Chris Noble was the eighth person voted out and first member of the Survivor: Ghost Island jury during the show’s April 11 episode. Although he had an immunity idol in his pocket and laid out a plan to split the votes between his nemesis, Domenick Abbate, and Wendell Holland, Chris was blindsided at tribal council when the entire tribe, except Angela Perkins and Desiree Afuye, voted against him. So, why the f*** didn’t Chris play his idol. which he only had the power to use at this vote or the next vote?!
“Outside of the Dom rivalry, I went all out trying to make personal relationships and make connections for this moment, whether I had an idol to protect me or not,” Chris tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “So I had confidence that I was able to build enough relationships where I could trust some people, but obviously, that didn’t happen. My biggest mistake was [the conversation with everyone except Dom and Wendell] at the water well. I still don’t think my plan was bad, it was just how I approached it. I should’ve just done it with the fewer people in my alliance.”
Who WERE you actually closely aligned with? The edit made it hard to realize how close Angela and I were. Our relationship was way closer than what was shown. She and I were aligned from day one. Des and I were aligned from day one — she was actually the first person I even chatted with. We both wanted to get rid of Dom since day one. Sebastian [Noel], obviously he and I had our bromance in the beginning. We had a lot of very crazy parallels in life, so I was shocked when I got blindsided by him. I would even throw Donathan [Hurley] in there because he and I had some really genuine talks, so I’m a little agitated and bitter about what I saw last night [that he told Dom my plan]. I’m not ashamed to admit that. I’m human and that was real shady. James [Lim] — if he didn’t get voted out, I think it could’ve been a different game.
Did you foresee someone running back and telling Dom your plan, like Donathan did? I don’t think anyone had to go back and tell Dom and Wendell anything — they were the only two that weren’t there. Let’s be real, I think that says enough. Wendell and Dom also made it seem like I took them all to the well, like I told them to come there with me. Do you think anyone has power like that? That was just them being hateful and ridiculous. I went to the well with Des and Angela because they were my closest allies outside of Sebastian, and then everyone followed. That’s just how it played out.
So, I was there and I’m thinking…I’m done with these people — this rivalry with Dom has got to end. I was tired of people not taking my word when Dom was clearly erratic and you couldn’t trust him. I just didn’t understand it! In my head, all these guys were out there treating it like a vacation instead of playing the damn game! I know I’m not the biggest die-hard Survivor fan, but I know this — if you get someone like Dom out there, who’s a mixture between Boston Rob and Tony, and all these great players you can’t trust…I can’t be the only one out there who could see that in him. I just, for the love of me, was so done with these people because…how could they not see this happening?! Power couple [with Wendell], idols? You get rid of those people! It was a mistake telling all those people that. My frustration and what not got the best of me and I unveiled my hand and it caused me to get voted off.
Where do you and Dom stand now? Dom and I are like brothers. Not only is that guy a good husband, but he’s a good friend. He’s a great family guy — he and I have hung out plenty of times. His wife is amazing. I honestly look at them as family now and that rivalry made it that way. We have this respect for each other and we’re actually very similar personalities.
Do you have any regrets? I don’t live life with regrets, but for gameplay purposes, the one thing I’d go back and change would be for me to have bitten my tongue at the water well and not lose sight of the big picture. I think tribal would’ve gone a different route if I didn’t do that. Whether I still would’ve gone home or not, I can’t tell you, but I think the outcome of the episode would’ve been different. Nonetheless, it was great television and I loved watching every bit of the episode.
You came across as a bit cocky or over-confident — do you think that was an accurate portrayal? I think my edit was very complex — they showed where my heart is. They showed me being over-arrogant, they showed me being demanding, but they showed me also being someone who’s connecting with people. Then they finally showed my humor. It was a rollercoaster ride watching my cut, I won’t lie. Some moments were great, some were tough, but I accomplished what I set out there to do and I can’t thank Survivor enough for showing the moment about my mother and spreading awareness about MS. I might’ve gone home with an idol in my pocket, but at least I got to go home and see my other idol, my mom.
I think the cut was me but to the far extremes. When I’m in a confessional, I’ll give you the juice. But hearing Wendell and Laurel say I was arrogant and this and that, personally, I know myself, and I know how I was on that island, and I acted like myself around the people. I accomplished a lot of things and I’m not going to not tell you my accomplishments when we’re talking about our life stories. I was just as open about my failures in life, too. I just felt like I wasn’t as arrogant or cocky as people thought. There’s nothing easy about my life — just because I’m blonde and good looking and confident doesn’t mean I’ve had it easy. I’ve actually had it the exact opposite.