Exclusive: 'Survivor: Worlds Apart' castoff Dan Foley talks (Part 1)

Survivor: Worlds Apart's merged Merica tribe eliminated Dan Foley, a Blue Collar player, from the game during Wednesday night's twelfth episode of the CBS reality competition's 30th season.


Dan, a 47-year-old postal worker from Gorham, ME, was the thirteenth person voted out of the game and therefore became the season's sixth jury member. His Merica tribe got him out on Night 35 at the season's thirteenth Tribal Council session.

Dan was given the boot after he played the two-vote advantage he had won at a Survivor auction and then Carolyn Rivera dropped a bomb by playing her hidden Immunity Idol. Dan voted for Carolyn and she was gunning for him, so the votes against her didn't count and he had to go.

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

Reality TV World: Carolyn's idol. Clearly no one had any idea she had it. Was there even talk of someone potentially having an idol before Tribal that night? Did you ever even consider splitting the vote just in case?


Dan Foley: No, because, you know, I had potential end-games in mind. And one of the potential end-games was me, [Will Sims II] and Carolyn. I actually thought about a three-Collar finish, but I still wanted to stay true to my alliance and everybody was like, "Carolyn, Carolyn, yes? Carolyn?" Carolyn it is.

Clearly, [Mike Holloway] had an idea though because that's what he was saying when he was like, "I know what's going on! I can control your fate in this game. He had an idea that she had it."

Reality TV World: When you left the game and realized two people had voted for you, were you positive it was Mike and Carolyn? And if so, did you really blame her or have hard feelings toward her for that?

Dan Foley: No, I had no hard feelings. None. Zero. I was just talking to Carolyn yesterday. She played the game and got me, you know? I went out with the blades of glory last night! I got to use an advantage that has never been used in Survivor's 30 seasons. I was the first one to use it.

I used my advantage and she turned around and trumped me with an idol. That's a great way to go out! I'm okay with that. That's a hell of a lot better than a blindside with your jaw slapped open and drool hanging out, trying to figure out what the hell just happened. So, no, I'm okay with that.


Reality TV World: Did you tell anyone what your advantage actually was or did you lie to everyone about its power? I mean, obviously Carolyn and Tyler Fredrickson knew about it, but that's only because Tyler went through your bag behind your back.

Dan Foley: You are the first person to ask that question, well done! I was waiting for somebody and you get the honor of it. After somebody went through my bag -- and I didn't know who it was at first -- but I actually said in a confessional, I said, "Mike went through Carolyn's bag."

They never showed that. I said, "Mike's the likely culprit because he's proven that he's willing to do something that unscrupulous, but it's probably the person I least likely expect to have done it, so probably Tyler." But they never showed that.

So once I realized that someone had gone through my bag and they knew what my advantage was, now I'm in a position of dispower, because I no longer control what that is. So, I wanted to get the control back to me again. So I thought about it and I thought, "What's the best way to take my power back? Tell somebody."

So I told [Sierra Dawn Thomas] and I told [Rodney Lavoie Jr.] off to the side, and I told them what my advantage was. Because now, Sierra had already lost faith in Mike -- long ago. Sierra and I had made up -- long ago. I truly groveled to her. I truly apologized to her, and I believed her when she said she had forgiven me.


And when I told her and Rodney what my advantage was, now all of a sudden, I'm sitting in a good spot. Now I've re-solidified those connections. And we knew Rodney was trying to make deals and, you know, I felt like I drew him back in because now, all of a sudden, I've got something that could be pretty important. And we were still talking about a potential Blue Collar finish.

Reality TV World: I think two things must've shocked you watching this season back on TV. No. 1, Mike told you the truth the whole time and never went crazy. No. 2, your alliance had a core four -- Tyler, Carolyn, Will and Rodney -- before Tyler went home. Let's start with Mike, you said in a confessional you'd never forgive yourself if he was being honest, which he was. Thoughts? 

Dan Foley: [Sighs] Well, the fact is, everybody was coming for everybody. I even told Mike at that point, you know, "We're all coming for each other. They're coming for you; They're coming for me. Everybody's coming for everybody!" That's the game.

But at the end of the day, who went home before me? Oh that's right, Tyler did. So where was Rodney's actual alliance? Where was his actual allegiance? Mike didn't have to go that road. Rodney was looking to make deals.

I was looking to make deals. When we first got to the merge, I pulled Rodney, Sierra and [Kelly Remington] all off to the side and I said, "If we go to the final Tribal Council right now? Who wins the game?" And all three of them said, "[Joe Anglim]."


I said, "If Joe's out of the game, who wins?" And they all looked at me and said, "Mike." And I said, "It may not be today, but it's got to be eventually." So we all knew it was coming, but Mike was literally -- I mean, everybody was talking about the fact he's going crazy. He wanted to get rid of Tyler before Joe.

And when Tyler won the tippy-toe challenge, I was actually cheering for Tyler, because it was too soon. We still had Joe, [Jenn Brown], and [Shirin Oskooi] in the game. It was too soon to get rid of him.

Because if we got rid of Tyler -- and I even told them this -- "We're going to lose Carolyn, because those two are tight, and there's a very good chance that Will and Rodney are going to jump ship with them. That puts Will, Rodney, Carolyn, Joe, Jenn and Shirin all on that side of the fence, and Mike, me and Sierra on this side. That would put us on the short numbers. That is a bad move. It's too early. We can't do it now. We have to pick them off."

And it worked. That's just the way it worked out.

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






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski