Survivor third-place finisher Romeo Escobar has revealed if he thinks he made a million-dollar mistake by taking Maryanne Oketch to the Final 3 with him.
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Romeo chose to give Maryanne a ticket right into the finale while he forced Mike Turner and Jonathan Young to compete in fire.
But the jury voted to crown Maryanne the winner of Survivor 42 at the Final Tribal Council session through a 7-1-0 vote. Romeo received zero votes, and Mike earned himself one vote from Jonathan after defeating Jonathan in fire.
Romeo apparently doesn't believe taking Maryanne to the end cost him $1 million because he doesn't believe he would have won the game against anyone in the Final 5.
"I knew I was losing. I was mostly playing for second place," Romeo told Entertainment Weekly.
"So going into that Final Tribal Council, I felt like a winner already because I made it farther than anybody expected me to make it, and I did it on my own accord by winning that final Immunity Challenge. So it felt good."
Romeo said going into the Final Tribal Council and jury questioning, he already knew that he was "dead in the water."
"Because one thing that I've learned with Survivor is that perception is reality out there. So the perception that people had about me was not necessarily reality, but it is what it is. I blame myself," Romeo explained.
But Romeo revealed he "wasn't immediately" locked in on bringing Maryanne to the end with him and sending Mike and Jonathan to fire after he won immunity.
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"I debated whether to take Maryanne, and it became an emotional decision. Maryanne was always the most supportive to me out there," Romeo shared with EW.
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"They didn't show it, but I had an alliance with her and she just reminded me of a lot of the women that I worked with back home in pageantry and I just couldn't do it."
Romeo insisted he just "couldn't cut her" because of the relationship they had developed out there, adding, "And I felt better just bringing her. And even if she beat me, at least I was losing to someone that I could be okay with losing to as opposed to bringing one of the guys."
But at one point, Romeo actually considered sending himself into the firestarting challenge.
"There was a time when I thought, 'You know what, I'm going to give my immunity to Maryanne and then I'm going to put myself through fire,'" he said.
"Because Episode 4 was when I made fire. I knew how to make fire and quick. I practiced before going out there so my fire skills were good."
Romeo said he probably would have competed against Mike in fire, if he had chosen that route, because he never really saw Mike's fire-making skills at camp.
"So I knew that I could put myself through fire and maybe beat somebody. I definitely thought, 'Maybe I should put myself in to prove to them that I deserve to win this thing,'" Romeo explained.
"But then I got scared and I'm like, 'You know what? I'm not going to win anyways. Even if I take myself and win fire, it's a done deal. So at least let me get myself to the Final 3 and at least get third place as opposed to fourth place.'"
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"I actually was surprised that Mike didn't get any more votes because I thought Mike was going to win over Maryanne, Romeo said, adding that he "just assumed" Mike was going to run away with first place and Maryanne was going to take second.
"[I thought] I was going to be third. So I was just surprised by the results, but I'm thrilled for Maryanne. I love Maryanne."
Romeo reiterated how he felt he was "basically playing for second place" no matter whom he selected to make fire.
"I knew, unfortunately, it was too late," Romeo noted.
"But again, I have no regrets and I always played the cards that I was dealt. I had to play the game that I had to play, the second part of the game. And that was at the bottom. So I did the best I could."
Had Romeo gone to the end with Jonathan and Mike in a Final 3, Romeo apparently believes it wouldn't have made a difference.
"Here's the thing: I knew that I was going to lose against Maryanne and I was going to lose against Mike. I probably would've got in second place with Jonathan sitting with me [too]," Romeo reasoned.
Thinking Mike was going to win if he went all the way, Romeo recalled, "So my thought was, 'Jonathan, you have to beat Mike so that it's me, you, and Maryanne. Maryanne will win. You will get zero votes and I will probably get second place. And I'll take that.' So that was my thinking."
Romeo is just glad he won the Final Immunity Challenge because he said he probably would've gone home right then and there if another castaway secured the win.
"What people don't realize is that when we got to the five, I knew I was going to be voted out," Romeo shared.
"Not because I was the biggest threat. [Lindsay Dolashewich] was perceived as the biggest threat at that point. But they liked her so much more than they liked me that they were willing to just sacrifice me and get her off at four because they thought, 'Okay, these are the four that deserve to go to the final four.' And I knew that."
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Maryanne told EW after the Survivor finale aired Wednesday night on CBS that she thought whipping out her hidden Immunity Idol -- that no one else knew about -- during the jury questioning "clinched" her victory.
CBS announced last week Survivor's 43rd season will air on Wednesday nights in Fall 2022.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
