Exclusive: Monica Padilla talks 'Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance' (Part 2)

Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance's Bayon tribe snuffed Monica Padilla's torch during Season 31's fifth episode Wednesday night on CBS.


Monica, who previously competed on Survivor: Samoa, became the fifth castaway voted out of the game. Her new Bayon tribe ousted her via a 3-2-1 vote instead of Spencer Bledsoe and Kelly Wiglesworth at their first Tribal Council session on Night 13 of the game.

Monica was completely blindsided by her fellow tribemates, as she thought she was part of an alliance of four. However, Kimmi Kappenberg rallied Jeremy Collins and Stephen Fishbach around her to vote out Monica for wanting to start an all-female alliance behind their backs.

In an exclusive interview with Reality TV World on Thursday, Monica talked about her Survivor experience. Below is the concluding portion. Click here to read the first half.

Reality TV World: In previous episodes, you were shown talking about how you wanted to target Spencer the second you could. What happened to change that? Because you obviously thought your alliance was going to get rid of Wiglesworth instead. Did Spencer cozy up to Jeremy more than you thought he was capable of or did everyone just start viewing him as a challenge asset?


Monica Padilla: Well, what happened is they did see him as a challenge asset, but at the same time, what happened that you didn't see is that, for some reason, Kimmi was really gung-ho about taking Wiglesworth out -- which is weird. [Kimmi] said she had other alliances and loyalties.

And I just kept looking at it going, "Well, what I gather, most of the people she would've been loyal to are gone. [Jeff Varner] is gone. She's not really playing a hard game, she works hard at camp, she's really cool and chill, she's not being overly aggressive, so why get rid of her?"

And the minute I even said that, you know, Kimmi was like, "Well, we gotta get rid of her!" I don't even see why that was the case. But I changed my mind because I didn't want to cause a huge stink, especially if my name was on the line.

So if they want to go with Spencer, then for right now, I'll figure it out. And down the line, I can work with Spencer. That's fine. But my end game did not make amends of the fact they wanted to get rid of Kelly rather than Spencer. I figured I would figure it out.

Reality TV World: So did you think they were making a big mistake in choosing to keep Spencer? And did you fight harder to get rid of him than viewers saw at least?


Monica Padilla: I didn't want to fight too hard. I said, "Listen, I don't know." And I also didn't want them running back and saying that I was an enemy more to Spencer than to Kelly. I didn't want them turning either of them against me if they did stay in the game. So I tried to play, "Well, what do you guys think? What do you guys think?"

And that's a funny thing with Second Chance players, is they never really want to tell you what they think because they're so cautious about it being turned against them.

And so for me, I tried to play with, "Well, I kind of think this is more of a better idea, but if you guys don't want that, that's cool." I didn't want to appear to schemey, but apparently I came in and they just thought I was super schemey and playing a hard game than I should have. But, I don't know.

Reality TV World: Fishbach really seemed to struggle with whether to vote you off or Wiglesworth. He said getting rid of you might send a bad message to Bayon because they eliminated one of their own and it could violate previously-established bonds. Do you think the former Bayon members would have a real reason to worry about that going forward?

Monica Padilla: Yeah, I would think so! I think it just shows that even though you were on an original tribe [with people], those alliances won't really stick.


I mean, I know you want to go to the end and be all Bayon at the end, but even just based on last night's vote, you better realize that that's a pipedream. (Laughs) If it happens, cool. But, I mean, how often does it really happen -- that the majority just goes all the way to the end?

Reality TV World: Kimmi called you "a snake in the grass" and accused you of playing Survivor for yourself and not the Bayon tribe. She also dubbed you a "flipper" and "loose cannon." What was your reaction when you heard all of that?

Monica Padilla: I was just like, "Are you kidding right now?! What basis do you have for any of this?" She just seems like a really irrational human being. I mean, as an educated person, if you just look at the game from a rational basis, you would see that that just sounds stupid. (Laughs)

It's like, I came to you and said I wanted an all-girls alliance, which means you're a girl and we'll go to the end and we'll get rid of the bro alliance. Why would you then go to the bros and tell them about it? You're the ultimate rat! Who's the real snake in the grass? Me or Kimmi? I don't know after watching last night's episode. I think it's obvious it's more her.

Reality TV World: So in your eyes, you weren't really flipping on your Bayon alliance? It sounds like you wanted a sub-alliance -- not to totally change your alliance.


Monica Padilla: Right! I was going to stick with Bayon for now, and then when we get further on, we'd figure it out. It's just crazy. I wasn't going to flip on my alliance. They were my alliance! Or so I thought. Maybe I should've shut up about what my endgame was and not have exposed that, but whatever. (Laughs)

Reality TV World: Whom did you think was the biggest threat in the game on Day 1 and did that perspective change at all by the time you were voted off the show?

Monica Padilla: The biggest threat in the game. I thought it was [Joe Anglim]. But I still adore Joe; I think he's awesome. And that's why I thought he was the biggest threat, you know? He's a great asset around camp, everybody loves him, he's super likable, he's so sweet.

I mean, if you're sitting next to Joe in the Final 3, watch out! I think he's probably the most-worthy player out there out of anyone. At the same time, I wasn't targeting Joe because he was awesome! He's a cool dude, he's fun to be around, he's really sweet, he's really talented.

He's just a natural outdoorsy guy, you know? He's charming, he's great. And so, I thought he was the biggest threat and it would've pained me to even vote him out. But at the same time, I knew sitting next to Joe -- anyone sitting next to Joe -- would just be deadly.


Reality TV World: You said in your final words that your second time playing the game was a little bit of a disappointment. Were you just referring to your early elimination or was there more to it than that? And if your overall experience in the game was sub par this time around, would you play Survivor again?

Monica Padilla: You know, I was a different person when I played the first time. I was in law school and I'm now older and wiser. I think the game has definitely changed. A lot of the inner aspects of the game have definitely changed.

The manipulation is even more ramped up. So, given all of that and all the circumstances that are so much different and so out of my control, I wouldn't want to play again. I'm good. I've gotten it out of my system. But I'm appreciative for going back and playing.

To read the first half of Monica's exclusive Survivor interview with Reality TV World, click here.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski