Did Caroline and Gabe do their Tuku tribemate dirty?
How does Sue feel about being shut out by the jury, especially by alliesCaroline VidmarandGabe Ortis?
Why didnt her real age reveal make a bigger impact?
Sue Smey on ‘Survivor 47’.Credit:CBS
And what was it like having to go from the loss straight into the after-show?
We asked Sue all that and more, including her current thoughts on rivalKyle Ostwald.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Okay, most important thing first.
Sue Smey on ‘Survivor 47’.CBS
How manyChristmas treesdo you have up in your house right now?
SUE SMEY:I think right now I have five.
Okay, not excessive at all.
Sue Smey on ‘Survivor 47’.CBS
Sooooo… can you explain all that dirt we kept seeing on your face?
What gives, Sue?
Well, to be honest, here’s the thing: I’ve always been like a tomboy.
Sue Smey and Jeff Probst on ‘Survivor 47’.Robert Voets/CBS
I grew up in the woods.
I’m not afraid of getting down and dirty, and that’s exactly what I did out there.
I was constantly looking for idols, and even though I had one, I still wanted more.
Kyle Ostwald and Sue Smey on ‘Survivor 47’.Robert Voets/CBS
I wanted more advantages.
And it’s boring, so you got to find something to do.
Unbeknownst to me, like wiping your face or whatever, I never really realized how dirty I was.
Sue Smey in ‘Survivor 47’ finale deleted scene.CBS
And I was even more surprised that no one told me!
So once or twice Rachel would be like, Sue, you got a little dirt right there.
So I’d be rubbing it and she’d be like, No, a little bit more."
Just because I didn’t realize how bad it was!
We didn’t have soap.
Or I lost the soap along the way.
How were you feeling about your chances of winning as you walked into that final Tribal Council?
I really thought my whole game plan from the beginning was to hide my age from the kids.
Nobody really cared, they just knew I was older.
But I didn’t want them to knowhowmuch older I was.
I wanted Kyle out so bad because he killed my chances.
If Kyle weren’t there, I would’ve had three necklaces around my neck.
I did make moves.
I did have plans.Andywas my biggest target.
I wanted Andy out.
And at least with Sam, I knew where Sam was.
He wasn’t lying to me.
We knew we were on opposite ends of the spectrum.
He was there, I was here.
I was good with that.
It was easier to know what I had with Sam than with Andy.
You just never could trust that what he was saying was going to be true.
And then with the whole Caroline thing, I wanted him gone for Caroline.
So these were my moves.
Rachel really was threatened by Sam, and I’m like, You could do whatever you want.
I’m writing Andy’s name down.
So I felt like I influenced a lot.
I did stick true to my word.
And I really hoped that they would see that as well.
So that was my whole thought process.
These were your biggest allies.
I am assuming when they’re at Ponderosa, they all wanted this season to be an epic season.
And they were all focused on the extreme gameplay.
Rachel, I mean, my God, she was a beast.
If I wasn’t winning it, she deserved to win it because she was a beast.
You had that big bombshell revelation about being 59 on your birthday instead of 45.
How did that go over with the jury?
I feel like they all just started laughing.
They all were like, Whoa.
I think Andy especially.
I felt they were shocked, but I don’t know.
I felt I did really good in the challenges.
One, I won.
And even with the bucket, I made the comment to Kyle.
Or is that going to put a target on me?
Because I still believed in my game and I believed I could maybe win another one or two challenges.
And two, it was sad that I didn’t get any votes.
I literally was pushed to my limit many times, physically, mentally, emotionally.
and you’re so proud of yourself.
And I kept saying that all along is that anybody can do anything.
You just got to have the desire to try because what’s left is the grave.
So get out and do live your life and just do everything you possibly can do.
You had quite the journey with Kyle.
What’s the deal now with you and Kyle?
Because, obviously, you two had a rollercoaster ride.
Well, I love Kyle and I want it to be clear, I love Kyle.
He’s a wonderful, wonderful guy.
And to basically put it out there, I felt like he has a great story.
He had a rough childhood.
That was a story that you don’t want to sit next to at final [Tribal].
He’s a competition beast.
That’s another thing you don’t want to sit next to.
And he’s a good guy.
And he had such a great relationship with everyone that he’s someone you want out.
And he was the one that held me back.
So he was my competition in my mind and I wanted him out.
Do I love Kyle?
But he’s a good guy.
I love Kyle to death.
I don’t even remember it!
[Laughs] I was blown away.
And the hate I got was pretty severe.
You’re saying something, and yeah, I was frustrated with Kyle.
He wanted me out and I hold a grudge, whatever.
I have other options.
So I literally never expected him to write my name down.
But I was shocked that he had told me he wouldn’t write my name down that day.
And then he did.
So there was a little bit of stuff going on, but still, he’s a great guy.
It’s a game.
I understand you were very sick at the start of game.
What was going on there?
Yeah, I was severely sick.
I was severely sick and almost like in a zombie state for easily two days.
It was really, really tough.
My biggest fear was being taken out because of being sick or something.
And my whole training was based on not getting injured.
All these other people are training to build their muscles up and be a beast.
I was training to not get injured.
I was taking weighted vests and running four miles to strengthen my joints.
I had a different mindset of: Don’t get injured.
And it weighs on your head.
It’s really, really tough.
That would be my nightmare, getting out there and being sick on day one.
God, it’s crazy.
And it happened to a few of us that we were very sick.
I was very sick.
I remember just laying on the bamboo, just not knowing what’s going to happen to me.
And they surprised me.
They built a huge, huge fire and sang Happy Birthday to Chelsea.
And that right there bonded me with all of them.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
