The ousted player also explains why he thought he could flip Genevieve.
Kishan Patel was operating in the shadows onSurvivor 47.
How shocked was Kishan by his exit?
Kishan Patel on ‘Survivor 47’.Robert Voets/CBS
What happened when he got to Ponderosa after being voted out?
And what caused him to think Genevieve would move against her biggest partner in the game?
We asked the fourth person out ofSurvivor 47all that and more.
Teeny Chirichillo, Kishan Patel, Rome Cooney, and Sol Yi on ‘Survivor 47’.Robert Voets/CBS
It was pure shock.
I really truly did not expect it.
I had no inkling that they had those conversations in the background.
Kishan Patel and Aysha Welch on ‘Survivor 47’.Robert Voets/CBS
And by those conversations, I mean Genevieve telling the plan to Rome and then switching the vote.
No, it’s truly within a couple minutes, maybe even 30 seconds that everything gets flipped.
So it truly was a surprise.
The Lavo tribe on ‘Survivor 47’.Robert Voets/CBS
I wasn’t expecting it.
So when I’m sitting there and he says, Kishan…, I’m just like, What?
Okay, so that’s what’s happening now.
‘Survivor 47’ contestant Kishan Patel.Robert Voets/CBS
Your reaction after getting voted out is one of the most real things I’ve ever seen.
You’re like, That’s not how I imagined.
It’s so innocent, Kishan.
Jeff Probst and the cast of ‘Survivor 47’.Robert Voets/CBS
It’s almost a naive way to think about it, but that’sSurvivor.
And that’s a great way of saying it, is you feel so naive in that moment.
Every single person knew that they had strategy, knew exactly what they were going to do.
I thought I knew exactly what I was going to do.
So it really humbles you in that moment where you’re like, Okay, I just got outplayed.
That’s as simple as that, is that it’s a great move.
I got blindsided and you got to pay respect to the move that was made.
But it does stink.
You do think that you’re the one making the moves.
And some people may have had the last conversation and that’s all that it takes.
Because it shows the stakes are real and that this actually means something to you all.
So we want to see that.
How did you process it all?
That was such an experience that was as fun as I could have imagined it to be.
I did the thing.
I had the time, I had the experience, and I tried to make a big move.
I wanted to venture to make big moves, didn’t go my way.
What sort of greeting did Aysha give you when you arrived at Ponderosa?
The first thing she said was, We’ve got to talk.
You have a lot of explaining to do.
She immediately got that explanation and got kind of understanding of what happened, why it happened.
So it was I think that was very therapeutic for her.
We had a lot of chit-chat.
We’re on great terms where you adore each other.
I always adored her.
I even said in my leaving statement, I was like, I adore you.
You’re a great strategist.
And that’s the reason I had to vote this way.
It was never any malice.
It was never any bad intention.
It was truly because she was a threat and she was going to do really well.
So I think that explanation was really helpful for her.
And I hope also it was helpful for me too, to be able to explain the side.
Did she hit you with a few I-told-you-sos?
And the big move is all predicated on getting Genevieve to flip on Rome.
From the edit, it seems like.
Why would he think that she would do that?
So what made you think you could get her to flip on him?
Yeah, I think a lot of things are not necessarily shown.
So one of the biggest things was that me and Genevieve were very close.
That was kind of completely sidestepped.
One of the most heartfelt conversations I had on the island during my entire time there was with Genevieve.
One of the only times I cried while sharing a piece of my story was with Genevieve.
It’s us three.
When numbers shrank, we’re like, Hey, we need a majority.
Three is a majority, let’s make it us three.
Everyone else is on the sides.
We know where everyone else is, but it’s us three to the end.
And truthfully, I got reciprocal feedback on that and really felt the same connection.
I genuinely had a strong relationship with her.
I felt really close and I shared a lot of details with her.
She did as well with me.
A lot of that wasn’t necessarily shown.
That’s just how he operates.
So this is a prime opportunity for us to solidify us three.
Let’s do it.
She’s already agreed to this.
So when time comes, it’s like, Wow, this is the prime opportunity.
Let’s do it.
I could never expect that things would flip and that wouldn’t be the case.
But in my mind, it wasn’t a random decision.
What’s your intuition?
And you guys all talk after the game when you get home.
Because thats kind of the way it’s presented in the edit.
Or was that really not a factor and she was going to go back to Rome anyway?
I don’t think that was the ultimate factor.
I truly do not.
Because I didn’t only throw out her name as a decoy.
And originally we were like, Okay, Rome, you make most sense.
We should just propose you.
And Rome was like, No, not my name, not my name.
And then he’s like, What about you?
I’m like, No, why would it be my name?
And then I’m like, There’s only two other people left?
Because Sol would never want to vote Teeny.
We know Sol does not like Rome and Genevieve, he’s against them.
So it just makes sense for it to be one of you two.
And if it’s not going to be Rome, it makes sense for Genevieve.
I also warned Genevieve, I went and immediately afterwards told her.
I was like, Hey, Genevieve, me and Rome, we sat together.
This makes most sense to use your name as a decoy.
Are you okay with that?
And she was like, Yeah, yeah, that’s fine.
Thank you for telling me.
I didn’t think much of it.
Who knew that that’s what was turning in her head.
But that wasn’t the deciding factor?
I don’t think so, no.
So Ill ask you the same question I asked Aysha last week.
It’s kind of an open-ended question: What is it like living with Rome?
[Long pause] Oh boy, how much time do we got?
Whats something that happened out there that never made it to air?
Again, very premeditated intentional statement.
I saw Tribal unfolding and I saw Aysha and Sol maybe feeling a bit more in a precarious position.
I was like: Okay, I need to check that no one plays a Shot in the Dark.
I need to check that we solidify this.
Im sure you were sizing up the folks on Gata and Tuku.
I was super excited to work with Anika as well as Kyle, as well as Tiyana.
Immediately from pre-game, I spoke a lot about Kyle because his energy is just very welcoming.
I got very similar energies from Anika as well as Tiyana.
So I really looked forward to wanting to work with them, but they’re still on the island.
