The South Pacific champ is back, and hopes the wait was worth it.
And that’s not all she told me.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What’s going on, friend?
Wait, can I call you friend?SOPHIE CLARKE:Yeah, we’re friends.
Are we friends?Yeah, we’re friends.
We’re not best friends, but we’re friends.
No, yeah, we’re friendly.Yeah, sure … No, we’re friends.
Just because there’s friendly, there’s friends, and there’s close friends.And best friends.
Close friends and then best friends.
We’re not close friends yet?Maybe, I think, after this interview.
So it’s been a hot minute since you’ve done this.
It’s been what, 17 seasons?Literally, hot.
Dalton has me in the sun.
Yes, it’s very hot here.
And yes, you’re right in the sun.
So tell everyone what you’ve been up to.
Had wonSurvivor.And in the last eight years, I have like deviated from that very linear path.
I did three years of med school, absolutely hated it.
Hated the patients, hated blood, got bored.
I was really bad at it too honestly, I couldn’t memorize anything.
So I left and I tried my hand at a lot of different jobs.
And I never practiced medicine.
I quit, I left it.
I kind of creditSurvivora bit with giving me the guts to make those kind of decisions.
And then I fell in love and I’m getting married this summer.
That’s a good question.
When’s the wedding going to be?August.
Are invites already out?Invites are already out.
And by the way, by the time people are actually reading this, this has already happened.Oh.
Like, you’re married.Oh, well I had a beautiful wedding.
Was it incredible?It didn’t rain at all.
My invite got lost in the mail.
Anyway, Sophie, you just talked about a lot of change.
Does that impact you out here at all?Totally.
And when I look back on my season, I think that I was pretty lucky.
I think I was dealt the hand for the maturity that I had at the age of 21.
I think a lot of people saw me as stand-offish and condescending.
I look back and I think, “I was dealt the perfect hand.”
I’m not sure if 21-year-old me played another season, if I would’ve done as well.
And I guess this will be the test.
Was it frustrating not being asked back after you won?
You want to go onSurvivorwhen you feel like you don’t needSurvivor.
There’s this quote saying that “Generals are always fighting the last war.”
And people keep asking me, “Do you feel pressure?
Do you feel like you’re gonna wanna live up something from your last season?”
And I don’t.
I feel like a new person who can just playSurvivoragain.
I spent a lot of time after my season feeling like I didn’t get enough credit.
I felt like I played a really smart game that was difficult.
I feel like dodging the radar is not a passive thing.
Quote-unquote, “Play under the radar.”
Or more like dodge the radar.
I was actively always doing that.
It’s a less fun game to watch…
Because it’s less showy.It’s less showy.
I think I can, but I haven’t proven it yet.
Some people here have proven that they can do that.
“Some hesitation because my fiance does not have the best creative eye.
So a little bit of hesitation there.
Less hesitation because I was excited about the concept of an easy wedding diet.
But actually my fiance literally just left his job and is building a startup.
And so for us, this is kind of an exciting time.
I have a white picket fence, Sophie.Oh s, and a dog?
No, three cats.Oh, that’s worse.
He’s terrified I’m going to come back and not want to marry him.
I actually asked you the wrong question.
Yes,of courseI had hesitation!
And the worst part is that the reason I loveBig Brotheris…
I don’t like the show.
I don’t need to rewatch the show when I get back.
I just love being in the community at the time.
Like, I love logging in to Hamsterwatch and seeing if there’s an update.
I like watching the feeds to fall asleep.
And it’s not like other shows.
You’re leading two parallel lives at once.
This isBig BrotherI’m going on right now, right?
Would you doBig Brother?I would love to doBig Brother.
It’s a long time.I know.
I would love to doBig Brotherif it had less consequences.
It’s just like a less classy TV show, you know?
What are your thoughts?I’m getting more excited.
I was initially very starstruck.
And everybody’s kind of walking in wearing the outfit you would expect them to wear.
Amber looks like she just came from a soccer game in Boston.
And everybody’s so perfectly themselves, it really feels like you’re surrounded by super women.
And being a part of that concept.
Parvati used to live in New York, so I know her well, we used to workout together.
Like, she’s met my family.
But we’ve really been out of touch for the last year or so, likereallyout of touch.
So, I was super excited to see her here, and I keep trying to smile.
I keep trying to revive that friendship and I hope she’s thinking along the same lines.
I also think it’d be a really unexpected alliance.
I don’t think many people would know that we were friends.
So I’m excited about Parvati.
People like Michele, people like Danni, and maybe even Denise.
I think that there might be some common bond that I can forge there.
And then on the men’s side, I mean, I don’t know who’s here.
I assume it’s 10 winners.
On the men’s side, I’m excited more about the egos.
I think I’ve proven myself as somebody who can be a really good sidekick.
I think there are a lot more egos on the men’s side probably.
I’m a little more excited about the egos over there.
I came out here thinking like, “I’m in the middle of the pack of winners.”
And it’s true, I was season 23.
Or have just played twice.
I definitely think there’s going to be a big learning curve.
I hope I can use that to my advantage.
When in doubt, always do the opposite of Stephen Fishbach.
And I think that’s a good perception to maintain.
So I’m okay letting people think that until I kind of get up to speed.
I think that they’ll see me as smart, I think that’s unavoidable.
I also think I’m not seen as somebody who has proven themselves to be an incredibly cunning player.
I don’t know, the perceptions of you are the hardest things to figure out.
And it’s probably the most important thing.
I agree on both of those points.
So what’s your biggest weakness, then?I think two things.
Last time, I underestimated some people.
I forgot that everybody was playing, and I got too wrapped up in my own game.
I mean, it’s obvious now, we’ve all won.
Nobody out here is going to be underestimated.
But I think that’s one thing I could end up doing.
What can I imagine myself saying that will form a bond between us?
And I know that I need to connect with everybody.
When you looked at that guy then, what were you thinking?Dodgeball target.
And some of the things I wrote in there about Cochran are just, like, not pleasant.
Stephen, I think the last thing he said to me was, “You’re way too calm.
You’re way too calm.”
And I was like, “That is a good thing, Stephen.”
I think it was the opposite of what he was.
And I felt like my season was a dark ass season.
That sounds absurd, but I want to have a funSurvivorseason.
Like I want to have aSurvivorseason that feels like an escape room, you know?
My lastSurvivorseason did not.
It felt like some twisted, Catholic Church confessional murder mystery.
I don’t want that.
No, I think Stephen and Cochran have a lot to teach.
