Exclusive: 'Survivor: Kaoh Rong' castoff Debbie Wanner talks (Part 1)

Survivor: Kaoh Rong -- Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty's merged Dara tribe voted Debbie Wanner out during Wednesday night's broadcast on CBS.


Debbie, a 49-year-old chemist from Reading, PA, was blindsided and voted out of her tribe on Night 24 at the game's eighth Tribal Council session once the girls decided to betray her.

Debbie, a former Brains tribe member, became the eighth person voted out of the tribe although 10 castaways have left the game overall -- two of them due to medical evacuations.

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

Reality TV World: Is it safe to say you were blindsided and Joseph "Joe" Del Campo didn't tell you the girls were considering voting for you? And going into Tribal, were you convinced your alliance was splitting the vote between Tai and Scot?


Debbie Wanner: No, it wasn't fair to think that I was blindsided because Joe told me. (Laughs)

Reality TV World: Oh, he did?!

Debbie Wanner: Yes. I had a good idea I was leaving.

Reality TV World: Walking out of the game, why did you think your alliance had voted for you? Did Joe tell you the reason? Maybe you thought they viewed you as a big threat or something else?

Debbie Wanner: Well, I think there's only so much of the truth I can actually divulge, but look, I was down to close to 90 pounds, I had an enormous patch on my right shoulder.


Honestly, I know myself, and my brain -- there were just synaptic gaps in my brain. But the girls, especially [Aubry Bracco], I knew were petrified that [Tai Trang] and [Kyle Jason] would actually form a "Super Idol" and then take her out after the vote. And I understood that.

And I had overheard Tai and Jason saying, like, no way were they giving their idol up for a guy who was already a millionaire, a multi-millionaire who brags about it! So, I just couldn't assure her that there was no way, if we went for [Scot Pollard], that the two of them would sacrifice their idols to save him.

Reality TV World: How did you learn about the "Super Idol?" Did Cydney Gillon know about it from being on the Brawn tribe and she informed you, or maybe you all learned about it when Tai leaked the info at the previous Tribal Council? I know he tried to cover it up afterwards though.

Debbie Wanner: Well, I knew it was real because [Neal Gottlieb] told me. Neal told at least Aubry and I.

Reality TV World: From a strategic standpoint and putting your own bias aside, do you think the girls made the right decision in getting you out?


Debbie Wanner: It did make sense for them. Everybody has a different way of looking at life, looking at a game like Survivor, and that's what's so cool about it, the psychology -- what do people think? Why do they do what they do? They just didn't have the fortitude, guts, courage -- whatever word you want to insert there -- the balls to take on Scot.

As a matter of fact, after they took our machete and poured water on the fire, I was the only one that declared, "Hey! Psychological warfare right back at ya!" I'm the one that stole Jason and Scot's shorts. I took their clothing. The other girls just cowered in the corner and sucked their thumbs.

They were going to put up with it. Now, why would you do that? Well, it doesn't put a target on your back, especially when there's four of you playing wallflower. So, I knew I put myself out there.

Reality TV World: Did you think Michele Fitzgerald, Cydney, Aubry and Julia Sokolowski were pretty much set on the decision to vote you out prior to Tribal or do you think Jason and Tai whipping out their idols played a big role because they thought it was the safe move at that point?

Debbie Wanner: I think they thought it was the safe move at that point. I think they were shocked. They reacted on a split second. It had already been thrown out there, "Hey, Aubry said, 'Let's take out Debbie. She's losing her ability to think rationally.'" And instead, she kept Jason, Scot and Tai. It made them feel safe. It was an easy thing to do instead of being bold and putting yourself on the line potentially.


Reality TV World: From the knowledge you have of the game and its rule, when Tai accepted Jason's idol at Tribal, is it his for good now? If Tai flips, will that idol be considered his to keep?

Debbie Wanner: You know what, you're very smart. You're the only one that brought that up! Good for you. Yeah! It's [Tai's] for good now, and wouldn't it be beautiful if he refused to give it back? (Laughs)

Reality TV World: Definitely. (Laughs)

Debbie Wanner: Uh huh! Very good of you, young lady, to pick up on that! Yes, "I give this to you," and, "I accept it."

Reality TV World: Nick Maiorano told me last week that Aubry was already starting to work on Tai -- which is why Tai randomly voted for Jason at the Tribal when Nick went home -- even though the previews make it seem like that starts in next week's episode. Did you notice that as well while you were out there?


Debbie Wanner: I did. And I had a minor, a smaller relationship with Tai than Aubry did, but certainly the three of us, actually, had, I would say, something going on largely because I have two turtles in my house and Tai loves turtles. So we had previous conversations. Tai was just unpredictable, and that's what makes him so dangerous.

Add in the unpredictability -- I don't even think Tai knew he was voting for Jason to this day why he did it. Obviously a physical threat, unpredictability -- you don't know if he's going with the guys or the girls. And I've always seen Tai as the outstanding character of our season.

Reality TV World: So it sounds like even though Tai was in with Scot and Jason, your alliance still viewed him differently? Did you clump him in with them personality-wise and when it came to the whole sabotage ordeal?

Debbie Wanner: Well, we did. We knew Tai was the one who put the fire out the second time -- at least Joe and I knew it. But you didn't know that he was going to stick with them! Because from the moment we had a relationship, it was back and forth, back and forth.

I felt bad for him, in a way, because he was like the Grinch when he stole Christmas -- "Yes, no, yes, no?!" Should he accept the Whos' invitation?! (Laughs) "Ooh, I've got an appointment for self-loathing." And in his head, you could just see the struggle: "Yes, no, yes, no," back and forth, back and forth.

Reality TV World: Watching last night's episode back, were you a little frustrated with yourself for trusting Julia so much? Aubry tried to warn you Julia was playing both sides and not trustworthy, but you still appeared to want to split the vote three for Scot and three for Tai after the Immunity challenge.


Debbie Wanner: Actually, Aubry wasn't right because my plan was to go 2-2-2, and then at that point, Jason or Tai would've played the idol because they never would've trusted the other one to hand over an idol and then do the "Super Idol" thing.

Who's going to do that?! Nobody's going to do it! Nobody's going to give up their idol and then both of them are out of the game and put them blindly on the chopping block. So my plan was 2-2-2.

Julia said we were going to go for Scot to Tai. So, did she go back and talk to the guys? Of course she did. We all saw her! There's nowhere to hide. We saw her doing it. But Aubry was wrong; She didn't tell them the truth.

Check back with Reality TV World soon for the concluding portion of Debbie's exclusive Survivor interview.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski