Andy Rueda reflecting on his remarkable performance “Survivor” Travel
After being voted off Rachel Lamont’s shocking Idol play, the 31-year-old AI research assistant spoke exclusively to The Post about how he suffered through a public breakdown for the third day running. Masterminding his “Operation: Italy” plan With this he almost won the game.
“I’ve done a lot of work on how it happened, why it happened, like what was going on there,” Rueda said.
He also called the incident “unprecedented” and “unnatural”.
Read Rueda’s full interview below.
New York Post: Do you think your last conversation with Rachel was the nail in the coffin and inspired you to vote?
Andy Rueda: I think it’s definitely contributed to that goal change. Sam For me. I would say that after Operation: Taking Out Italy and Caroline, Sue Wasn’t happy with me. She wanted my head on a hook. So both of them were cooperating on who to throw out. Sue’s preference was that I go. That being said, you know, if push came to shove, I think it’s certainly possible that Rachel could push Sue to vote for Sam, if that’s what they wanted to do. . But in the context of that conversation, I think it kind of sealed the deal.
Did you ever seriously consider rooting for Rachel and Sue to vote out Sam?
I had a plan Genevieve Immunity didn’t want to actually go to them and work with them and use the block vote to take Genevieve out. I thought it would be the best-case scenario, but he won immunity. And so going back, I was considering my options because we could have done the same thing with Sam, but I don’t think it would have been as attractive a move. And then Rachel, when she first said that the three of us should get rid of Sam, said something to me. She looked at me and said, ‘By the way Andy, if you lie to me one more time and vote for me, Sue and I will never vote for you on the jury.’ And she was like a threat, which is like a risky game in Survivor history. But it totally worked on me because I just saw it, I was like, ‘I can’t risk that happening.’ So that led to that kind of decision making in the context of not being with her and having that specific conversation in which I’m telling her I’m voting for her.
Was your plan to get rid of Genevieve and Sam and go to the Final 3? tiny And the lawsuit?
I feel like it was very clear to us that Genevieve was going to be a fugitive threat in terms of the jury vote. So I think in all cases there would definitely have been enough momentum to ensure that she would be eliminated from the final five if she didn’t win immunity. So I definitely wasn’t comfortable sitting next to Genevieve. In my opinion, sitting next to Rachel would have been an extremely uphill battle. But I felt like if I had played all my cards right and all my bets had been successful and I had done everything I wanted to do in the final game I could have been sitting next to Teeny, Sue and even So that I can give myself a chance against Sam.
How disappointing was it to constantly be told that the jury did not respect your game?
It was its own roller coaster because the way I adapted to the game after waking up on the fourth day was to play into my low perception and really take advantage of it. So to a large extent, it was a feature, not a bug in my game, that took me so far. But on a strategic level, I knew I needed to change that perception at some point, and definitely start to reverse that narrative.
On an emotional level, it’s hard to say, ‘These people think I’m worthless.’ It’s kind of a shame. So on all accounts, it was a very rough and tough way to play the game. But I feel like I did a lot of things right in terms of managing my threat level and timing a really interesting but narrow path to a potential win, which would definitely include a chance at Final Tribal Council. To make sure everyone knew I was there. To be aware of these notions and destroy them.
What was the reaction from the jury when you got there?
I go inside. I’m worried I’m walking into a cold reception. I was welcomed very warmly, which is really nice. I sat there. I talked about my game. It wasn’t as epic and powerful as it would have been at Final Tribal Council. But I presented it in a way and I had a gratifying moment with the jury. His jaw dropped a little and he started saying, ‘Andy, whoa, whoa.’ It’s a nice consolation prize because it’s over in the Ponderosa. But I had that moment where I think they saw the merits in the game that I was playing.
How do you view the ordeal you had to endure in front of everyone on the third day during the premiere episode?
I’ve done a lot of work back home trying to figure out exactly how it happened, why it happened, like what was going on there. I have lived 31 years of my life. I consider this a very unprecedented and, in my opinion, unnatural kind of moment for me. But Survivor is so hard in a lot of ways that people can’t watch from the couch and you never know how you’re going to react in that moment. The beginning of the game was particularly difficult for me, especially the beginning of the second day. There was anxiety coming out that…in the real world I have anxiety and I have coping mechanisms to deal with it. And in Survivor, not only were they not there, but my efforts to find them were greatly hampered.
And then it all culminated in the same physical challenge where I suffered heat exhaustion. It was a moment and I had to really process it and be who I was. And the same thing happened with me. But undoubtedly, there is a way forward. In sport I recovered, grew and learned every day. And then I come back home and this season is the second part of the season where it’s like dealing with the wild ups and downs of people reacting to you as a TV character.
But this entire year has been a year of growth. I learned a lot from every single day there, including the third day. And I can just take that with me and move on. And I know that all the people who matter in my life couldn’t be more proud of me.
The “Survivor 47” finale airs next Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
