‘Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance’ exclusive: Tasha Fox on finish, big moves, bond with Jeremy
One of the interesting things about “Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance” as a season was that the edit did leave open so many possible winners, with Tasha Fox being among the list. While we knew she would have a harder time against Jeremy Collins (who received all of the votes Wednesday), she did enough in the game to ensure that she had at least a solid chance of taking home Sole Survivor against the right people in the end.
So what did Tasha say about her game, and was she surprised to not get any votes? We had a chance to ask her a few questions today in the midst of a crazy press day.
CarterMatt – Looking back at your game right now and your finish, how are you feeling about everything?
Tasha Fox – After everything on the island I feel like there was nothing more I could have done. I just think that the person I decided to lock in with on day one was really awesome, had a great story, and is my friend, so I’m glad for Jeremy and proud for the game that I played. The decisions I made helped all three of us get to the end.
Were you surprised that you didn’t get Savage’s vote in the end, given that you did kind of save his butt over on Angkor?
No. Actually I think that the guys were really tight and sticking together and loyal to one another. When he didn’t ask me a question at final tribal that spoke volumes, but it’s all good. (Laughs.)
Angkor was one of the first times this season we got to see how hard you were playing, and you managed to get Abi over on your side with Savage. How did you go about doing that?
Honestly, I didn’t know what I could do. My relationship with Abi was genuine. I’ve been to Brazil, I have Brazilian friends, and I speak Portuguese. We really connected on just a personal level. That turned into an alliance, and when I formed a relationship with her it wasn’t necessarily to swing her. We connected! I felt like I understood Abi, and once we got her on our side we felt like there was no stopping us at that point. That was [really important] at Angkor, and that was all it took: Getting to know her, appreciating her, which is something I feel like I didn’t do as much in ‘Cagayan,’ like with Kass. That was my #1 focus with ‘Second Chance’: Really let people know that I had their back, build these relationships, and let them know every day with reassurances 24/7. That’s how I got Abi on our side, and from there it went very well.
So what happened with Abi at the merge? I was surprised that she ended up being so isolated from much of the rest of the group?
That’s a good question, and one that Savage and I talked about just this week, why Abi didn’t try to cash in on all the promises we made her. I wondered the same thing when at the merge, she came back really tight with Kass and Ciera, and she didn’t seem at all interested in reconnecting with Savage and I. Nobody really questioned each other about it. It was very strange, but it felt like she thought she had found a good group and settled in nicely, and didn’t need Savage and I to cash in on the promises we made her.
How are things between you and Kass now? Have things really improved since the game?
Uh, no. I never had a personal issue with Kass. I felt like what happened with ‘Cagayan,’ I felt it there and I leveraged whatever I needed to leverage for ‘Second Chance.’ I didn’t have any interest in targeting Kass, but I didn’t have any interest in working with her because of her game style and her gameplay. So that’s why we were good on Bayon, but then at the merge she came for me and she tried it. You saw what happened.
I didn’t have any issues with Kass, she wasn’t on my radar, she was a non-factor in my life in general. Any beef that is perceived is not coming from my end. Like I said I don’t think about Kass; she is literally a non-factor for me.
Over the course of the final tribal councils, is there any one instance where you feel like you could or should have targeted Jeremy?
Nope, absolutely not. Like I said from day 1 he’s my friend, love his family, I’m 100% happy for Jeremy. I know that without the moves that I made, none of us would have made it to the end. So we accomplished the goals that we set on day one. I’m good, he’s good, no regrets.
So any interest in coming back after this crazy, exhausting experience?
Every day was mentally and physically exhausting. The level of gameplay was at a really high level, and I’m still drained from watching it because it brought back all of the feelings of paranoia and extreme mental fatigue. I’m probably going to lay low for quite a while, get my bearings and reconnect. So ask me in a couple of years? That could probably change, but right now, I’m good.
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