What does Denise have to say about taking out Sandra?
Plenty, it turns out.
And she reveals that the Queen may have saved the newly crowned King by giving the Denise the idol.
Robert Voets/CBS
Otherwise, Denise may have taken out Tony instead, and his epic run would have never happened.
We asked the Queenslayer all that and more when we spoke after the finale.
ENTERTAINMENT WEKELY: First off, I’m a little worried.
Do you think Malcolm Freberg has stopped crying yet since you didn’t win?
DENISE STAPLEY:I’m not sure.
He has been such a huge fan for me and such a huge support all season.
But I am a little worried.
So I need to check in with him after this.
And you know that her modus operandi has always been As long as it’s not me.
And as soon as she mentioned Tony, I thought, “Oh, wait a minute.
This is definitely not just for my benefit.
This is forherbenefit.”
And you already had an idol, so you were already safe.
It’s my favorite game in the world.
Where do you think you would have placed your vote then?
It would have depended on who I felt the most comfortable with.
At that point, Tony rarely had strategized with me.
I was trying to stay strong with Jeremy.
I was trying to build an alliance with him.
So it would have either been on Sandra or Tony.
I’m not sure which one.
And I definitely, probably would’ve played my own idol on myself instead of Jeremy.
He obviously is, and you voted for Tony to win.
Why did you give Tony your vote?
I have thought about this over and over.
I don’t think there was any option for me not to vote for Tony.
Tony, for me, epitomizes whatSurvivoris all about.
I tried to explain this to Jeff after the game.
And he was like Ted Bundy.
Denise, remember a minute ago when I told you how much I loveplayingSurvivor What-If?
We’re going to play another round right now.
And let’s say that that final three is Sarah, Natalie, and Michele.
Then what do you do with your vote?
Oh, Sarah, 100 percent.
If it’s Sarah, Michele and Natalie, 100 percent Sarah.
Again, it’s kind of those moments that are a no brainer for you.
That is no brainer for me.
Michelle and I, we’ve talked about this a lot.
Michele and I felt like we were constantly scrambling.
I just need a breath of oxygen to keep going."
Were you part of those conversations and didyouthink she had one?
There was no way that they would let that be what happened with the Edge of Extinction.
And so we were all, clearly other than Tony, thinking that.
We were like, There’s no way they’re going to let that happen.
And clearly, that was a set of blinders that we desperately needed to take off.
I’m pretty much a realist and a pragmatist.
I remember saying, “Yeah, it’s going to be me.
And it’s okay.
This is my time.”
How do you compare this experience to your previous one in season 25,Survivor: Philippines?
You went to every single Tribal Council that season.
You won that season, but now you get all the way to the final six against incredible competition.
How do you compare the two experiences?
It’s so funny, Dalton.
I actually struggle to describe this season.
And for moreSurvivorscoop, follow Dalton on Twitter@DaltonRoss.
