty hunting], he ha to be. He’s had a lot of practice at being a bully, he’s had a lot of time to perfect his art of manipulation. She’s definitely build to be villainous.
Who are you rooting for?
Day one I liked Debbie, I always liked Debbie. She reminds me a lot of me. I like Anna. Anna (Beauty), Debbie (Brain), Tai (Beauty) and Joe (Brain).
HollywoodLifers — did you think Jenny deserved to be eliminated? What did you think of that insane tribal council?