‘Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X’ exclusive: Lucy Huang on immunity idols, David, Ken, and alliance loyalty

For the first three episodes of “Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X,” we cannot exactly say that Lucy Huang dominated the show much in terms of overall screen time. Yet, when she turned up on Wednesday night’s new episode, it was in a big way — and unfortunately she was on her way to being voted out.

So what did Lucy have to say about David’s immunity idol play, her plans moving further into the game, and then also what she wished she had done differently? We asked her all of these questions in an exit interview on Thursday.

CarterMatt – I like to ask this of people who were voted out because of an idol — do you think this feels better than it would if you were voted out by the majority of your tribe?

Lucy Huang – I actually feel good, because I know that the majority of the tribe didn’t vote me out. That’s a positive thing for me, because you always want to be the popular one. I felt like I was playing a good game, because everyone was going to vote for Jessica — I even got Ken at the end to vote for Jessica. I feel like I was strategizing pretty well. It was going the way I wanted things to go. I can’t regret that, because I was able to make these moves.

I guess the only thing that I regret is that I didn’t think someone would play the idol at such an early stage. It’s one of those things were anything could happen … Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone saw that coming.

You mentioned Ken, and getting his vote at Tribal Council last night. That surprised me just because I assumed he and David would vote together. 

We got along. We were constantly having conversations about relationships, about his daughter, and about a bunch of things in real life. We’d cook together, and we’d communicate all the time. He would gather the coconuts for me, and I’d be the one cooking. It was like a family thing going on there.

I was kind of shocked [to see him question me] — I didn’t know how tight he was with Jessica. I questioned it, I did ask that at a certain point, and the way it played out was just that we wanted to make it to the swap … I didn’t think twice about it, because at that point you just think everyone’s trying to survive. You’re just looking to make it to the next Tribal Council.

Is it tough that maybe the biggest mistake you made was simply not having the idol and David having it? Did you ever look for it, or did you just feel safe?

I looked for it a couple of times, but I didn’t completely look for it. I felt pretty good where I was, and especially with what I could contribute and offer in terms of my physical ability and also the cooking and any hard work. I would totally pitch in all the time, and there wasn’t anything threatening about me. I wasn’t too forceful with any of my relationships with them, but again the idol was just not something I felt like I needed, but I didn’t think somebody would use it so quickly.

We didn’t see a lot of you for those first three episodes. Before the Paul vote, did you think that the alliance of six was something you could have taken deep in the game?

We had a plan that the [first four] were going to be voted out, and then hopefully there’d be a swap. It didn’t really matter where the hierarchy was, and that’s where Jessica played into what happened, and why I wanted to vote her out. She’s the one who planted the seed of ‘hey, the girls are 4, 5, and 6, and Lucy, you’re number 6.’ I’m like ‘why are you telling me this right now? This isn’t pertinent information, but you’re trying to make me feel insecure. You’re trying to show me that you have the info. There is no reason for that information, because all we care about what trying to make it to the swap. You’re trying to make me feel insecure, and Sunday as well.’

If CeCe was voted out over Paul this past tribal council, do you have a sense of what would have been done differently? Would you have been okay for a while?

Yeah, I would have been pretty good.

How much was it a disadvantage for you with the ‘Millennials vs. Gen X’ twist? Do you think it would have been better for you if the tribes are mixed?

I think I would have done much better [had we been] mixed up. I think the Millennials would have definitely appreciated me a little bit more, and I think my personality kind of clicks more with them. Having children, being a good mother to my children, and I also think with bodybuilding I’m used to being around young athletes. I adapt to different situations. I can be that girly girl if you want me to be. They’re more tolerable and adaptable, and the Gen X tribe was just paranoid! It’s probably because we have so much experience in our lives and we have all been backstabbed — we’re all salty, as Mari would say (laughs). We have a bad taste in our mouth about people, and the second something happens you question it, whereas the Millennials are probably free-spirited and go with the flow. They don’t think too hard about things.

Let’s go back to the bodybuilding for a second. How hard was it for you physically being out there? One of my best friends is a bodybuilder, and he’s said he would never do something like this because it would wreck his body.

For me it wasn’t too bad, because going into the island I had just done a competition and my body-fat percentage was around 7%. In terms of eating it wasn’t too bad because sometimes when we deplete, we’re not used to having many nutrients. The thing that was really horrible was when that cyclone hit. My body-fat percentage was so low that I was freezing. I literally thought that I was going to die, because with the environment I couldn’t handle it. That’s something I wasn’t expecting. You like to think you’re going to be able to endure all of the physical obstacles and the challenges, but you never think about the environment. I couldn’t even talk. I said to myself that I’d rather have my four babies and go through labor all over again before experiencing that. I really felt like that is when it broke me.

After that, everything was great. I could have gone through anything after that. I grew from that experience thinking that ‘wow, I was able to get through that.’

Can you describe what that feeling was like in the immunity challenge when there was so much time on the puzzle? I know there was a lot of screaming at the TV going on [around the country] during that.

It was kind of crazy. We were ahead, and I don’t know — the Millennials are just great at puzzles (laughs). They are amazing, and they absolutely showed that there are different ways of dealing with things. There are people who can sit back, and they are able to picture it and put it together. Then, there are us in Gen X who work with our hands, and so we waste time trying to put it all together rather than sitting back and thinking about how to put it together. Maybe in their own way, maybe they are more efficient.

In my head, I was dying thinking ‘we had so much more time and we couldn’t even get this done.’ I mean David was pretty awesome at puzzles too, but with things that are happening and the stress of trying to get it done, it takes you to a different place. When people are watching the TV, they don’t realize [how hard it is] and they’re screaming like ‘why did you that!?’. It’s not easy to be there, and you’ll never know [what it’s like]. I think that’s why there is such a tight-knit group of people who have been on ‘Survivor.’

Last thing: What was it like living with David? He’s great TV, but was it hard handling his paranoia and some of his fears?

He is so insecure, and I’m more of a guy’s guy type of person, saying like ‘shake it off’ or ‘get over it, don’t have pity on yourself.’ He was very insecure all the time, and even the stories he told about his real life. he should be confident in himself, because there is nothing to be insecure about. At the end of the day, getting to know him on the island before he did what he did to me, I thought ‘this is a good guy. This is a guy I would hang out with.’ He would scream about everything — a bird would fly by, and he was scream (laughs). You watch him swim, and you feel sorry for him, saying, like, ‘someone save him’ (laughs).

For some more news on “Survivor,” including our review of this past episode, be sure to head over to the link here! (Photo: CBS.)