australian survivor jury villa shonee george flick sam

We Got The ‘Survivor’ Goss From Shonee, Sam And Flick In Jury Villa

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Australian Survivor continues to leave us gooped and gagged with every new episode and Monday’s instalment was no exception.

Survivor stans’ worst fears were realised as the Spice Girls alliance imploded, with George realising he was on the outs of the ‘Shiz’ crew, aka Shonee and Liz, so he executed one of the most devastating blindsides in Australian Survivor history by sending his longtime BFF Shonee to the jury.

I can’t cope, won’t cope. Like, can we pretend it was all just a bad dream?

It’s hard to summarise just how much of an impact Shonee had on this season: from her hilarious commentary and iconic quips in camp, to her wholesome friendship with Liz and George, Shonee’s third time competing on Survivor has been a joy to witness.

If her elimination wasn’t a bitter enough pill to swallow, Shonee was sent packing with an idol in a pocket which she had discovered earlier in the episode. Our girl was truly blindsided by George turning the majority of the tribe against her — she didn’t see it coming.

The only saving grace in this whole tragedy is that Liz is still in the game, and knowing her savage nature, she’s about to exact swift and unrelenting vengeance on anyone who wronged Shonee.

If fans are still feeling grim about Shon’s departure, never fear! I actually caught up with Survivor’s sassiest castaway in Jury Villa while I visited the set last September, and she was living her best life! Shonee was rested, relaxed, and thriving.

I also chatted with recently ousted contestants Flick and Sam to find out who they reckon will win — and their answers shocked me. I’ve done plenty of Survivor exit interviews over the years, but it was truly thrilling to hear how the recently eliminated contestants viewed their competition in real-time.

If you thought you could pick who the jury would vote as the season’s winner (*cough* George or Hayley *cough*) then think again!

We caught up with Shonee, Sam and Flick in Jury Villa to discuss all the Australian Survivor goss:

On why they decided to return to the game:

Flick: “For me, the reason I wanted to come back is because last time I played, my mum passed away, and then that clouded everything for me. To be able to come back, and just play Survivor, it’s been incredible.”

Shonee: “Last time, I didn’t really look out for my friends enough. I didn’t hand the advantage to Nick [on All Stars], I was like ‘damn it, I regret that.’ This time, I was like, ‘I need to look out for the alliance more.’ But… the way the cookie crumbles! [laughs]”

Flick: “The bastards!”

On Shonee’s state of mind towards the end of the game:

Shonee: “On day 33, I hit a wall, I wasn’t able to have conversations anymore, I was crying over how exhausted I felt. I was proud of myself [for lasting so long] but I was going down hill. I lost 13 percent of my body weight and I was just not feeling good. And now, I’ve got a bit more of my pizzazz back. I’m like one of those dinosaurs you put in water.”

On whether anyone was surprised by Hayley’s gameplay this season:

Flick: “I played with Hayley last time. I would say she definitely surprised me.”

Did you think you’d be in an alliance, given you played together before?

Flick: “Correct! And we were not! I’m sure after all this is said and done, we’ll be able to sit down with a glass or maybe a bottle, and figure out what happened. What I take away from it is people come in to this game and play with different moral compasses — ours are not the same.”

On whether Hayley could win again:

Shonee: “I don’t think she has much of a chance.”

Flick: “She wouldn’t be getting my vote. She’s already won one, don’t be greedy,” she said. “But it would be a valid strategy to bring her to end thinking she won’t win it.”

Sam: “Definitely not Hayley because she won’t win back to back. Hayley and George are very much alike and people probably think by taking Hayley to the end, they’ll beat her,” he said.

“Hayley is so good at lying that she believes it herself.”

On the unpredictable climate in Samoa:

Shonee: “Samoa was soo much harder than Fiji. The first five days it was raining constantly.”

Flick: “It was like a tropical storm, and I was like ‘Why did I sign up for this?’ It was damp and freezing cold. You wouldn’t think it being on an island, but it gets freezing.”

Shonee: “At one stage, I was just waiting around to be evacuated [laughs], like ‘yes, I’ll be in that dry tent soon’.”

On whether they would do Survivor again:

Flick: “The timing of my life will probably not work out unless it was in another five or eight years. On my radar next is my actual career: big wave surfing world tour… and babies! And then we’ll revisit reality TV after that.”

Shonee: “No. I’m done. I’ve had three great attempts, I’ve made jury every time. I’m proud of my efforts,” she said. “But like doing it four times? As if! No one wants to watch that anyways.”

Sidenote: This statement is highly debatable as I know I’d watch Shonee on Survivor until the end of days. 

On Shonee paying homage to her signature red dress this season:

Shonee: “I wore lilac, it’s exactly the same: little wrap dress number. I had a hair clip that said ‘SILK’ in diamantes because I love silk, so my outfits were on point, I believe.”

Flick: “I did like seeing the newbies come out in the clothes they come in.”

Shonee: “On the first day, all the returnees are wearing slides and socks because that’s how you get an additional item [of clothing] for free, but then there’s these new people and I’m like: ‘Where are your socks and sandals??’… ‘Oh you need to come under my wing, hunny!'”

On who they hope will win and who they think will win:

Shonee: “I hope that Liz will win, I am obsessed. She’s so good, she says what everyone is thinking but no one will say it. She’s so funny, she’s so strong, she’s an Olympian, she’s got it in her… I would vote for her above anyone.

“But I think Simon will win. He just gets through every time!”

Flick: I agree! I want Simon to win! Coming into this game, if you told me that by the end I’d want Simon to win, I would have slapped you across the face,” she said. “Now that I’m out, my perspective has changed on him. I want Simon to win, he’s been left out of every conversation — to be fair enough, he has burnt everyone — but he own it, whereas someone like George doesn’t own it. As the juror, I appreciate when someone owns their mistakes.”

Shonee: “He’s been left out of everything, he never knows anything! But somehow he just never gives up, he keeps going, and it is so endearing.”

Flick: “The only other person I’d really want to see win is Nina. Number one, she has an amazing story: her mum came here and won Heroes V Villains so for her to go do it [too] would be an incredible story. But I also feel she’s very very smart, and she’s coming into her own this half of the game. She was in my alliance too, and she’s just so quirky and cute. I love Nina.”

Sam: “I reckon Simon or Nina will win,” he said. “Simon has been playing such a weird, wild lone-wolf game, like he’s been a lost person the whole game but has managed to hold on — and he speaks the truth!”

“And Nina is a great girl, even though she wrote my name down once, I forgave her. I like Nina and Simon because he’s laughable. I mean who knows? Maybe Matt could win.”

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Australian Survivor airs Sunday to Tuesday at 7:30pm on Channel 10 and 10Play.