Exclusive: Francesca Hogi talks 'Survivor: Caramoan -- Fans vs. Favorites' (Part 2)

Francesca Hogi, a 38-year-old attorney from Brooklyn, NY, was eliminated from her Bikal "Favorites" tribe during Survivor: Caramoan -- Fans vs. Favorites' premiere episode last Wednesday night on CBS.


Francesca was voted out of her tribe at the 26th edition's first Tribal Council, the first elimination vote for Bikal. She had also coincidentally been eliminated first when she previously competed on Survivor: Redemption Island.

In an exclusive interview with Reality TV World, Francesca talked about her short-lived Survivor experience. Below is the concluding portion of Francesca's interview. Click here to read the first half.

Reality TV World: When you requested your alliance should split the votes between Phillip Sheppard and Corinne Kaplan, do you think that's one of the reasons or the main reason why Dawn Meehan, Andrea Boehlke and John Cochran decided they didn't want to stay with you? It seemed like maybe they thought you were a little flaky or too susceptible to changing your mind?

Francesca Hogi: I don't know. I mean, that's not really a question for me. It's a question for them more than me, but I don't think so. I think at that point, we knew there was a hidden Immunity Idol.


I knew that Corinne and [Malcolm Freberg] were together for sure. I knew that Phillip was also part of that alliance, and you know, I just felt like Phillip was being very tight-lipped with me of course. Corinne and Malcolm also. They had nothing to say to me about it.

So I was like, I felt like splitting the vote was just a safe thing to do. I mean, if anybody viewed that as flighty, I don't think that had anything to do with it, but I don't know. Maybe if you asked Andrea or Cochran, they would have a different answer for you. But I don't think that that was the issue.

Reality TV World: Do you think the fact you were concerned about being the first person voted out of Survivor twice, or at least that's what the editing made it look like, played a significant role in your gameplay? Do you think you might've come out a little less strong than you seemed to come out this time if you didn't have that worry hanging over your head?

Francesca Hogi: Yeah, I mean... It wasn't really hanging over my head because I really didn't go into the game thinking I was going to be voted out first again. So it wasn't like something I was really scared of happening. So I mean, if anything, I definitely wanted to just -- I wanted to have an alliance of people that I trusted and I could work with.

And I wanted to just do the best that I could for my tribe. But I don't think I was really motivated by fear. But I don't know, maybe I should've been. (Laughs) But yeah, I mean, I don't know. It's definitely something that people talked about and I was asked about, and so of course I was going to answer about being voted out first. But it wasn't something I was really afraid of happening.


Reality TV World: I want to ask you a couple questions about Malcolm. No one obviously knew anything about him when you filmed the show last year because his season hadn't aired yet, and he seemed to kind of be the one person you never considered for your alliance. Did he kind of separate himself from the rest of you guys out there or was it a case where you guys all kind of knew each other and he was the odd man out? Social dynamic-wise, what was going on?

Francesca Hogi: I don't feel that Malcolm separated himself at all. I think everyone, we all got along with Malcolm. Malcolm, I think he definitely -- this is my opinion, of course -- but I think he had his ideas about who he wanted to work with based on whatever he had seen in previous seasons or whatever, because obviously he didn't know anyone.

Like I said, Malcolm and Corinne were instantly kind of a pair, so I think if anything, he would've just -- he was with Corinne and they were kind of with Phillip and they just kind of did their own thing. But I don't think that Malcolm was like on his own out there. He was definitely a part of the group.

Reality TV World: Was there ever a point when you guys were kind of wary or worried about why Malcolm was suddenly invited back again? Were you considered he might've been like a Russell Hantz-type player? And did you ever ask him why he was playing back-to-back seasons and what happened to him or why he thought he had been brought back so quickly?

Francesca Hogi: Yeah, we definitely talked about that. We did ask him that. I did speculate on Day 1 like, "Well maybe the safest thing to do is just to get rid of this guy because he's a complete wild card and we have no idea what his feeling was or what we're dealing with, and obviously he made an impact on his season. So this is not someone to take lightly."


But you know, once we got past that initial kind of "getting to know you" phase of the very first days. And I think we knew, especially because we were kind of physically out-manned by the "Fans" tribe, Malcolm is just a prototypical Survivor player -- a young, strong guy. So I don't think anyone was ever gonna consider voting him out early.

Reality TV World: What was your reaction when producers first approached you to see if you'd be interested in playing the game again? Was it a no-brainer decision for you? Had you told them before you'd definitely love to play again or was it something you had to think about?

Francesca Hogi: No, it was not a no-brainer decision. They first approached me actually while Redemption Island was still airing, and at that time, I figured, "Well, this season is just airing now and this is why I am on the radar, but this will go away and I won't ever have to even deal with the question of whether or not I would play again," because I really didn't think that I wanted to play again.

But when they called me again, well I just figured, "There's no way they'll cast me. There's no way they'll cast me. I like to say 'yes' to things. I like to say 'yes' to experiences. So, I'll just 'yes' and I won't get cast. And so, it won't be an issue." (Laughs) That was my reaction and "oops." That was a big "oops." (Laughs)

Reality TV World: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you're the first person ever voted off first who was invited back to play again. Did you ever ask the producers what made them decide to invite you back? And if so, what was their explanation? If you didn't ask the producers, do you have any theories of your own?


Francesca Hogi: Yeah I did ask. I was like, "What am I doing here? This doesn't make any sense." They just said that everyone liked me and [Jeff Probst] always said that people still talk to him about me, and they felt that I kind of got a raw deal the first time, and you know, they just wanted to see what I could do and that I was by far the most popular first boot ever. So they wanted to give me another chance.

Reality TV World: In your final words, you mentioned you were going to start cheering for the "Fans." I know you only spent a very limited amount of time with them at the challenges and stuff, but were there any particular fans that stuck out to you and you began rooting for after you were voted out?

Francesca Hogi: No. Honestly, no. (Laughs) I mean, they all kind of blended together. We called all the blonde girls the Bethennys, because they kind of looked like their name could be Bethenny and we can't tell them apart. And I couldn't really tell the guys apart, so no. I did not leave thinking of rooting for any particular fan, but I was just collectively rooting for their tribe.

Above is the concluding portion of Francesca's interview. Click here to read the first half.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski