Andy Rueda is reflecting on his remarkable “Survivor” journey.
After being voted out by Rachel LaMont’s shocking idol play, the 31-year-old AI research assistant exclusively spoke to The Post about how he went from suffering a public breakdown on day three to masterminding his “Operation: Italy” scheme that nearly won him the game.
“I’ve done a lot of work trying to proces exactly how that happened, why that happened, like what was going on there,” Rueda said.
He also called the incident “unprecedented” and “uncharacteristic.”
Read Rueda’s full interview below.
New York Post: Do you feel that your final conversation with Rachel was the nail in your coffin and inspired her to vote you out?
Andy Rueda: I do feel that it certainly contributed to that target shifting from Sam to me. I will say that in the aftermath of Operation: Italy and getting out Caroline, Sue was not happy with me. She wanted my head on a spike. So the two of them were collaborating as to who to get out. Sue’s preference was for me to leave. That being said, you know, if push came to shove, I think it’s definitely probable that Rachel could get Sue to vote for Sam if that’s what they wanted to do. But in terms of that conversation, I think that it sort of sealed the deal in a way.
Were you ever seriously considering siding with Rachel and Sue to vote out Sam?
My plan had Genevieve not want immunity was to genuinely swing over to them and work with them and use the block vote to get out Genevieve. I thought that was going to be sort of the best case scenario, but she won immunity. And so going back, I was playing my options because we could do the same thing with Sam, but I don’t think it was going to be as attractive of a move. And then Rachel, when she first pitched that the three of us should get rid of Sam, she said something to me. She looked at me and said, ‘By the way Andy, if you lie to me one more time and you vote me out, Sue and I will never vote for you on the jury.’ And that was like a threat that in Survivor history is kind of like a risky play. But it just totally worked on me because I just looked at that, I’m like, ‘I can’t afford for that to happen’. So that led to all this sort of decision making in terms of not siding with her and also having that specific conversation in which I’m telling her that I’m voting for her.
Was your plan to get rid of Genevieve and Sam next and go to the final 3 with Teeny and Sue?
I feel like it was pretty clear to us that Genevieve was going to be the runaway threat in terms of jury vote. So I think there would have been definitely enough momentum on all counts to make sure she gets knocked out of the final five if she doesn’t win immunity. So I definitely wasn’t comfortable sitting next to Genevieve. Sitting next to Rachel would have been an extremely uphill battle, in my opinion. But I felt like if I had played all my cards right and all of my bets paid off and I did everything I wanted to do in the end game that I could sit next to Teeny, Sue, and even give myself a shot against Sam.
How frustrating was it to be told constantly that the jury didn’t respect your game?
It was its own roller coaster because the way I adapted in the game after waking up on day four was to play into my low perception and to really capitalize on that. So to a large extent, it was a feature, not a bug of my game that carried me through a long ways. But on a strategic level, I knew that I needed to change that perception at some point, and that narrative needed to start to flip for sure.
On an emotional level, it’s just tough to be like, ‘These people think I suck.’ It’s kind of a shame. So on all accounts, it was such a tightrope and sort of a tough path to play the game. But I feel like I did a lot right in terms of managing my threat level and trying to time a really interesting but narrow path to a potential victory, which would of course include having an opportunity at final tribal council to make sure everyone knew I was aware of these perceptions and to subvert them.
What was the reaction from the jury when you got there?
I walk in. I’m worried that I’m going to a cold reception. I got a very warm reception, which is really good. I sat there. I talked about my game. It wasn’t as epic and emphatic as it would have been in final tribal council. But I just kind of laid it out and I did have a gratifying moment with the jury. Their jaws kind of dropped a little bit and they’re like, ‘Andy, whoa, whoa.’ It’s a nice consolation prize because it’s over at Ponderosa. But I had this moment where I think they saw the merits of the game I was playing.
How do you look back on the breakdown that you had in front of everyone on day three during the premiere episode?
I’ve done a lot of work trying to come back home and process exactly how that happened, why that happened, like what was going on there. I’ve lived 31 years of my life. I look at it as a very unprecedented and like highly, in my opinion, uncharacteristic sort of moment for me. But Survivor is just so difficult in ways that people don’t see from the couch and you never know how you are going to respond being in that moment. The start of the game was particularly tough for me, especially starting on day two. There was anxiety coming up that… in the real world I have anxiety and I have coping mechanisms to deal with that. And in Survivor, not only were they not there, but my attempts to find those backfired heavily.
And then that all culminated in that very physical challenge where I had heat exhaustion. It was a moment and I have to really process that and be like, that was something that I did. And that happened to me. But of course, there’s a way forward. In the game I recovered and grew and learned every day. And then I come back home and the season is kind of the second act of that where it’s like dealing with the wild highs and lows of people reacting to you as a TV character.
But this entire year has been such a year of growth. I learned a lot from every single day out there, including day three. And I can just take that with me and go forward. And I know that all the people in my life who matter couldn’t be prouder of me.
The “Survivor 47” finale airs next Wednesday at 8 p.m ET.
