Teeny Chirichillo Post-Season Interview | Survivor 47
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January 30, 2025
TLDR: Rob Cesternino interviews Teeny Chirichillo about their time on Survivor 47 in Fiji, discussing strategy, alliances, relationships, and more.

In this post-season interview, Survivor 47 castaway Teeny Chirichillo shares insights about her journey through the game, her strategic choices, and the relationships she formed. Host Rob Cesternino dives deep into the highlights of Teeny’s experience, revealing the emotional and social dynamics of the game.
Early Game and Alliance Formation
Teeny's adventure began at the Lavo tribe, where she quickly established herself as a social player. Key points discussed include:
- Flawless Gameplay: Teeny describes the first three days as her most successful in terms of gameplay, noting her ability to forge relationships quickly.
- Key Alliances: Teeny formed a close duo with Keishon and aimed to build a trio with Genevieve. She also bonded unexpectedly with Rome, who showed her his hidden immunity idol, cementing their trust.
- Strategic Approach: Teeny aimed to be everyone's number one ally, effectively navigating social dynamics to ensure her safety and gameplay.
Navigating Challenges and Trust
As the game progressed, Teeny faced challenges that tested her alliances and decision-making:
- Tough Decisions: Teeny struggled with emotional decisions during tribal councils, especially when her friend Asia was voted out. This experience highlighted the emotional toll of the game, especially for someone who cares deeply about relationships.
- Challenges of Trust: The revelation of Rome's tight alliance with Genevieve made Teeny realize the complexities of trust within her group, leading to strategic shifts in her gameplay.
The Merge and New Dynamics
Upon reaching the merge phase, Teeny had to reassess her position and alliances:
- Rebuilding Relationships: Teeny felt a sense of excitement and renewal during the merge, as she is eager to forge new connections with players she had observed from afar.
- Strategic Shifts: The dynamics shifted as alliances formed around players like Rachel and nuances in trust were tested, especially with Genevieve and Sam.
Emotional Highs and Lows
Throughout the game, Teeny experienced significant emotional moments:
- Emotion vs Strategy: Teeny expressed how her emotional ties often conflicted with her strategic gameplay, explaining how difficult it was to turn on friends.
- The Weight of Decisions: The difficulty of writing down friends' names during tribal councils weighed heavily on her, reflecting the personal aspect of voting and gameplay.
Departure of Allies and New Strategies
As the game continued, Teeny lost key allies:
- Kishan's Elimination: This vote marked a turning point for Teeny, pushing her closer to Genevieve, despite their differing playing styles.
- Gabe and the Underdogs: Teeny recognized the need to shift her strategy after Gabe's elimination, leading to the formation of the ‘underdog alliance’.
Final Episodes and Reflections
In the final episodes, key themes emerged:
- Complex Relationships: Teeny navigated complex relationships with Sam and Genevieve, reflecting on how trust and strategy played out differently for each player.
- Final Tribal Council: Teeny's decision to vote for Rachel at the final tribal council showcases her respect for gameplay and understanding of the game, despite personal challenges faced.
Conclusion
Teeny concluded her interview by expressing gratitude for the experience, the friendships forged despite the game’s challenges, and her excitement for future opportunities. She emphasized the growth that comes from such an emotionally charged environment and hinted at her openness to returning to Survivor, aiming to maximize her potential with newfound insights into gameplay and emotional regulation.
Takeaways
- Embrace Relationships: Survivor is as much about social dynamics as it is about strategy. Building genuine connections can create a stronger foundation in the game.
- Manage Emotions: Recognizing and regulating emotions can help players make better strategic decisions, especially in high-pressure situations.
- Adaptability is Key: The ability to pivot strategies and adapt to new dynamics is crucial for success in the game. Teeny’s journey showcases the importance of flexibility in alliance-building.
Teeny Chirichillo's Survivor experience is a testament to the complexities of social gameplay, emotional resilience, and the unpredictable nature of reality television.
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Hey everybody, what's going on? Rob Sestino, back and we've got another great Survivor 47 post-game conversation here today. I am joined by a fan favorite and even Derek Levasser's favorite player from Survivor 47. Please welcome Teeny Chirichelo, Teeny, how are you?
I am so good. I am flying sky high after being titled Derek's favorite player. My 17 year old self who watched Big Brother 17 is just over the moon about it, Rob. Okay. Big Brother 16. You're gonna get fat checked. I'm sorry. Okay. Yes. Okay. All right. But there's too much, too much excitement. Anyway, I'm very excited to get to talk some survivor with you today. How have you been since the season's been over?
I have been wonderful. It's such a relief to be able to talk about it in full with all the people in my life. It's a relief to be able to, you know, just have the experience closed up with a bow on it. And I've just been
chilling out and kind of trying to undo the damage of celebrating and partying for three months, the experience of being on my favorite show, you know? Busy fall. Busy fall. Okay. All right. So, teeny, so much to get to from your entire adventure, but I guess let's
of course, start at the beginning of the early days at Lavo and you were featured very prominently in the first episode from talking with Jeff about your New Jersey scarecrow attire to everything that went on with the early days of the Lavo Alliance. So what do you want to tell us more about from that time?
So the early days of lava, and I mean, like the early days, like the first three days were probably just the most flawless gameplay that I had. You were fishing. I know, I know. I won the fishy, the first episode. And I think it was dessert. Like I think I. I advocated for you. Steven was on the fence.
I know. Oh, trust me, I didn't sleep that night of the first episode. I was up at 2 AM listening. So thank you, Rob. But yeah, I think it was exactly how I wanted to start the game, hit the ground running, and just make close friends with everybody. In that first episode, I say, I really want to be every single person's number one.
And by day three, that was what the reality was, you know, I immediately locked in with Keishon. What you don't see is that me and Keishon form a really tight duo immediately. And the two of us agree like we want a trio with Genevieve and the three of us have that conversation.
And we lock that in super, super immediately. Obviously, you know, I really wanted to work with Asia as well. And I had every intention to tell her that I knew who she was because of our HAP. And that relationship was super strong. Rome was the one who I didn't really think I'd
hit it off with the best. And then he pulled me aside and showed me the idol, which was surprising, but really cemented that I was his number one too. And then me and Saul were the best of friends from the first time we looked in each other's eyes. So it was like a beautiful amalgamation of all these wonderful relationships and the freedom to move within them. And it was really fun. And so we lost.
Can I ask about, you know, you said you had so many great relationships to start, and we certainly saw that from the show, not just at Lava, but other people wanted to work with you. Was there something intentional that you were doing, or are you just such an easy person to approach that people felt so warm to you off the bat?
Well, I definitely think during the entire pregame, I was certainly doing the eye contact in the wing game. And I tried to exude a warm little sibling energy. That's really what I wanted to get across. And I think that was successful. But I also do think that my big skill in life that I knew could translate to survivor is my ability to connect with people. And so I think that is kind of what
people are able, it bleeds into the game. And I think it was picked up by others on the cast, which was wonderful. Yeah. Just like we said with being in the fire, like here, you're really good. You could spark it, like get it going, like an instant. Boom. Yeah. Yeah. I could, I could hit the ground, hit the ground running, maintaining it and building it a little different story. Yeah. Okay. So you've got all these great relationships. And then where do we go from here? So,
It was really stressful. I didn't want to lose because of the position I was in, which was so fantabulous. You know, I had all these people who wanted to work with me and who had my best interest in mine, right? But, okay, we can first talk about Rome catching me with the idol showing Kishan.
So that was obviously just a ridiculously absurd moment in my experience. And I think had it been any other person in the game of survivor, maybe in history, they would have known like, you can't trust this person. But because it was Rome and he had his like, gung ho loyalty to the four, me, Genevieve, Kishan and him. And because he, he really did something about me, he just really trusted. I was able to worm my way out of that one. Impressive.
You know, I had thought about that during the season when that happened, it's like, wow, imagine getting busted, like giving somebody's like idol secrets away to another person. And then it's just like, ah, no big deal. Yeah. And I think it was, it was basically I just told him like, here's the thing, Rome, you told me when you showed me the idol that you were going to play this no matter what at the first tribal council.
You really want to work with Qishan and Genevieve. You're going to have to let them in on that because if you play it and they didn't know you had it, that's bad for all of us. And I think that worked with him. And it was also true. But it also made me scared. I knew I was like, OK, I have to be more careful. I have to be more conscious of the things that are going on. And I also, in some small way, was like, OK, Rome might not actually trust me.
fully anymore and so that kind of pulled me more towards them but I really didn't want to lose because I knew how the dynamics were shaking up and I knew that at the time it felt smartest for me to have to go with Rome and Genevieve and I had
Because Rome was coming to me with information first, and because of this, like, three group that I had with Keishan and Genevieve, I really was not aware of this private relationship between Rome and Genevieve that was happening. I really did not understand that they were as close as they were. I didn't see the game as, you know, three sets of pairs. I saw the game as a set of four, and then a set of four. And me and Keishan were in both
force. And I knew that I was closer to Saul, then Asia was to Saul, I was closer to Asia, then you know, like, I just felt like I really was everyone's number one. So then we lose. And my mindset going into the Asia vote was that the smartest thing that me and Kishan could do since he was my number one was make sure that we had a path to the merge. So if we, we felt the best way we could do that is to
Let's say, eliminate Asia, and then we're down to me, Genevieve, Saul, and Rome.
And Kishan, the next thing that we would do is vote out Rome because we believe that we had Genevieve so securely. And God forbid we lose again, we would have our pick of the letter between taking either salt or Genevieve. And so that was really the plan. And we really thought that that was foolproof and obviously didn't work out that way. But that was our every intention was to make sure that the order went, if it's Asia, okay, the next is going to be Rome, then we will 100% be able the two of us to get to the merge together.
So in the episode we saw where you talk with Asia and there's a, you know, if you say you'll vote out Saul, then we can figure it out. We can get rid of Saul. Who would have been your biggest, you know, strong person in the challenges? Was that a real offer to Asia to save her and take out Saul? Well, it certainly, it certainly
didn't help that she wasn't willing to apart with him because we felt that on the other end, we had Genevieve who was not as connected to Rome. Like we really thought that we had, we wanted to see if we could find another person to mirror what Genevieve was giving us, who was loyal to the two of us more than another person. And Asia didn't demonstrate that by showing that she wanted to work with Saul. So it didn't really give us the same avenue that we thought we had with Genevieve, which was that we're a locked three.
And that was kind of like, for me, push me more towards saving Genevieve in the game because I felt that she would be with me and wasn't as tied to Rome as Asia was to Saul, which for me and Kishan, it was important for us to be able to get there together. If that makes sense.
You still wrote down Saul's name when you went to the tribal council as maybe to the detriment of your game. And was that a little bit of like a wake up call for you in terms of like that the the push and pull that you were going to face in this game in terms of this is what my heart wants. And this is what my head wants.
Oh yeah, I mean it's not even, it's not shown but I sobbed hysterically on the beach the day that that decision was coming down because I, every single choice felt hurtful and wrong and upsetting and I was being crushed by the weight of it already and it was I think day six or six or seven that this was happening and
Yeah, so when I was sitting there at the tribal council, I was just like, okay, I know what my alliance is doing. I know what the outcome will be. My vote isn't going to sway it one way or the other. And it just, like, I just can't even fathom writing her name down.
it was it was really tough and I also thought that I could go back and and you know tell my alliance hey like that was in case she played her shot in the dark and it hit then we would make sure that it would you know we have a vote on Saul which I felt worked for them and then to Saul I told him I was like listen man it was me who voted for you but now you can act pissed at me and no one's going to suspect that we're working together and that actually worked surprisingly well on him too so
There wasn't a complete detriment to my game, but it definitely was the first sign of oh my god my emotions are gonna rule me throughout this thing.
You're such a student of the game and such a fan of the show. Is there any way that you could describe what that's like? Because I think that a lot of people in your position, I think, would struggle with the taking people out part of the game, especially people that you like and turning your back and betraying people. And it's easy when it's nameless, faceless, you know, avatars that you're thinking about.
I don't know how many people are prepared for what it's actually going to be like. Yeah, it's tough. And I think it's different for different people. For me, what I get out of the show and what I've always liked. And I think you even said this, I think in the RHAP draft, you noticed about me and my fanaticism for the show is that I like the relationships. I like the people. I like watching the social dynamics.
For me, the strategy and the blind sides weren't always my favorite part of the game. And so it's going into it. I knew my strengths would play to making friends and liking people and people liking me. And that part of it was wonderful until suddenly the blind sighting part had to inevitably has to come because that's the name of the game. And it was hard because
I couldn't fully process or take joy in the fact that the way that I wanted to be playing was actively playing out and that I was making the most of my skills in the game of Survivor because I was so crushed by the reality that it's coming at the detriment of someone else's dream, of someone else's goal. And that was just a really complicated dichotomy to process the entire time. And in my real life, I love just getting to know people and
having open relationships with them. And I think there was some blind spot in me where I kind of thought that I'd be able to just do that and get myself to the end and win without the other side of it, which is like, no, there's also lying and you're going to have a lot of people and people are going to have to lie to you and you can't trust anyone. And I feel like I didn't put enough time in to really know that concretely and have that ground me out there. And I was kind of learning that as the game went on in hard
lessons as we sell you out. All right. So after Asia goes home, OK, you feel good. You have Kishan, OK, and away we go with the plan. And now you could take out Rome, but you go on a journey and you end up losing your vote.
Yeah. So the amulet situation, I mean, I think it just, it goes to show the confidence that I had in my alliance or what I believe to be my alliance with Genevieve and Kishan. And it also just goes to show the confidence I had and that we were all fed up to here with Rome's behavior and that nothing possibly could outweigh how badly we all wanted him out of jail.
Part of it. What was Rome doing that was the most bothersome? I mean, it's like there's so many layers to it, right? It's like just the daily
stories and kind of like Braggadocia that was happening at all times. And the aggression that you saw within the game, the way that he sometimes spoke to Saul or spoke about things he wanted to do in the game was just so, so, so, so far from how I looked at things.
like just saying like he was like, I'm gonna bully Saul into giving me his shot in the dark and I had to be like, whoa man, like fully like what the hell like maybe don't say that like maybe that's not it just I was like there's no way that anything could outweigh this but it also speaks to how well Genevieve played the pre merge and and getting us to underestimate the fact that she could see value in Rome that we couldn't see like
She was brilliant at making us feel like she was so with us. And I believed it fully. I was so confident in my position in the game that I gave up my vote. And I also wanted to buy Goodwill with Andy and Caroline and get, you know, step forward for myself if I got to the merge. But there was no, there was Rob, there wasn't a one percent of me that thought that Genevieve was going to flip it. There was, there was not one percent. And that's a testament to her game in the pre-emerge and how she
how she just made us feel so comfortable. And yeah, so obviously that's not how it went. And my number one alliance member went home. Okay, so take us through your reaction to that and then how you process Kishan end up going out, which really ended up in the story. Ended up being a bigger deal for Genevieve that Kishan went out then for you. Yeah, so first of all, she stole your storyline.
We could share it. First of all, I picked up that something was wrong on the way to tribal council in all the little last moments of camp life before. I just knew, so I thought it was me going home. I just was like, this is not right. I have no idea what's going on. This is the first time in eight days I've had no idea what's going on.
Um, and when they stole his vote, again, I thought it was going to be me because I was like, I just, I could, how could I be this far out of the loop? Uh, I really don't know what's going on. So when he ultimately got voted out, one, I was relieved that it wasn't me. Two, I was absolutely beside myself shocked.
Three, I maybe within 20 minutes piece together that Genevieve flipped herself from a precarious situation on her tribe to being the only person who was possibly ever going to be safe if we went to another tribal council. Because now I knew that my trust with Rome had been completely fractured because he knew I was coming after him and had already broken his trust before.
Um, I knew that the two of them, Genevieve and Rome were going to be so close together after this because she was the one who saved his ass. Sorry. And I knew that that left me and Saul in a really, really dangerous spot. And Genevieve in this.
prime spot of safety so i just was like i need to buddy back up to her i need to just make her know that i'll do anything to stay i we had nice damage control conversations you know but it was the most scared and the most danger i was in the game at any point was me being on lava post-kishan and pre-merch you think that if you would have gone to that tribal council went on it went home it would have been you
I'm so happy I don't have to know, but I do think there was a real danger of it. Absolutely. I think Rome wanted me to go. Rome wanted me to go. And I think Genevieve wanted Saul to go. And ultimately, she probably would have had the say. But I also think that there's a world where Genevieve realizes my threat level and my social game and doesn't want it to make it to the merge.
Yeah, it's something that in that challenge was really close to. It was the most euphoria I've ever had in the game was winning that challenge. Yeah. So you have gone on the journey. You have the three way shared amulet. You also end up going to the survivor social hour. And so you're kind of coming into the merge here with a lot of these different connections. How are you feeling about your game once you arrive with all the players on one beach?
Oh my god, it was so wonderful. It was like starting the game again. And obviously I had the knowledge and the experience of starting the game the first time to know that that's where I excel is like instantly hitting it off with people and embedding myself into their time on the island and making myself a comfort to them that they don't want to take out. And to meet all these people who I had just been wondering about and conspiring about was
beautiful and wonderful and it just got better from there for the beginning of the merch. Can you give us some tips like how to for those of us who don't make great first impressions? How did it do it? Um, I just, I think, I think what I've always thought is that I have the lucky
the lucky quality of actually really, really, really caring about other people's lives. And also a lot of the time finding people who have big or eccentric personalities to be very entertaining in a way that they might grade on other people. And so for me, learning about someone's relationship and asking them questions about their boyfriend is so entertaining to me. And I think that comes across.
that it's genuine. And it works. And it's fun for me. It's fun for them. I don't know. It works for you. Because I feel like if I went in and started asking about people's boyfriends and girlfriends, he'll say, get lost, you creep.
You got to have your business. You got to have the little sibling energy. Okay. You got to show me how to do it. Okay. All right. So all right. You're on the merge beach. Everybody's here and the name that is being floated around is Rome. Somebody who you're sick and tired of his crap.
Yeah, so I remember it's shown in the episode everyone's talking at the water well Kyle is bringing them all the information that you know had come out about Rome over the 24 hours since we hit the merge beach and I remember walking up to I was on a confessional and I walked up to the group and obviously you see a big group talking it's a little bit nerve racking you're not a part of it and I'm just hearing Kyle talk about somebody I don't know who it is yet and Genevieve looks to me and goes
Rome. And I wanted to just jump in the air. I was like, how could this get any better? Like, I, this is the outcome I wanted. I didn't even have to do anything about this. He just showed his cards immediately. And everyone knows it. And I'm here to happily go along with the plan. I'm here to corroborate all of the, you know, discussions about why he's stressful in the game. Sorry, Rome. It was brilliant. It couldn't have been a better like first merge boo. I was sucked.
Yeah. Okay. And you're not conflicted here. You don't feel going to write down a different name or anything like that. How did you feel about when Rome sat in Jeff's chair as a huge fan of the show? Did that bother you? Did you think it was funny because you knew he was going?
My thoughts on Rome sitting in Jeff's chair. My thoughts are, if I'm Rome and Jeff invites me to sit in his chair, the first thought I have is I'm going home tonight. This is, this is special treatment in lieu of this is like the most special treatment one could get. This is like beyond asking, what is this journey been for you? Like, you know what I mean? It's like, it's like such a dead giveaway, such a tell that is the end of his rope. It's like when you're taking your dog to go get put down and you stop at Burger King.
Yeah, so I was like, oh my God, Jeff, don't give it away like this. But then I remembered very quickly, this is Rome here. His brain's not going there. His brain is just all showmen and believes that this is, you know, he's entitled to sit in this chair regardless of outcome, regardless of if he wins the game or not. So yeah, it was, it was, I was at first panicking and then I was like, oh, actually this is, this is fine. This is just distracting him altogether from what's going on here and it'll be, it'll be fine.
So, Tina, they have this split tribal council that comes up. And so, first off, you are in this endurance competition, and you're right there. And it's you and Genevieve on one side and Kyle on the other side, and Kyle's the last person left from his side. And Jeff says, okay, that's it, that's enough. He gives the immunity necklace to Kyle. What the hell, right?
Yeah, what the hell? I mean, I would have loved to wear the bat. I would have loved to wear the bat. Who could have been your immunity? I know. In 44, I didn't try to get one, regardless, for even though they didn't go to travel council.
I don't remember. I think I think in the past, the winner of the Safe Group still got an equis. I would have obviously loved to wear the bat, but like for me, the prize was winning for my team and making the jury. So I was like, you know what? It's fine. Let's let's let him like get more attention for being a challenge beast. Let's let the number of his stat of winning rise a little bit and you were fine. Yeah, it was OK.
At this point in the game, we start to hear a lot about how that you have a very close relationship with Sierra. Can you talk a little bit about how you came to be so close with Sierra and what was it about her?
Yeah, me and Sierra just clicked instantly. I think she's also a Northeast girly. She went to University of Delaware where one of my best friends went. So we were talking about bars that we just had a lot in common. I think a similar upbringing, a similar group of friends back at home.
I remember there was a night, it was the night of the auction where everyone was talking about like video games a lot and me and Sarah kind of just looked at each other. We're like, we have no, we have no foothold in this conversation whatsoever. Like we just, we just really got each other. We were a nonstop giggle fest and she just felt like somebody I'd known for a really long time. And that was fantastic. And I was super close with her, but do I think we were the most discreet about it? No.
I think it was probably quite apparent to the rest of the group that we were very much so clicking. I also think that me and Sierra look at the game of Survivor similarly. I think we bring similar strengths to the game. We are both social creatures and we know how to mix in with the group and maybe aren't the best at the really nitty gritty strategy stuff.
For us, it was really easy to see and zoom out on the game in the same way, from the same lens. And that was like a relief to both of us, I think, being around people who are a little bit more game body.
So you went on this reward, and it works out that it's, of course, all of Tuku is off with Rachel, and then it's, you know, all of your old tribe, all of Lava with Andy and Sam and Sierra, and there's some talk of red and yellow. We're doing it. This is the thing. And it seems like you feel good about this, right? You would have liked this red and yellow.
Yeah, I did feel good about it. At that point, though, I think what I was most happy about was just the fact that me, Saul, and Genevieve were in a great position no matter what. We had the yellow people. We were with Gotta. We were totally locked into that world, and I liked all of them, and that was fantastic. But we also, in the back of my mind, I did know that if we wanted to go with Juku, we would. And most importantly, that we'd be doing it together as the three of us, which was my
intention for the game. And so I just felt very at peace with our positioning at that point in the game for sure. Okay. Later on in the game, we know that you have some strong feelings about Sam and you handle that all very maturely by the end of the game for sure.
Are you feeling like, was it, you felt some type of way about Sam the whole time or did he like, get on your nerves more as the game went along and then culminating in that not going on the operation Italy reward? Yeah, it was, it was definitely not like an immediate disdain whatsoever. We got a low mic TV. Exactly. Like you saw us bond over that and we, I think you're a better Mike TV.
Thank you. With all the respect to Sam. We bonded really well. She's also 24. I'm 23. We had a lot of the same reference points. We got a lot of the same senses of humor. We really got along. I would describe
It definitely culminated with the Operation Italy vote, and it was a buildup of a few different things. It was obviously the stuff that I spoke about on the show, which is that from a very young age, in childhood, I struggled with, I don't know, I feel like
more of a boy than a girl like it was a lot of gender stuff of course um that i've spent you know a long time processing but i'm able to process it when i'm not starving when i have resources when i can you know talk to my friends when i have you know queer books to read and i was deprived of all those things so i didn't have the most healthy coping mechanisms out there to go through that in my head it was also uh just kind of like
you know, the deterioration of my game in so many ways, like things just continually were not going my way. One of those being that like I wanted Sierra to stay and like I wanted him to go and like just it wasn't against him at that point, but like I think I took out resentment of my game not going the way I wanted to on him. And so it was just like all this big lead up. I was insecure about
myself as a person and my identity and also insecure about my place in the game and how it would come across. And he just really took the brunt of it. Yeah. And you've spoken so articulately about this in the past. So I don't want to spend too much more time on it. But I want to go back to, OK, so you are a big fan of Sierra. Sam is sort of like, OK, but it is maybe eventually going to grade on your nerves. They come to you and they say, hey, guess what?
We're not doing the working with Gada. We're going to work with Tuku and take out a Gada. And I don't think we really get to see you processing that in the show. So that take a lot of convincing for you to ultimately, OK, we're going to take out one of the Gada numbers.
No, I think that it's honestly displayed in the show as more of them dropping this ball in me that we're going to work with Tuku instead of Gada than it actually was. I also had the sense that that was what was happening. And that didn't really bother me. What obviously bothered me more was that I didn't feel my voice being super heard in deciding which Gada member it would be.
But I also take accountability for the fact that the way that I pushed for Sam to go and for Sierra to stay, I think was disadvantageous to what I actually wanted. I think I pushed a little bit too hard, made it a little bit too obvious that I wanted Sierra to stay because of how much we got along and how much we had the potential to work together. And so I kind of recognized that and was like, OK, even if Sierra stays at this point, if I get my way, it might not even be
long-term good for me because it'll just be so apparent that we are working together. And so that's why I kind of conceded and let them have it their way. But that's what my thought process was. And it was obviously very painful to let her go. But yeah, it felt like there was nothing I could do. Who did you think was going to get voted out next then after? So, okay, I'll go along with the plan, what that's the error. And then was the thought then, okay, but then we're going to do Sam.
I was a little bit apathetic to whether it was Sam or Kyle. If Kyle lost, I was like, we got to take out Kyle. We have to. I thought that was the smartest thing we could do for all of our positions in terms of him being a challenge beast. And if not him, I really did want to do Sam. And so I remember that round. I was just kind of like, I would really like to do Kyle. And I was going to people. And I was saying, let's do Kyle. Let's do Kyle. And everybody.
Can I just set up for where people are to follow along? So this is when you all have partners and you ended up partnered up with Saul, right? And so you actually get through and you go on the reward and it's you and Saul and Gabe and Kyle at the reward. And they're talking about we should just vote out Sam, right?
Yeah, so during that conversation, we were all talking about how we wanted Sam out, but I remember sitting there and knowing that Kyle didn't have the necklace around his neck and being like, okay, like let's wrap this BLT reward up so that I could actually start campaigning against Kyle because that's what I think is the smartest move for me and for everybody else here. Yeah. Did that get any traction ever or it never came up?
So it was the conversation being had was, okay, so are we going to do Sam or Kyle? And people were kind of like throwing it back on me. Like, you pick, you pick it. I'm like, well, I'm saying Kyle and no one's really agreeing in this. Yeah, I was like, there's no one's really agreeing in the way that I know you have to agree before a vote, like every other vote that I've been a part of. And so that's what kind of like also that day and something I want to touch on is we get back from that reward and
We're sitting there with Genevieve and Sue, and this is in the episode, and we say to Genevieve, yeah, like we're just gonna do Sam. And she gives nothing, and I know how Genevieve works. When she has an opinion and she wants something done, she will speak to it, right? But she was just like, okay, cool, as long as it's not me. And she got up and walked away and me and Saul looked at each other and we were like, that was weird. That's not the Genevieve we know. We know there's a lot more going on in her mind right now.
And we had a conversation with each other on this day, the day that he went home, where we were like, we don't trust her. Now is not the time. But eventually, we unfortunately do need to cut her loose because some things are really off here. And little did we know that it was, it was this day. Yeah. So Genevieve, she's talking to Sue. She's talking to all of Tuku. Hey, let's get solved tonight. But
Caroline has lost her vote and so they need they need another vote to be able to take out Saul and they end up getting Andy involved who ends up getting Rachel involved then the whole thing goes to hell in a hand basket and so That this was where I think that you cut you kind of find out what at a tribal council Very late late in the game that it's going to eventually be saw
Yeah, so I found out at camp that day when it all pulls me aside and says, these people are voting for me. I still was confused and shocked and unable to really put together that Genevieve was behind it at that point. And so you kind of see that play out, but then it was during tribal council where Andy looks to be and says, no, yeah, everyone's doing Saul and Genevieve's the one who orchestrated it.
And during that vote, Saul really wanted me, Andy, Rachel, Sam, and him to vote out Sue. And Sam really wanted to do that as well. And I just kept looking at Rachel and Andy and saying, realistically, are you guys going to go against the majority here? Are you going to vote out Sue? And they just both said to me during the travel council, we're not doing that. We were voting Saul out. So I looked at Saul and said, there's nothing we can do. And again, like it was just a very helpless, upsetting
Not what I wanted situation, but one where I couldn't do anything. But we really see these events from your perspective, especially when we start the next episode. And we really get to see everything from the teeny POV as we come back from tribal that night. And you were hot.
Oh my god, Rob. I was so mad. I was fuming. I was so upset and devastated. I lost my best friend. He was such a comfort for me out there. I really, really, I really saw. Sometimes you lose a best friend in this game. Dude. I can't. It was every route, it seems. And so, yeah, it was all... At least you had best friends, okay?
Well, it was like, I really, and maybe naively, really, really, really wanted to and believe that May and Saul could make it to the end together. And I really saw Genevieve as a part of that plan as well. And like, I just, I really had like a Tika three lava three sort of vision for us.
That's what I really wanted to do and I believe we had the ability and maneuvering and relationships to do it. And so that dream just sort of ended for me in one night in a really upsetting way. I was also fuming at Gabe because you see in the episode, Gabe lied to my face during tribal council where I say, I know everyone's voting Saul.
And he refuses to tell me that that's what was actually happening, even though it was being confirmed by every other person. So I came back in guns blazing at Genevieve and at Gabe. And Genevieve and I had that really, really open, honest, philosophical conversation about how we could not play Survivor more differently, but how we do really care about each other. And I really trusted that she wasn't going to target me or write my name down. And so that's kind of what that was about.
It's you and Genevieve. There's like some poetry and I think only survivor really brings us this and it's so amazing because it's not scripted. But you have like this sort of like bizarro relationship with each other where you're both experiencing like the same phenomenon but from like opposite sides of it.
Yeah, it was so interesting and fascinating and complicated. We got along so well. And in the real world, in every case, Nario, in every lifetime, in every context that we meet, we would be very, very good friends who really understand each other. But we had such different ideas of how to play the game. And we had such different ideas of who we wanted to work with.
wanted to work with Saul. She did not like Saul within the game. I did not want to work with Rome. She saw the value in Rome. And all of that thinking and the decision making that we had going into the relationships we were choosing couldn't have been more different. And there was no way it felt for me to see the game from the lens that she was seeing the game from and same for her. And so even though we were being honest about that and open with it, it didn't change the fact that it was still just never really lining up.
It was beautiful to be a part of, but also extremely frustrating and hurtful at times, even though I know she never meant any of it to be personal. Okay. So after that is the vote against Gabe, where were you during the decision to take out Gabe? Did you have a strong opinion that Gabe needed to go?
Hell yeah. I think that was my favorite round of the game. That was the round of the game that went the most seamlessly for me. I felt like it was in some ways like, yeah, if I really, really wanted to take Genevieve out, like we could have done that. But I was very vocal about wanting to get Gabe out there. I felt like he was a threat on firing on all cylinders. He was great at the strategy part of the game, great physically.
embedded in his alliance he was very uh arrogant about his position the game which pissed me off i knew he wanted to he had told me he wanted me to go to the final four with him soon carolina and pretty sure he told jennedy and andy the same exact thing and i'd heard that from them so i was just fed up at that point
I felt like he thought that he had the check written out to him all up to gay. He's like my best friend now, but he just really pushed me to the edge at that point. And I thought it was just wiser. And again, I also had a lot of fun taunting Genevieve that round and being like, hey, maybe I will vote you out. So that was a fun round, but ultimately wanted to save her, keep her around a bit more and get gay about there. And most importantly, Thini, your bag went on fire.
How did that happen? It was like you were using like a pillow when you're too close to the fire? Yeah, precisely. Yeah. So I usually laid with my head, my feet by the fire, my head by the shelter. That night I flipped it around. This was the night after Saul went home and I was laying there and I had my buff over my face. And every time I took a breath, it felt like I was inside of a chimney and I couldn't breathe. And so ultimately I just picked up my bag to move it back because I was like, I'm having trouble breathing. When I picked my bag up, the entire side of it is on fire and brain.
And oh my god. Yeah. So then Caroline mummied me and she took care of it all. And she cleaned the bag. But all I could feel was just gaping giant hole in my bag. And I had no idea what was damaged or burned in there. Luckily, it was only my jacket. If it was my shorts for the challenges, I would have been screwed. So I just had to sit there in the dark of the night, not knowing how screwed up my whole stuff was. And it was just really tough.
I can relate. I can relate. It's a lot. Okay. All right. So then Gabe goes home and now look at this. Now, not only has Gabe gone out, but there's a new alliance, a couple of new alliances. You've got final threes, you've got final fives. So how did all the underdogs come together?
Uh, well, me and Andy, so ever since the, the, the Solvo, Andy was incredibly important to me. And I, I saw him as my number one in the game because he was the one who shared that information with me. And I felt like we, he was somebody who I really wanted to go to the end with. So I was working very, very closely with Andy, uh, post the Solvo and we pulled in Rachel together and I felt really good about them. They were kind of, as I say on the show, they were a sanctuary for me and they were really great things happen.
Yeah, you'd think. And then it just kind of organically worked out that me, Andy, Rachel, Sue, and Caroline all sort of felt like we were in the same spot in the game. So we formed the legendary underdog alliance, which was the majority of the tribe.
Okay, so you're feeling pretty good and it's time to vote out Kyle and Kyle and Genevieve and Sam are at the bottom and these are the three people that you want to see go home. You got to be feeling like everything's coming up teeny.
It felt good, but it also was, it was complicated because I also, you know, I still was very close with Genevieve. I knew that Genevieve and Sam kind of did see me as like maybe one sort of lifeline that they had. But ultimately, yeah, it was, I wanted Kyle to go and they, as they say the episode, they needed me to do anything else. And well, then also Kyle wanted to get me out too, which foiled their entire plan, which was to work with him and try and, you know, take out like a sewer and Andy. So,
Yeah, that round was pretty cut and dry, straightforward. Yeah, did something happen with Kyle where he seemed to really, like, lock in on you? He votes for you. He's really trying to get people to rally to the cause to vote out, Tini. I think, I mean, apparently I failed a test. I didn't know that I had. I feel like I was in high school again. I think I was Ken McNichol there.
uh... i think he told me information and it ended up getting back to him and that wrote in the wrong way and i think he also just like it maybe was closer with other people so he went on this person to try and take me out but it ultimately didn't pan out whatsoever so okay all right let's talk about the operation italy and we haven't really got a chance to get your perspective on all of this so alright that from what i understand
that Sam and Genevieve are talking about a plan potentially, and they're starting to talk to you about, okay, potentially, could you flip and join them?
Yeah, so at this point, I knew what the dynamic was and the numbers were. I knew that Genevieve and Sam thought that they had me. I enjoyed kind of having the option of going with them. I was very aware at this point of how big of a threat
Rachel was, and so my priority, it was climbing higher in my priority list to figure out how to get Rachel out. And so that was tempting to me, but I also saw Sam and Genevieve as big threats too. And I saw their relationship together as a big threat. So I liked before the challenge, I appreciated having the option of going with them and doing that or getting Rachel out potentially had she lost that challenge.
Yeah. So in talking with Genevieve, she said that she wanted Sam to take you on the reward. Yes. It was Sam who switched it up to go and take Andy.
Yeah, so I think it was Genevieve who was really rallying for me to be the one who they pulled in for the move and Sam was rallying for Andy. Ultimately, he did take Andy, which set me off as we saw on the show. What I will say, which is not shown, and I think super important, is that
After before the tribal council, Andy is still telling us that he's going to be voting with us. And I actually pulled Andy aside and told him, hey, maybe the best thing for us to do here is to actually vote out Caroline, because I don't think that Caroline is going to want to take out Rachel next. And I think that Sam will. And you know, had
And he convinced me not to do that. He did not want me to vote for Caroline so that he could claim Operation Italy as his move. And so that he would be the sole flipper in that decision. But I did pull him aside and pitch him that plan. I was thinking about flipping and going with Genevieve and Sam and wanting to take Caroline out. And he convinced me not to. And I was happy not to, obviously, because I also had my feelings about Sam too. But I did have that conversation with him. And so I was very
extra pissed at him when he did flip because I told him, Andy, you know, I would have done this. And so when we get back, that's why I made him pull Genevieve and Sam aside, because I was like, I made him admit to them that I tried to pitch that to him. Yeah, how did that change your relationship with Andy?
I just felt like I lost, yet again, lost somebody who I trusted. For a while, and the game really felt like he had my best intentions at heart. And so I just kind of changed from viewing him as a stable in my game to just being the unpredictable wild card untrustworthy player that he really was. But I do think it was good, I think,
Because I told him that he needed to admit in front of me and Genevieve and Sam that I tried to pitch the plan to take Caroline out, I think that really highlighted for Sam and Genevieve how much he really wanted to get the credit. And I think it showed them that I was a little bit more trustworthy than they thought throughout the process of doing Operation Italy as well. Yeah, were you able to make that case to them when you're talking with Sam and Genevieve during that time after Caroline goes home?
I think that by the way, I played the situation out and made Andy admit it to them that they 100% realized. Obviously, there were still things that I didn't fully know about how it all went down. But I think that was a, I'm really proud of myself for making Andy do that because it was, I was potentially going to go with them, had he not convinced me not to. You know what I mean? And I think that spoke volumes to them when I got him to admit that to them. Great. So at this point that you still feel like Genevieve's idol is real.
You don't know about Rachel's real idol or Sue's real idol. So you're in a little bit of a rock and a hard place here where that they've told you, okay, this is our new plan that this time we're coming for Rachel. How are you feeling about how things are looking for you at this point at the final six?
I was, I was, okay. So basically, after operationally happened, I sat on that stool, they show me laughing, right? They show me kind of being so shocked that I am in just a maniac state of laughter. What they don't show is that I sat on that stool and I actually sat out loud. I just lost the game because I
I kind of felt I knew things had been not the best for me in terms of losing allies and being blindsided and being left out. And I really felt like the final seven vote was one where I needed to be in on it. I needed to know it was going on. I needed to have agency. And when that was taken away from me by Andy flipping, things just really started to feel
horrible. And so I was in a really complicated place in my mind where I was grappling with the fact that I had a very uphill battle to climb and not much time to do it. And also grappling with the fact that there were still these really massive threats in the game. And I did want Rachel to go. That was always what I wanted to do at the final six, not knowing she had an idol.
And that's why I had pitched, maybe we should take care of line outs. We have an easier road to do it, but then the opportunity to be a decision maker and that was stripped away from me. But the logical next move, I believe, was to take Rachel out. So I was excited to do that, but I was aware and I was scared for my chances moving forward.
So at this final six tribal council that comes up, okay, everybody's expecting it to be Rachel, but ultimately Rachel takes the idol out of her bag. Have you been aware about Andy talking with Rachel that day and sort of like making his case to Rachel as he thought she was going to the jury?
No, I don't know if you remember that day I had gone on a wine reward. Oh, yes. I was a little bit out of it that day. And here's the thing. Yes, Andy was pitching his case to her, but we were all culprits of saying bye-bye, Rachel. You know, I know I would turn the eyes and I said goodbye. I'm pretty sure I told her, please sell Sierra and Saul that I miss them, which is, you don't do that. Yeah. But every single one of us- But that was the wine.
That was the one. That was, you know, drunk words, sober thoughts. But I was, yeah, I was certainly tipsy that afternoon. So I wasn't fully privy to everything, but I will say that like, yes, Andy pitched his case to her, but also all every single one of us was like very straight up and told her she was going home, as you saw transpire council.
Yeah. Okay. So Andy ends up going home and this is such an interesting final five where it turns out that, okay, Sue has her idol Rachel's going to be immune and you are in this untenable position where Genevieve and Sam are the only two people that you're going to be able to vote for or want to vote for and that they
potentially have this idol and you ask Genevieve point blank is the idol fake and she says yes it's fake Sam says it was fake but there's some question is she telling the truth or not you ended up at that tribal council you vote for Sam could you talk about how you make the decision about and it looked like that this was something that you were wrestling with how do you make the decision to vote for Sam yeah so
First of all, this is off the heels of a lot of me living in a false reality. And I found out that day of the depths of the false reality that I'd been living in. So I was untrusting of my own gut at this point and really, really screwed up in the head at this point.
My conversation that I had with Genevieve where she tells me that the idol is in fact fake, I knew that that was genuine. When we had the conversation she also was being open and honest with, she told me she was a lawyer. She told me that she was giving me tips on how to
but pitch my case at final tribal council. Like we had, she said things that were very indicative of the fact that it actually was fake. But then I go and I do a confessional and I come back and she's got this like grin on and she's like really twisting the dial and like really trying to, she's telling me things like if you vote for Sam tonight, you'll be fine tomorrow. Like she just really,
Her and Sam were having fun. I think knowing that one of them was going home, just kind of antagonizing me one last time and it was working. It worked. So I was upset about this, but I basically meet Sue and Rachel just band together. They said, we are going to write Genevieve's name down. And if Sam writes Genevieve's names down, she will be going home.
um but if they are concocting some sort of plan and she does have a real idol and they're voting together or what have you like you should write his name down uh just to make sure and so why i was really struggling and contemplating in the voting booth is because
you know, I knew that the idol was fake and I really wanted to get my last laugh and I really wanted to write her name down and I really like that would have been so satisfying but also some part of me was like God forbid she's got a trick up her sleeve and she has an idol and we all write her name down and she writes my name down or something like I will not be able to live with myself if I get got one last time like this. So even though I really really did know that
It was fake. I also knew that if it was fake, she'd go home either way, my vote or not. And so I just put his name down to make extra, extra, extra sure that I would be there the next day. Okay, we talked about the epic final four of firemaking challenge when we got to do the exit interview. As far as being on the jury, was it at all a difficult decision for you to vote for Rachel?
it was so i think Rachel is the deserving winner of survivor forty seven i think she played the most dominant game she she is the winner by all by all counts uh... but it was challenging and i sat there and i i listened to his very compelling speech i sat there knowing and having been a front row witness to all the ways that he did underdog from you know this year of vote onward uh... his hands in the operation italy boot which i had just learned uh... the extent of the day before
And I was really impressed. And I also, some part of me knew that if it wasn't him sitting there, it would have been me and that I would have been fighting this fight against Rachel, which it felt kind of unbeatable. And so there was a sympathy layer of there for me as well. And it was difficult.
But ultimately, it was so written in the stars, clear. Also, Rachel and I had a very close personal bond. She sewed my bag when it burned. She helped me make fire. She kicked ass, and she deserved to win. And so any sort of sympathy or even acknowledgement of how wonderful he played was not going to outweigh my desire for Rachel to be the winner of my season.
Tina, you had such a rocky road at times. And I really commend you for coming on here and wanting to talk about it. Because it's easy to talk about all the glory and all the things that went right. But a lot of times when it's frustrating, not as easy to do. And you've done a great job of talking about it. But for the future, are you open to more survivor? Or has your itch been scratched?
I am certainly open to more survivor. I think that, you know, and I've seen other people online and even people in my life say that like, I come back in a few years and I can really, I'll have grown and learned how to maybe regulate my emotions out there better, how to take my skills and really maximize them and not get, you know,
dog piled by other aspects of the game. And I truly do believe that with some more life experience, with some more distance from season 47, with some more like training to get myself into a better strategic acumen mindset, I could be a total force. But I do think that that time and that space away from being a player is necessary, I would say. What else do you want people to know about your time on Survivor?
really just that it's I'm so at peace with it first of all the fire losing the fire was devastating in that moment but upon like reflection I am I feel like it couldn't have worked out better I feel like it was extremely representative of my whole journey just kind of like
Things not going my way despite my best efforts, despite my intentions being in the right place, despite me preparing in so many ways. But I also, as a super fan of the show, as a passionate, passionate human who loves everything about Survivor, I'm so grateful that I got to see every side of the experience that I got to go to the jury and vote for Rachel to win the season and spend a day at Ponderosa.
And all in all, like, I have just been a survivor. I would not be myself without survivor. I'm a lucky person who got shown survivor by my mom. And when I was in fifth grade, and I truly do not know what my life would look like, not growing up with reality TV, not having RHAP to listen to, to enhance my experience.
The fact that I got to play it always felt kind of like more of a when and not an if. And I'm so grateful that at 24 years old, I can say I did it and that I have it to carry with me through everything I do for the rest of my life. And even the ups and downs of the game, I'm so at peace with the ups and downs of the watching back experience, the backlash that I've gotten, like, that's OK to you. I feel like anyone who watched the show and who gets me and who likes me,
are those are the people who I would want, you know, supporting me anyway. And so it's all just been wonderful and beautiful. And to speak about my identity and all that stuff too is just a cherry on top. So couldn't be happier, more relieved, liberated and at peace. Yeah. Well, Tini, as somebody who played Survivor when they were 24 years old, that there's so much of life that comes after Survivor. So we're just getting started.
Yes, I like to think so too. Yeah. Tina, anything else you want to let people know? I think I think I'm set. Thank you, Rob. Yeah, Tina, thank you so much. I appreciate all of your openness and candor about everything and great to catch up with you again and looking forward to hearing from you in Survivor 48. I'm so excited. I'm so, so excited. Thank you, Rob. You're ready to break down a new season?
I am very ready to break down a new season, preferably in the earlier side, because I know as it gets more in the weeds of strategy, I probably have a little bit less to offer. You'll be fine. You'll be fine. Okay. All right, Tina, where could people follow you? Instagram, teenychill with three Ls, Twitter, teenychill with two Ls, Substack, teeny.substack.com. And yeah. Okay. Thank you so much, teeny. Thanks everybody so much for joining us. Take care of a good one. Bye.
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