Survivor: Ghost Island interview: Domenick Abbate on tie vote, close finish, and throwing a challenge
In our exit interview below Domenick breaks down his performance this season, plus also what went wrong and if there was anything he could’ve done.
CarterMatt – Is it any solace to you at all that you were one of the best runner-ups to ever be on the show?
Domenick Abbate – I appreciate that. I’ve heard from some really credible people in the Survivor world giving me love. It means a lot. I’d rather have the money, but I still got a couple of bucks out of the game and I’m not regretting any of it. It was a great ride and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Is a tie vote something you ever thought would happen going into the show or during it? Obviously that’s something we’ve never seen before.
Wendell and I talked about where we thought votes would go if it was me, him, and Laurel in the final three. Him and I were on the same page that Donathan was definitely going to give Laurel a vote. If that was the case, it would never be a tie. We thought that it would be a 5-4 or a 6-3 situation. It was really up to us to put up a good performance at final tribal.
A tie didn’t really sink in to me, because Donathan and Laurel were so tight in the game and we were convinced that he was going to give her a vote.
Is there any point along the way that you would’ve been actually okay to take out Wendell, before the final six, without the target just focusing in on you?
Him and I talked about it all the time — it’s so funny. Who openly discusses taking each other out (laughs). We would wake up before everyone else and I would put on some hot water — if there was coffee grounds, we’d have coffee and we’d just sit out there and chat. We’d have these strategy sessions where we’d lay out an itinerary for what we should do. At the end of the conversation we’d be like ‘what about me and you? Am I coming after you today? Maybe we’ll do that tomorrow.’ It was open and it was humorous, but it was also in the back of our minds that it was something we needed to do at some point.
The problem was that some of the people in the game were becoming a handful. Kellyn was really shaking things up at seven, and I was really afraid to take Wendell out using her because I was afraid that she would just run and tell someone that I was trying to do this. There was never a moment where the stars were aligned, and then he won immunity at six and five and then that was a wrap.
What does it say about the relationship that you have with Wendell that you guys can talk about these things without bitterness or a feeling that one of you is betraying the friendship?
We don’t come from the same background, but we both come from the northeast and have this same vibe about each other. We can read each other really well and worked well together, but we are realists. It wouldn’t be smart for either one of us to go to the end with each other, but we also realized that the moment one of us went for the other one, the next one was probably on the chopping block. Why do this when things are working so well? We’ll figure it out or battle it out at the end.
I think for him, if there was an opportunity to take a direct shot at me, he would have. The same thing for me — if I had a direct shot where I knew I could take him out, it would’ve happened.
Are you as surprised as I am that both you and Chris made it to the merge?
I didn’t know how long we’d be together, but the thing is that if you’re on Chris’ team, you’re winning. He was always leading us into battle and we came out victorious so many times. It started to become clear that getting to the merge together would happen with him, but I did not anticipate this big showdown being the way that it was. The problem was that I would hear these things that he was saying to people about me, so I had to make sure he didn’t get the upper hand in whispering things into too many people’s ears.
When we finally did come to a head at the merge, it had to be one of us. There was no way we could have gone another day together.
At the final six Tribal Council, are you surprised that nobody asked Jeff, after you put up your fake idol, whether or not it was valid?
That was the thing. I wasn’t sure if Jeff was going to blow my game up and say ‘Dom, that’s not real.’ That in itself was a gamble and if that would’ve backfired, I would have had to play my real idol. It’s actually something that I’ve been thinking about for eight months [since filming] — are people going to say that Jeff technically should have validated it? But, at the end of the day nobody said that Jeff should have validated it. If nobody’s asking, why should he say anything? I just handed him something and he just held onto it.
I think that’s what I was starting to realize — not only do I need to sell this story to Sebastian, but everyone else in the game so that they don’t ask to validate the relic. That’s why I came off really brash and aggressive, and I know it didn’t look good and was distasteful, but if I wasn’t that aggressive in my pitch, somebody might have said ‘Jeff what is that? Tell us what that is,’ and I would’ve been dead. It was really important that I came out really aggressive and assertive so I could preserve my idol for the next vote. That’s what I ended up doing.
For me, it was a really proud moment that I pulled that off, but going back to camp that night I realized that I had turned some people off.
You were intentionally not saying ‘Jeff, can you validate this idol,’ but in the heat of the moment and in the midst of all that emotion and chaos, were you afraid of slipping up?
No. It was controlled for me. It was more of a performance — I was in check with myself and was really just trying to tell a story. But again, I was perceived from the jury like I was this wild man, this cowboy who is just throwing all of his weapons out on the table and saying ‘pick a weapon and I’m shooting somebody.’ That’s the problem — you try to tell a story, but you also have to keep people from having a poor perception of you at the same time.
You say you want to go back, but are you worried as to whether or not you’ll be a target?
(Laughs) Yeah, this is why this is a lot harder of a sell to my wife, who’s saying ‘you’re going on the pre-jury trip if you go back.’ But, I disagree with that! I think I could pull something off if I can get through the first two or three votes and get my footing. At the end of the day, I wasn’t throwing people under the bus left and right. I was loyal to the people I worked with. If you’re looking for someone who will be loyal and is willing to figure out ways to get us out of trouble, I’m the guy you want to play with.
But, I do realize that it would be a huge mountain to climb going back a second time. That is what would really dictate a true player, knowing that I have a huge target on my back, but still finding a way to maneuver my way through the game. I think that would be something to be said about my game.
But then again, who knows? Day three I could be going home — but it’s definitely a challenge I’m willing to take. I’m not afraid to do it.
Out of everything that you did in the game, what’s the one thing you did that you wish had gotten more airtime?
I can tell you that there were so many great social moments with people. These are the highlights of the game that aren’t great for television, but you know that you’ve really locked someone in. You know when you have somebody — if I have a one-on-one with someone, I know the moment when I’ve changed their mind. That may not sell on television well, but in my mind that was the moment I changed the game for myself.
It’s hard to talk about specific moments because they happen in the game so many times, but for me the moment I wish had really played out on better and is one of the most underrated things in the game, was the Bradley vote. I knew that if Bradley got back with Kellyn at the merge, the game was going to take a completely different turn for me. I knew how powerful they were as a duo and I knew that it was going to be a problem. I actually went out of my way to get rid of him to the point where I threw the challenge at the last opportunity before the merge. They didn’t show it, and I wish that they had. It was a really strategic moment for me where I put that plan together to get rid of him; they just made it look like ‘let’s get rid of Bradley because he’s a mean guy,’ and that just wasn’t the case at all. He was a very smart player and he was a threat to me.
Related – Be sure to get some other interviews from the finale!
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