Survivor: Cagayan -- Brawn vs. Brains vs. Beauty's post-merge Solarrion tribe voted out Trish Hegarty during Wednesday night's penultimate broadcast of the CBS reality series' 28th edition.
 
Trish, a 48-year-old pilates instructor from Needham, MA, was voted out of her Solarrion tribe at the season's thirteenth Tribal Council session, which marked the seventh time Solarrion had attended Tribal together. Trish's alliance members Tony Vlachos and Yung "Woo" Hwang both turned on her and voted her out with the help of Kassandra "Kass" McQuillen and Spencer Bledsoe.

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In an exclusive interview with Reality TV World on Thursday, Trish talked about her Survivor experience. Below is the first half of her interview. Check back with us soon for the concluding portion.

Reality TV World: Were you surprised to be voted off or had you been expecting that was going to happen?

Trish Hegarty: I had no idea. I was completely blindsided. I had no clue!

Reality TV World: So what had you been thinking was going to happen?

Trish Hegarty: I thought that Kass was going home.

Reality TV World: Were you surprised Tony also voted for you, and were you aware of that at the time or did you only learn about it later -- and if so when?

Trish Hegarty: I learned about that at Ponderosa. [LJ McKanas] said, "He definitely wrote your name down."

Reality TV World: What was your reaction when you found that out?

Trish Hegarty: I was a little bit disa... -- I was very disappointed.

Reality TV World: Is that the type of thing that, if Tony had made it to the Final 3, would've impacted your willingness to give him your jury vote?

Trish Hegarty: No, because I knew that this is a game and I was playing a game and everyone else out there was playing the game. And with 18 people, only one person can win. And at one point, at some time during the game, if Tony wasn't going to get rid of me, I would've had to get rid of him.

So I could sit here and be disgruntled all I want, but the guy played one hell of a game and you can't take that away from him, you know? He saw me as a threat. He didn't think he could beat me if it came down to him and I, so he decided to get rid of me, and it's okay.

Reality TV World: Well, yeah, I was going to ask you that. Why do you think Tony voted for you?

Trish Hegarty: I think he voted for me because he didn't think he could beat me in the end. He thought that everybody -- that I was close to pretty much everyone in the jury, and he knew -- like I knew -- that they were disgruntled. He thought if he was sitting there up against me, they would give it to me because they liked me and trusted me more and I stood with my alliance the whole time.

Reality TV World: So you went into Tribal Council thinking that Woo was sticking with you guys and the three of you were voting for Kass, right?

Trish Hegarty: Yup, the three of us would -- everybody wanted to go with Kass, but then after my fight with Kass, we all admitted that she was so annoying that no one could stand her another second. And those guys had my buy into the idea that they were sending Kass home.

Reality TV World: So you think Tony figured out Woo wasn't going to follow through with that? Do you think Tony realized Woo was gunning for you and therefore he just joined him?

Trish Hegarty: I think Woo was the one that convinced Tony that he couldn't beat me.

Reality TV World: Given Tony had two idols and they both expired at last night's Tribal, he could have easily just given you one and prevented your vote-off, but he didn't.  Do you ever discuss that idea with him going into Tribal? Did you ever outright ask him for one of the idols, and if so, how did that play out?

Trish Hegarty: Well no, I knew he had both the idols when he had them, and he asked me right away -- he told me that he had the idols and he told me that he would use one for me if he needed it. And so, in the end, if Tony was afraid that I was going to beat him and he wanted me out, why would he use an idol for me?

Reality TV World: I understand why he wouldn't have offered you an idol, but did you ever consider asking him for it?

Trish Hegarty: No because he said he would use it for me if he needed to, so I didn't think it was an issue, because I trusted Tony.

Reality TV World: Tony also told you that lie that his special idol could be used at the Final 4 Tribal and didn't expire at Final 5 like the regular idols. Did that also play any role in why you didn't ask him or were okay with whatever he told you? Did you even believe that lie, or not?

Trish Hegarty: I never got myself so worked up about the idols and, you know, Tony was obviously obsessed with them. But he just kept saying to me over and over again, that if he needed to use the idol for Woo or I, he would.

And, you know, there was no reason for us to feel as though that wasn't going to be the truth, because I felt as though Tony needed me, you know, in his alliance. So I didn't question it, you know what I mean?

Reality TV World: Did you believe that the special idol didn't expire last night? Because since it did expire at Final 5, you think he'd just give the idol to someone in order to be extra safe.

Trish Hegarty: Right, well that would make sense if he wanted to keep me, but he didn't want to keep me. So why would he use the idol on me?

Reality TV World: I agree. But I'm saying if it were me, if I was in the game, I would ask the guy, "Hey, it's useless to you [after tonight and you have two] anyways. Why don't you just give one to me?" But you're saying you didn't think that way?

Trish Hegarty: Do you think if I asked Tony for the idol, he would've given it to me?

Reality TV World: No, but I'm just trying to understand why you didn't ask him... Did you think the idol would still be good next week or you were just that secure in the game [that asking] didn't dawn on you?

Trish Hegarty: Because he lied and said he could use it in the Final 4.

Reality TV World: Okay, that's what I thought it was, but I was just trying to make sure. So what was your reaction when you found out Tony had lied about his idol's special powers and it was worthless after last night's Tribal? Did it change your impression of him at all?

Trish Hegarty: No, because I think Tony played the best game that anybody's ever played in the history of Survivor, and I have a lot of respect for the way he played the game and I have a lot of respect for him as a person. And so, no, I think he played the game great. Did [the lie] change my opinion? No.

Tony lied the whole game. He lied about everything. He lied to everybody about absolutely everything, because he wanted to win the game.

Reality TV World: But you never suspected he'd be lying to you, even though you knew he was lying to everyone else?

Trish Hegarty: Well, I did suspect that he was probably lying to me, but you also have to remember that him and I were in an alliance and we had a plan and we talked about it all the time. And he never gave me any indication that he was going to be flipping on me, and neither did Woo. So, you know, maybe I just got too comfortable, but what were my choices? To go over to Kass and Spencer?

I mean, you know what I mean? That would've been a Kass move if I had left my alliance now to go to be the bottom of [the other]. That would've been stupid on my part. I had no choice. There was no other choice for me outside of doing what I did. I don't see it.

Reality TV World: How had you been expecting the remaining part of the game to play out if you hadn't been voted out and Kass had gone home instead of you?

Trish Hegarty: If Kass had gone home instead, we would've hoped to have had Spencer lose an immunity and then it would've been Tony, Woo and I -- the three Brawn, the three original alliance together to the end.

Reality TV World: If you had been in total control of the decision yourself, that would've been the same Final 3 you'd have desired?

Trish Hegarty: No, I really wanted the Final 3 to be -- I really wanted to go to the final with Kass and Tony, because Kass, even though Tony had been disloyal and lied to everybody, it wasn't Tony that everybody hated, it was Kass.

So I knew that anybody sitting next to Kass was going to win a million dollars. Everybody wants to go to the end with Kass, everybody, because nobody likes her, so she's not going to win the million dollars.

Tony plays the game harder than anybody, but he also upset everybody too. So, I was observing. Every time Tony spoke [at Tribal], I was watching the jury and their expressions, and I knew they did not like Tony and they did not like Kass. So I was like, "Okay, I'm in." I knew if I went up against Spencer, I never would've won.

I knew if I went up against Woo, and I had explained to them that I had gotten [Cliff Robinson] off and done all that, I think they would've seen that I played the game a little bit harder than Woo -- or a little bit differently -- however you want to put it. I think I would've had a chance against Woo, and I think the only person I wouldn't have had a chance winning next to was probably Spencer.

Above is the first half of Trish's exclusive interview with Reality TV World. Check back with us soon for the concluding portion.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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