In the game of Survivor, the sins of another can often seal your fate. Unfortunately for marketing manager Kelley Wentworth, it wasn’t just the sins of another that ended her game — it was the sins of her father.
After surviving super-bro Drew Christy‘s laser-focused campaign against her last week, Kelley was no longer able to dodge the proverbial bullet following the tribe shake-up on this week’s episode of Survivor: San Juan del Sur — Blood vs. Water. Kelley wound up on the same tribe as her farmer father Dale, alongside two other pairs: mother-daughter Missy and Baylor, and hottest-couple-period Jaclyn and Jon. Also on the tribe: poor Keith, all on his lonesome without a loved one. (Unless his hidden immunity idol counts as a loved one. It probably should.)
On paper, Keith looked like an easy sacrifice for the newly coupled-up Coyopa tribe. Instead, the couples turned against each other, thanks to the brewing animosity between Dale and Missy — specifically, Dale’s turbulent history with Baylor, and his disapproval of Missy’s methods of portioning the camp’s rice. In the end, it was Kelley, not Dale, who paid the ultimate rice price, knocked out of the game by the new power alliance of Jon, Jaclyn, Missy, Baylor and Keith.
We didn’t see much of Kelley until these past two episodes, but based on what we did see, she looked like a level-headed player who fell victim to some very bad luck. Was there anything Kelley could have done to stop the vote? Does she blame her dad for her exit from the game? I asked Kelley about all that and more:
You’re a longtime Survivor fan. How far back does that fandom go, and when did you know you wanted to try out for the show?
Season one! Oh gosh, I’m one of the original viewers, absolutely. My dad and I applied for Amazing Race a few years back, and then we were contacted about playing Survivor. Being a longtime fan, I was like, “Shoot, why haven’t I thought of that before? Absolutely, I’m in. Where do I sign up?” That’s really it. Short and sweet.
Does being a deep-cut Survivor fan make going out early hurt even more?
Oh, it totally crushed me. Let me tell you what really disappointed me: the fact that I got voted out before a lot of people who had no clue about the show or what’s going on. I’m sure, as a viewer, you can see it. I think maybe 75% of the cast had seen two episodes and had watched them right before they got on the plane to go to Nicaragua. It’s a bit frustrating. That’s the worst part for me.
It was something that Drew brought up a lot, when he was coming after you. “Kelley’s seen every season of Survivor, so she’s a huge threat.” Do you agree with that? Does having a lot of Survivor know-how give you a leg-up over the people that haven’t seen as much of the show? Or does it put a bigger target on your back?
Well, I think it makes you a threat when you’re with people who haven’t seen an episode! [Laughs] Absolutely! I mean, please, put me with a Cochran. I’d even take a freaking Russell Hantz. Come on, man. I just need somebody who is on my level. But I understand where Drew was coming from. I was laying really low and sneaking by. People didn’t know who I was aligned with. I take it as a compliment from Drew.
When you got out there and started sizing people up, who did you pinpoint as people you could work with — people who were on your level?
Jeremy was number one. We talked within five minutes of hitting the beach. You saw that in episode one. And I really liked Reed. I wanted to work with him. It didn’t work out that way because of some craziness in the first couple of days. He has such a bright personality and he’s so happy. Even on the worst days, he’s such a happy character.
But one of the things that was difficult with Reed… I approached him and said, “Hey, let’s work together. Let’s find some people to hook up with here.” And apparently he was going around to other people stirring up some drama saying, “Oh, the girls are getting together. It’s the guys against the girls. And this person has an idol.” I didn’t really hear much of that, but apparently it was going on. So I couldn’t align with him, because people would wonder why I was aligning with this crazy person.
You saw the first Blood vs. Water before your season…
I did, yes.
What lessons did you take from that season, heading into yours? It’s a very different version of Survivor than we’re used to seeing. Did you go out there willing to vote against your father if you had to, for instance?
I definitely was ready to vote out my dad. I made it very clear when I was on Hunahpu that if my dad goes, it’s all good. I’m not going to be upset. If we make the merge, I’m totally cool with working with you guys and not working with him. Because it is a singles game — one person wins. I did consider writing his name down [last night] but it wouldn’t have mattered. There was too much going on. Even if it came to a tie vote, they still would’ve voted me out.
You don’t think there was any chance that you could’ve gone to the others in your tribe, after the switch, and said, “I’m aware that my dad’s rubbing you the wrong way. I know it’s disrupting the peace here. I can live with sending him home.” That wouldn’t have worked?
You know … let me just tell you that Jon was so against the singles that if I had voted my dad out… he didn’t want any singles on the tribe. It was better to be a block of two. It’s possible I could have voted out my dad and squeezed by another Tribal Council. I don’t know. But Jon was just really, really difficult. “Come on, open your eyes, look at what’s going on here.” I could have done that, but it didn’t happen that way, so, oh well.
Why did they come after you? Why didn’t they come after your dad?
Well, it’s a couple of things. First of all, it had come to Missy that I wanted Jon out [when we were on Hunahpu], so Jon knew. He obviously thought, “I need to get Kelley out before she gets me out.” I think just looking between my dad and myself, I was more of a threat. I had alliance members over on Hunahpu that I totally would have connected with at the merge. My dad was kind of by himself. I love you dad, but… he didn’t have anyone else at this point. He was an easy throwaway.
Straight up: Is it your dad’s fault that you went home?
No! No, it’s not my dad’s fault. No. I would never blame my dad. We both came to the tribe swap with zero alliance members, or maybe half an ally. It’s on both of us. It was our job to figure out a way to make it work, and unfortunately we didn’t. That’s on me. I’m not going to blame him.
Did the three pairs ever discuss getting rid of Keith? Just making this easy on all of you and getting rid of the one single?
Yeah, it was brought up. I think there was just too much fear of all the couples. If you break it down, and you get rid of Keith, that leaves a single [in Wes] on the other side. Jon was terrified of the singles. If you got rid of Keith, and then we lost next time, and then you get rid of me, you still have a single. So it came down to the two pairs who were left — Jon and Jaclyn, and Missy and Baylor — wanting to get rid of a full couple before the merge. Does that happen? I can’t say. But I think that’s where their heads were at.
You get to the Hero Arena. Jeff tells you to drop your buffs. Nightmare scenario?
Total nightmare. Total nightmare. I was crying inside. I was so bummed out. Not good. Absolutely not. Gosh, if I had even one single person — I would’ve even taken Julie! My goodness, we could swing Keith, we could do something. But those three pairs of loved ones, two votes for each couple, it was very, very, very difficult. I knew it would be.
Let’s say the swap never happens. The season plays Old Hunahpu versus Old Coyopa. What was your game plan? What were you thinking at this point in the game, before the shuffle?
Target number one was obviously Jon. Drew was gone, so we were looking at Jon next. If we weren’t looking at Jon, I think Keith would’ve been an easy vote-out, and then we would’ve gone for Jon. At that time, me, Jeremy, Julie and Natalie would’ve had the numbers to get out Jon. … Jeremy, Natalie and I were a tight three.
Old Hunahpu crushed it in the challenges, but otherwise, you guys were a mess. Losing the flint, trading the flint, finding the old flint, trying to trade it again, four people getting votes at your first Tribal Council…
It’s all these amateur players! Nobody knows what the hell is going on! I tried to tell everybody, “Don’t do that. Not a good idea. We can’t barter a second time.” Oh my gosh. It was just so impossible to tell these people. They didn’t have a clue. It was such a mess. Watching it back, I was just like, “Oh my. I don’t want to talk about this ever again.” Just a total disaster. Natalie put it best: Hot. Mess.
You got to play with your dad for three days on the island. You didn’t get to see his game at Coyopa until you went home and started watching the season. What did you think of how your dad was doing in those first four episodes, after you watched them? Was he doing better or worse than you expected before the game started?
I saw him having conversations with people and sitting with the tribe… well, minus the first day where he was making fire, but… it looked like he was talking to the young kids. I thought maybe he really was trying. But I also thought he wasn’t building those few critical relationships that you need to have. Or those people just went out; John Rocker, I think he was close to. But I knew it was going to be a little bit harder for him. It’s interesting to see what happened with their tribe. I think he did a good job. We all made mistakes.
What did you think of your dad cracking his glasses in half to start the fire?
Well, I knew he specifically brought his reading glasses because he might have to start a fire with them. What was he going to need them for? Reading a clue? The font’s like size 72. He doesn’t need his reading glasses for that! I thought it was great. I think his tribe really needed him. I’m glad that some of them appreciated it, and I’m kind of annoyed with the few people who thought it was no big deal.
As a Survivor fan, what’s your honest take on the season thus far? Based on what you experienced out there, what you’re seeing now, and what you’ve seen of Survivor in the past, do you have a sense as to what this season’s legacy might be?
I think it’s been interesting. I do want to say that I think there was a lot more strategy happening then what viewers are getting to see. With Blood vs. Water, you want to focus on those relationships, so you miss some of that strategy. I know I was talking to people all day, and it looks like I wasn’t doing anything. I think it’s going to be interesting. I’m only super pumped about a couple of people who are left out there. And I’m going to be bummed out if a couple of the other people win, because I just… don’t think they deserve it. I mean, they beat me, so that’s great. But as a fan, I’m kind of like, ugh. There’s a few people I think really deserve it, and a few people who don’t.
PREVIOUSLY ON SURVIVOR
— Survivor 29 Cast Revealed: See Who Is Competing On San Juan Del Sur
— First Blood: Nadiya Anderson On Her Survivor Girl Problems
— Survivor Contestant Val Collins Digs Into Her False Idols
— John Rocker: ‘I Was Miserable’ On Survivor
— Drew Christy On His Really, Really Bad-Looking Survivor Exit