australian survivor liz winner

‘Australian Survivor’ Winner Liz Spills On Shonee, George And Becoming A Meme Queen

Tell us you love Punkee without telling us you love Punkee. Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter. It'll mean the world.

She was one-third of the Spice Girls and one-half of Shiz, but pole vaulter Liz Parnov proved she was more than enough flying solo as the Olympian was crowned Sole Survivor on last night’s Australian Survivor finale.

After winning the immunity necklace in a gruelling endurance challenge, Liz voted her longtime ally George Mladenov into the jury, before going into battle against Gerry Geltch and Matt Sharp. Sorry to these men, but they had zero chance against Liz’s tour de force of a pitch to the jury.

Watch Liz’s pitch for yourself below (we bow down):

Liz received every single jury vote, even copping a winning vote from George. She’s an icon, she’s a legend, and she is the moment!

We spoke to (a rather hungover) Liz about her iconic Australian Survivor win, her bestie Shonee, frenemy George, and her newfound fame as a meme queen.

On whether she felt confident she was going to win:

“I felt confident in my pitch, but confident I was going to win? Not necessarily. I just feel like in the game of Survivor, things are always moving and changing so fast. I feel like at that stage in the game, it’s really hard to read people. As much as I felt good, I couldn’t get a gage on the jury. I was trying to make eye contact but they weren’t giving me any kind of signal, no one gave me anything!”

On whether her experience with Gerry was similar to Shaun, who shared last night that Gerry didn’t try to get to know him:

“I had a great relationship with Gerry. I obviously spent more time with him as I was out there longer, but no, Gerry was lovely. We got along very well, he’s a great bloke.”

On at what stage Liz decided to take George out:

“I think it was the Shonee vote [when George campaigned against Shonee] — that to me was just devastating and it really showed to me that he’s playing the game and I can’t let my personal relationship with him be the anchor of how I make my decisions. Before that, I was playing quite emotionally, forgetting that it was a game and I’m meant to be a savage.

From that point, I knew I had to make my move when the time with right because with a player like George, you can’t miss your shot, or you’ll end up on that bench. I had to wait it out but luckily, it all lined up perfectly to get rid of him,” she said.

“I think sitting next to George at the end, it would be impossible to win against him. So regardless of who was on that jury, I think having George there at the end is a bad call if you want to win half a million dollars.”

On continuing a friendship with George after he betrayed the Spice Girls:

“It’s really interesting in Survivor, you need to curve your emotions and feelings. If you sit on things and take them too personally, for too long, they’ll affect your game, and you won’t be able to progress. As much as I was upset he got rid of Shonee, I understood the move and I respected his decision.”

On finding out George voted her to win:

“That was really beautiful. I was nervous because the night before he went to the jury and I was unsure how he felt. But I know deep down in my heart that George respects the game and he votes for gameplay, and he would have loved the move on him, as much as it would have hurt.

The fact that George voted for me was just so sweet and a real testament to our friendship throughout the game.”

On why she formed such a tight bond with Spice Girls, Shonee and George:

“It happened really naturally. I went in there with an open mind wanting to get to know everyone,” she said. “I got to know Shonee and George and we just clicked and we formed a really great friendship that I think will last us a really long time in the real world. We just saw eye-to-eye, we were cheeky and witty, and wanted to have some fun in the game so we formed an alliance.”

On what her unwavering friendship with Shonee meant to her this season:

“She was honestly my rock out there. To have someone who you genuinely connect with out there in such a high pressure, stressful game… it was really nice to have that person who I felt I could be 100 percent myself around, and honest with, and we supported one another.”

On Shonee’s reaction to Liz being named Sole Survivor:

“She was so ecstatic and so thrilled. She just said ‘I knew you were going to do it, I always knew.'”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Shonee Bowtell (@shoneefairfax)

On whether she’s still close to Shonee:

“Yeah, I’m actually planning to visit her soon in Noosa.”

On Simon becoming the surprise fan favourite this season:

“The fact that he lasted as long as he did at the bottom by constantly finding ways to stay in the game — it’s pretty amazing. Kudos to him! He deserved that change of narrative because if Simon kept playing that game, and ended up at the end, and I was on the jury, I would have voted for him [to win] because it takes a lot of balls and guts to be on the bottom and stay fighting.”

On living on as a meme queen among Survivor fans for the foreseeable future:

“I would be honoured to be a meme. I feel like my resting bitch face has really come through this season: my constant eye-rolls, daggers, and side-eyes. I love it! Make me a meme!”

On how she plans to spend the prize money:

“I’d like to be sensible and invest it in my future, along with giving back to my mum and dad for everything they’ve done raising me — so just wholesome, nice stuff, nothing crazy.”

On whether she would play Survivor again:

“If I was to be asked in a year or two, I would say yes! I’d love to go back and have another try!”

–

Spice Girls reunion tour, WHEN??