‘Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance’ exclusive: Abi-Maria Gomes on fan reaction, Tasha, Keith, and more

Abi-Maria Gomes is a fantastic “Survivor” character, and someone we really thought had a good shot at making it to the finale. She’s tremendous entertainment, and even when you don’t agree with some of her moves, she does keep things interesting. We also feel a little bad for some of the backlash she’s received online after blasting Joe last week, since there were some events that prompted it that were not shown on TV. (More on that later.)

In the midst of a busy press day, we chatted with this season’s seventh-place finisher about her ideal final three, pre-game pressure, and how she overall enjoyed being a part of this season more than the first time around.

CarterMatt – I know one of the reasons that me and a lot of other people were excited to see you on the show this season was because we knew that you would bring a lot of entertainment. Did you ever feel pressure when you were out there to sort of be that character, or were you able to separate that?

Abi-Maria Gomes – It’s like how I tell people. When I’m out there, there’s a ‘Survivor’ Abi alter-ego that comes out. I’m not there to make friends. I’m there to play the game and make it to the final three and hopefully win the season. I’m not there to be a hypocrite; I’m there to get the job done!

Did you enjoy being out there more this time? I know the first season [in ‘Survivor: Philippines’] you were injured most of the time.

I enjoyed this season more because I actually got to participate on the challenges, and not have an injury. That was a lot better.

You were really close with Jeff Varner in the early part of the game, but eventually you guys went to Angkor and he had his own injury. Had things worked out differently, is he someone you would’ve gone far in the game with?

He had a strong connection with Wiglesworth and she didn’t like me, so that kind of worried me, too.

If she had gone out at some point along the way, would that have made it better?

Yeah. If he’d be willing to get rid of her, though I don’t think he would be, that would have solidified our relationship a bit better.

What about Woo? I know you had it out for Woo–

Well, he had it out for me!

Okay, it’s true. He did write your name down a couple of times. Was there anything else he did that made you worried?

You know, when he got to Angkor the dots started to connect in my head, and I [came] to the realization that Tasha was one of the only people that had voted for him to win ‘Cagayan,’ so I thought it was dangerous to have her, Spencer, and Woo together. That was another factor that motivated me to get rid of him.

How terrible was it at Angkor? It looked miserable.

Horrible. Horrible. We were in such a disadvantage. Horrible.

Was it made harder by the fact that there were so many big personalities with you, Peih-Gee, Tasha, and Savage there?

Everything about it. We had to hike a mountain to literally get to the challenge, and the other tribes didn’t. By the time we got to the challenge we were depleted. We weren’t drinking water properly, and we were trying to survive without a real shelter.

Something that I didn’t get a big sense of on the show was what happened with you and Tasha. You seemed close at Angkor, and yet after the merge you were left with Ciera and Kelley Wentworth. Did she just distance herself from you the moment the merge happened?

I think Tasha already had a pre-game alliance with Spencer and had a relationship with Jeremy from being on Bayon. When I got [to the merged tribe] and saw Kelley Wentworth again, I had already started to build a relationship with her and she was close with Ciera. I just thought that they were more genuine towards me. Once the merge happened I could totally see that Tasha was not being genuine. It was obvious.

And obviously with this season there are so many different alliances that it’s hard to know who is with who.

There is so much going on. It is hard to differentiate. I had already had such a target on my back, and people underestimate me, and like Spencer said, he didn’t think I deserved to be there. That’s why they didn’t want to take me to the end. It’s just crazy to me.

Let’s talk about that. You were voted to be on the season, and regardless of however you got there, you did make it pretty far on both of your own seasons. Is that something you like to fire back at? Do you think people are being a little holier-than-thou?

That irritates me so greatly because I think that everybody who goes through these circumstances deserves to be there, and everybody who actually makes it to the end may have a shot at winning because of how they deliver in the final three. It really all depends on who they put on the jury! So much happens at Ponderosa.

Who did you want to go to the end with?

Kimmi and Tasha, because in my eyes they are the ultimate goats.

We weren’t really seeing much of Kimmi out there…

Exactly. (Laughs.)

So she wasn’t doing much?

No. She was just voting which way that Jeremy wanted her to.

What was your relationship like with Keith? He’s someone who while entertaining has been shown to be a little unpredictable.

He is a delight. He is really so funny, and he made me laugh so much.

So was Kelley someone who wanted to take out close to the end, or have someone else voting out and do the work for you?

I was going to try to have someone else do it for me. It would be silly for me to sit next to her at the final tribal, since it would have been me being a Woo and her being a Tony, right? By getting rid of Keith and then letting Spencer and Jeremy calling the shots and be worried about there being a majority of women, I was just going to let them do whatever they had to do. So I was just gonna go with it, and then get rid of them and get to the end with Kimmi and Tasha. I would have given a girl-power message, and I would have tried to pitch and sell my game, [sticking around] at Angkor, and making a strong move at the end. I would have had a chance that way.

I talked to Joe last week, and it sounds like the two of you had a big argument that wasn’t really shown on TV. Did it upset you that they cut that out, since it provided more justification for the whole ‘you’re moldy’ comment and saying he had clown hair?

How are they going to villainize the golden boy? (Laughs.) That’s his role, this is mine. It’s okay; I understand where I fit in.

Finally, any desire in coming back and doing this again?

It’s too early for me to even think about it. I’m still trying to digest being so hated by the ‘Survivor’ community because that is not how I am perceived in real life. My friends and family love me and it’s been hard for them to read and watch and see all of those hard things being said about me.

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For the record this is our second time interviewing Abi and we’ve found her fun and insightful both times, and we think that most of the diehard “Survivor” fans enjoy and appreciate what she brings to the show. Sometimes the noise caused by some other fan bases drowns that out unfortunately.

If you want to get some more “Survivor” news, head over here to get a review from Wednesday night’s episode! Also, sign up over here to score some other TV news on all we cover, sent right to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: CBS.)