Exclusive: Cirie Fields talks 'Survivor': Brad Culpepper's challenge wins didn't impress me, it was like defeating 5-year-old kids

Cirie Fields finished Survivor: Game Changers in sixth place during Wednesday night's Season 34 finale on CBS.


Cirie, a 46-year-old four-time Survivor player and fan-favorite from Norwalk, CT, finished behind Aubry Bracco in fifth place, Tai Trang in fourth place, Troy "Troyzan" Robertson in third place, Brad Culpepper in second place, and finally Sarah Lacina, who won the $1 million grand prize.

Cirie's ouster was totally unexpected, as no one from her tribe even voted for her. Cirie was eliminated from the game after all of the other castaways either won Individual Immunity, played a hidden Immunity Idol or played a "Legacy Advantage," which also served as a safety net. Her exit was shocking and definitely a Survivor first in many regards.

During an exclusive interview with Reality TV World on Thursday, Cirie talked about her Survivor: Game Changers experience. Below is the first half of her interview.

Reality TV World: Why did you vote for Sarah to win?


Cirie Fields: Because out of the three people that were sitting there, I thought she deserved it the most. She made a lot of moves, she flip-flopped back and forth, she was able to get back in and have people trust her enough that they'd want to go to the end with her.

Reality TV World: Are you surprised Brad didn't get more votes, and that Troyzan didn't at least get one?

Cirie Fields: No, not really. I'm surprised that Brad got all the votes that he did get. (Laughs) You know, I like Brad. I like Culpepper a lot; however, Brad didn't really get to know the people, you know what I mean? That's why he couldn't really answer the question [Michaela Bradshaw] posed to him about knowing anything about her.

Had he known his people and his audience, he would've known that they weren't going to be upset. He was banking on everyone being so mad at Sarah for her gameplay that they would automatically give [the money] to him, but that just wasn't so.

Reality TV World: Do you feel pretty much screwed over by the way idols and advantages were played at the Tribal Council when you went home? (Laughs)


Cirie Fields: You know what? I don't know. It's a weird feeling I have. I don't feel -- I guess maybe because I'm such a fan, I don't feel screwed over. (Laughs)

I feel like it happened, but it happened though! I'm more in awe of that happening on the show that I've loved for so long, that sometimes I forget that it happened to me and caused me not to win. But I thought it was amazing, actually!

Reality TV World: Given there were so many idols in the game at the point of your ouster, do you think there should've been a rule change that everyone must declare whether they are going to use an idol at the same time? Each person got to play his or her idol after seeing who played one moments before.

Cirie Fields: Yeah, at that time, I wasn't really thinking. I wasn't nervous and I hadn't slept well, so I don't think my mind was working at full capacity. I was just like, in shock, like a viewer!

In those moments, I felt like I was watching the television, and then reality kicked in and it was like, "Oh shoot. Wait a minute, [Jeff Probst], that means I'm out?" It was weird. I had mixed emotions. I didn't really think about the rules or technicality of everything that was going on.


Reality TV World: So I was also going to ask since you're a four-time player whether you thought the "Legacy Advantage" was too powerful of a prize. But based on what you're saying, it sounds like you appreciate all the twists and turns Survivor has to offer. (Laughs)

Cirie Fields: Yeah, you know, I'm a fan. So I love it. It's just like the players, when Jeff says you have to constantly change and move, the game is doing that. So it has to have these new things brought in, and I'm just flattered to be the one whom they were all used and introduced on at the same time! (Laughs)

Reality TV World: If you had taken Sarah out when you planned to at the Final 6, how were you hoping the rest of the game would play out? And whom were you hoping to go to the end with?

Cirie Fields: Well, I thought and I was hoping that because of how Brad treated Tai -- and now with Sarah gone, whom everyone was in love with -- Tai would have to fulfill and be obligated, almost by default because he wouldn't want to go back with Brad and those guys -- to come over to [Michaela Bradshaw], myself and Aubry. And then we can get rid of Brad and Troyzan and hash it out after that.

Reality TV World: You seemed pretty certain at least for a while you wanted to take Sarah to the end. Why was that? Because most of the castaways, including Andrea, seemed to think that would be a bad move since she played such an aggressive game. And now we know Sarah went on to win the whole thing.


Cirie Fields: Well, Sarah did play an outwardly aggressive game, but I feel like I played as well more behind the scenes because I couldn't be aggressive like she was. I couldn't show everybody the moves I was making. I had to kind of work behind the scenes, because if I sneezed, they were all on me, like, "Look, is she sneezing?!" (Laughs)

"Vote her out." And [they'd think], "Did she move? Vote her out?" And "I think she went to the left twice, vote her out."I had to not let anybody see me do anything and kind of get things done that I needed done through other people. So I would say that, and if I was able to get to the jury and speak to that, I think they would have appreciated it.

Reality TV World: So had you made it to the Final 3, do you think you could have beaten Brad? And Sarah?

Cirie Fields: I think I definitely would've beaten Brad, only because listen, Brad won five challenges, and I like Brad. Brad fished a lot, but again, Brad didn't really know his audience. I mean, he knew surface stuff, but he didn't really get down into knowing the players you spent 39 days with.

So knowing that and knowing the relationships Brad did not have, I would have been fine sitting next to Brad. Maybe I'm foolish in thinking I could beat Sarah, but I always felt like if you gave me a chance to get in front of the jury, then I can speak and win my case and have them vote for me.


Reality TV World: Do you think, because of the way Survivor has evolved in recent years, jury members find Individual Immunity Challenge wins less impressive? Ozzy Lusth seemed to be the only person really impressed by that. Or do you think Brad's wins didn't get a lot of hype because people almost expected he'd win since he's a professional athlete?

Cirie Fields: It was so funny. I think it was a little bit of both. Brad used to talk about how he was winning challenges once we got back to camp, and Michaela, I believe, said she wasn't impressed because she made the analogy that it was like Brad -- being the athlete that he is, and running around screaming and talking about how great he is and how he won -- performed at the Special Olympics.

Even though I was one of those Special Olympics people, it was just he went in as a 100 percent athlete. And I don't mean to say 100 percent, because I know Brad is older and I know he has some career injuries, but compared to the rest of us that were there, it made him at 100 percent and we were like little kids.

So it's like winning a basketball game against a five-year-old. You're going to give him praise for that? And I think that's why it didn't impact us the way it should have or the way it has in previous seasons, because that is a big deal -- to win five challenges back to back. And knowing you need to win to stay is a huge deal.

However, with everything else that went on and the fact he won against, like, me in challenges, it wasn't so impressive... Had he won those five against Ozzy and [Malcolm Freberg] and Tom Westman, I think everyone would've given him a standing ovation. But he's winning against Cirie, Aubry, Tai. And I'm not saying that Tai is not a great athlete, but we're not up to his caliber in athleticism.

To read more exclusive interviews with the Final 6 castaways, check Reality TV World's Survivor: Game Changers webpage.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski