Hayden Moss talks about 'Survivor: Blood vs. Water'

Hayden Moss finished Survivor: Blood vs. Water in seventh place during the first half of Sunday night's special two-hour finale broadcast on CBS.


Hayden -- who is a 26-year-old newbie player in real estate from Springtown, TX -- played the game as girlfriend Kat Edorsson's "loved one" and is a former Big Brother winner. He was voted out of the Kasama tribe when he ended up on the wrong side of the numbers because he couldn't convince runner-up Monica Culpepper to flip on her alliance members Tyson Apostol, the winner, and Gervase Peterson, who finished in third place.

Hayden was subsequently eliminated from the game after he lost the season's final Redemption Island duel to returnees Laura Morett and Tina Wesson.

During a Monday conference call with reporters, Hayden talked to Reality TV World about his Survivor: Blood vs. Water experience. Check our Survivor show page for more interviews with the season's finale castaways.

Reality TV World: Do you think you could have convinced Ciera Eastin to draw rocks if Gervase and Monica hadn't slipped up and made it clear she was fourth in their alliance?  Like how much of it do you think was you and how much of it do you think was them kind of screwing up?


Hayden Moss: Well, Gervase and Monica, they both clearly put their foot in their mouth. It was great. But I feel like, I don't really know the answer to that, but I went into [Tribal Council] and I knew I was going to go in and stir the pot and try to rile everybody up a little bit. I wanted to see if I could get that type of response from Gervase and Monica and Tyson.

I wanted them to kind of put their foot in their mouth, and that was really my plan. And you know, there was a point that they didn't show on television when I got the jury kind of involved. I said, "Ciera, look at the jury right now."

And I told the jury, "Look at Ciera right now. She has the opportunity -- she has the chance to make a huge move, and if she makes this move, she deserves to win the million." I saw the wheels in her head turning, like, "You know what? Maybe this is my chance." I could tell she was thinking that, but Gervase and Monica definitely helped me out by calling her straight up, "Hey you're No. 4."

Reality TV World: Do you think you would have been able to win the final jury vote if you had made it to the Final 3? And do you think anyone else would've been able to beat Tyson in a jury vote?

Hayden Moss: If I'm in the Final 3, I think, yeah, I'd have a really good chance. I think I'd win, actually.


Reality TV World: It obviously seemed to be a cakewalk for Tyson against Gervase and Monica. But do you think there's anyone else, besides yourself, that could've gone up against Tyson in the Final 3 and come out ahead?

Hayden Moss: Yeah, I mean, Ciera made big moves in the game. If it was a Tyson, Ciera and Gervase Final 3, I mean, Ciera and Tyson, that could probably even go four-four tie, like down to the wire. Maybe Ciera could even win it. I could see Ciera beating Tyson. She made big moves, played an incredible game.

You know, some of the moves I didn't agree with because I was on the other end of them, of course, but gosh, for a first-timer going out there, she killed it.

Reality TV World: Going back to the rock-drawing tiebreaker, were you surprised that Tyson opted to draw rocks instead of just trying to convince Gervase to turn around and vote Monica out and make Ciera their new No. 3? That really seemed to be what Ciera was just angling for. And what was your reaction when you found out Tyson had a hidden Immunity Idol that entire time?

Hayden Moss: Oh my gosh, first of all, the fact that he drew a rock when he had a hidden Immunity Idol blows my mind. Because all you got to do is tell Gervase, "Hey, flip on Monica. Vote Monica out."


Then the next Tribal Council, either win immunity or play your idol and you're safe, so you'd be guaranteed safety at least one more Tribal. That was a ballsy move, and luckily, it worked out for him. Lucky for him it worked out. Unlucky for me.

Reality TV World: Were you surprised that your girlfriend Kat Edorsson thought you might dump her just because of how far she had made it in Survivor? (Laughs)

Hayden Moss: Yeah, I was a little surprised. I think that was just Kat being Kat. She is a funny one. She is a funny one, that girl.

Check our Survivor show page for more interviews with the season's finale castaways.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski