The third-place finisher also calls his fire-making win “one of the best moments of my life.”
He didnt winSurvivor 45, but Jake OKane won theSurvivor 45finale.
Jake had perhaps the most topsy-turvy roller coaster finale ride of anySurvivorplayer ever.
Jake O’Kane on ‘Survivor 45’.CBS
He won an advantage to a challenge!
And then lost both his keys and a puzzle piece in that challenge.
He played an immunity idol!
Jake O’Kane on ‘Survivor 45’.CBS
He won at the final four fire making!
(Also check out our finale interviews withDee,Austin,Katurah,Julie, and hostJeff Probst.)
CBS
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How were you feeling walking into that final Tribal Council in terms of your chances?
Jake O’Kane on ‘Survivor 45’.CBS
So it was fun.
Any votes surprise you?
I thought there was a possibility I could have pulled out Bruce or Kaleb.
Jake O’Kane on ‘Survivor 45’.CBS
That might’ve been a possibility, but I still think it was kind of a long shot.
Which is really hard.
That sucks, but it is what it is.
Jake O’Kane on ‘Survivor 45’.Robert Voets/CBS
Austin and Dee are great players.
I felt like I did good with what I had.
And thenBoston Robdoesn’t really do good when he’s in a maybe more submissive position in the game.
And so that’s what I was trying to really highlight, but I get it.
It was nice to see everybody.
I was just happy because everyone out there is truly a wonderful person.
So it’s nice just to chill and decompress.
But it is tough doing that right after.
I do wish it was a little bit longer, but it is what it is.
That’s small potatoes in the grand scheme of things.
Lets get into all this stuff from the finale.
Even with the immunity idol that kept you safe, how much were you beating yourself up about that?
It’s like, What am I going to do?
Sit there and be upset about it?
I don’t want it to distract from the other things I have going on.
It did really hurt in the moment.
Lets talk about that.
Take me through your emotions as that all unfolded.
That was definitely tough to swallow and that didn’t work out.
It was kind of like, What else can you do?
My plan was to go with Austin and Katurah.
I think Dee was always the bigger threat to win from my perception.
So Katurah made a great argument.
That’s what it’s got to be.
What do you want me to swear on?
I did, and I told Katurah more information than other people in the game.
I do think telling Austin was the right move.
I was pretty confident that it was going to go to Dee.
I didn’t know if it was going to get to Julie, but I felt like it might.
So then in my head, I’m like, Okay, I’m getting no votes.
Julie’s definitely not going to vote for herself.
So my thought is that Dee and Julie are going to vote Katurah, Austin might vote Julie.
It didn’t really matter.
And then me and Katurah vote, and Dees gone.
That makes Katurah look weaker.
What was going on there?
And looking at the contraption, I’m like, Oh, these look like bungee cords to me.
These aren’t breaking.
Lets get into the fire making.
You wanted that big signature moment all season long and you finally got it with that dominant performance.
How satisfying was that and was it just a major relief for something to finally go right?
I needed it mentally and emotionally, and it was such a huge thing.
Im the only one who can do it.
No one was going to sit there and build it for me.
So I really just needed it mentally.
I felt really kicked down a lot, you know what I mean?
And honestly, I’ll remember that feeling forever.
That’s one of the best moments in my life making fire.
How upset would you have been if Dee had just put you through to the end?
I don’t know how I would’ve handled it.
I would’ve just been so gutted.
I just couldn’t.
I knew I was looking really like a fresh goat, but I needed it.
It would’ve destroyed me if I didn’t do fire.
I told Dee, Look, let me do fire.
You probably beat me if I win anyway, so it doesn’t matter.
The highs, the lows all of it.
It’s such a blessing.
I got every little ounce of it.
There wasn’t anything I really got to miss out on.
And even though the lows get even lower and you feel that way, I overcame that.
I overcame those lows and it really just adds to the high for me.
And just getting to witness every single nook and cranny of that game is just an absolute blessing.
How concerned were you in terms of how some of this was going to be portrayed?
I was definitely concerned.
Seventeen out of 18 people are going to look like dum-dums.
You know what I mean?
I don’t need that.
I just want everyone to know that I gave everything within myself.
And that’s what I did.
So I’ve appreciated how everything has worked out in terms of that.
I wish you guys saw me and Bruce joking around.
I think I called him old man around the merge.
Me and Bruce joked around a lot two Northeast guys.
