Rachel LaMont wasn’t so sure she’d be crowned the champion of “Survivor 47” over Sam Phalen during the tense final tribal council.
The 34-year-old told The Post that she thought she lost the game while battling Phalen, 24, for the jury votes during Wednesday night’s finale.
“My stomach was in knots,” said LaMont — who received 7 jury votes to Phalen’s 1 and left Fiji with the $1 million check.
Read LaMont’s full interview below.
New York Post: At what point at the end of the game did you think you would win?
Not during final tribal. It was when I won that final five immunity and I knew that I could get Genevieve out night, that is when I felt like I had a true, good shot at it. And then over time with the fire making and that with Sam’s incredible final tribal, that that confidence definitely diminished towards the end there. But I really felt like Genevieve was my final boss. And when I knew I had bested her at that challenge, I was elated. That’s why I cried immediately, being like, ‘Oh my God, I think I did it.’ That whole challenge I just kept telling myself it will never be easier to win $1 million than it is right now. I was just so hellbent on winning and I just felt so good.
Did you expect for Sam to go so hard at you at final tribal?
Absolutely. I think the thing about Sam and I was that we played the entire game together and we were basically never on the same page after day three. In so many ways we were so parallel. But then like we were both at the bottom at the Sierra vote and then we took completely different paths and yet ended up at the end together. He’s like my little brother. I just want to strangle him, but I love him. I knew that final tribal would be this kind of like back and forth sibling, like he’s going to give me a noogie and I’m going to smack in the face. I remember in the moment being like, ‘I am so stressed out that I’m losing right now, but I’m also having so much fun.’ Just talking, interrupting each other, talking over each other, correcting stuff for the jury. It was so much fun. It was the most dynamic moment. Even thought truly there was a part of me that was like, ‘Am I about to lose the game at final tribal?’
So you didn’t think you won as Jeff was reading the votes?
Honestly I didn’t think it was going to be close. I thought that either he was going to own me or I was going to own him. I thought like he was very convincing in final tribal. And I was like either like the tides have turned completely for him or they’re for me. So once I saw that third vote, we how that goes. And I knew I had it. But when Jeff was like, going to count the votes, my stomach was in knots. And I truly was sitting there being like, ‘Did I just lose it? Did I truly just lose at the very last second?’
And that’s that’s the pressure of final tribal. It is that idea that you’ve played this whole game and if you screw up tonight, it’s all for nothing. It’s just the weight of that sits so heavy. He did so well that I really did doubt it.
Of the 7 votes you got, did any surprise you?
No. Going in I was pretty sure I would have everyone’s vote except Sierra, Kyle and Gabe. I knew that Sierra had been rooting for me in the sense that there was like one time when I came in, I think the third immunity I won, and she mouthed ‘I’m so proud of you.’ And so I knew that she was seeing my game, but I knew she was so close to Sam and I didn’t know if she would vote with her head or her heart. And so I knew that one was very much up for grabs, but I thought I had a shot at it.
And then Kyle and Gabe were two people where I just wasn’t sure exactly what they were looking for in a winner and like what their criteria of a good game was. And in hindsight, it’s so easy to see that Kyle valued that loyalty. He worked with Sam. Like it makes sense that he would get his vote. And Gabe, ultimately I play a game that Gabe would’ve loved to play. He would’ve loved to challenge beast his way to the end. So it totally makes sense, but when you’re in it you don’t know that.
How did you feel about the moment when Andy compared your game to Mike and Ben’s, two winners who aren’t always celebrated by the fandom?
Andy and I had talked about the game a ton and talked about our favorite winners, and so he was very aware of the fact that it’s not that I didn’t respect winners like Ben and Mike. They were just not the kind of players that I thought I would be coming out. I think there’s a lack of intentionality that can play into your perception, too. And and so what’s funny is on day 26, I was on the beach with Sam and I was like, ‘Can you believe I like Mike Hollowayed my way to the end of this game?’ I had said it already. I do think that there was definitely differences between my game and Mike’s game. I played my idol very surprisingly and spectacularly. Everyone knew he had his idol. But on paper, he was immune from the final eight, had one idol and multiple immunity wins. I was immune from the final seven, had an idol, multiple immunity wins. Of course those things would be parallel and someone like Andy would obviously make that comparison.
You were an alternate for Season 46 and didn’t make it on. Can you talk about that experience?
I went out for 46. I was pretty devastated. It’s like, how am I the runner up? They pick nine people and I’m number ten. How is that possible? So I was very devastated. But I went out wanting to prove to them that they made a mistake. Like, I want to walk away from this experience If I don’t get to play with them saying, ‘We have to cast her on the next season because we should have cast her on this one.’ And I just feel like I did that. I left and I felt like I accomplished that. It appears that I did. It really gave me a year to really think and prep and mentally set myself up for a second run at it. It was the space I needed. I think that I came back with a little bit more levity, a little bit less pressure on myself because it felt like a win to just come back as a true player instead of as an alternate. That made the whole experience easier to feel like I had room to play.
