In Thursday night’s episode of Survivor SA: Philippines - Mindanao lost their first member at tribal council.
Stacy-Lee, who was battling a viral infection choose to be eliminated from the competition.
READ: Neil talks about unexpected #SurvivorSA exit
She received five votes at the end of Mindanao’s first tribal council, while Werner received two votes and Jeanne one vote.
We chatted to Stacy-Lee following her departure from the competition.
Why did you decide to enter Survivor SA?
I am a huge fan of the show. It was one of the things on my Bucket List. I was never in that environment before and I wanted to see and feel that life. I wanted to be humbled and also to have a chance to create a fire out in the bush. I wanted to do diving deep in the ocean and maybe even catch a fish.
How did you prepare for Survivor SA?
Everything happened too quickly. I didn’t have enough time to prepare. One minute I was auditioning and the next minute I had someone knocking on the door telling me “lets go”. But during the Christmas and New Year period I tried to meditate at church, become mindful and try to detach from normal life.
What was your strategy going into the game?
I wanted to play a laidback game. I wanted to be an effective player and strong on challenges. I didn’t want to be the leader. I wanted to be somewhere around the middle. I was more the protective and motherly type.
While on Survivor SA, what did you learn?
I was on the island for a little more than two weeks and what I learnt was that you must be grateful for everything around you. On the island, there is no support structure. You are constantly fighting elements and your team. I had a chance to do an introspective analysis of who I am. When I had the viral infection, it really brought me down. I’ve never been more sick in my life. So I appreciate everything now.
Did you anticipate being voted off the island?
In the last few moments, I did. I just thought that Jeanne was much stronger than me and I was so sick, that I just put my hand up and took this one for the team. It was the best decision at the time.
Any regrets?
I wish I would have taken the vaccines before going to the island. And also I wish I had been more aware of the game and not just taken the first few days for granted.
What was the first thing you did when you got home?
I got on a scale to see how much of weight I’ve picked up, because on the airplane I ate and ate and ate everything. I also went to church and prayed and thanked God I made it out of there alive because those elements are real and dangerous. I walked past a huge python once and in the middle of the night we would step on huge spiders.
Tune in to Survivor SA: Philippines next week (May 24) to see if Mindanao can find their way back, or if Luzon can capitalise on the turmoil.