The ousted player also explains what he would have done in her shoes at the challenge.
A new endurance challenge twist separated the tribe into two teams.
When she went for the big win and defeated Brandon Cottom, Matt was left vulnerable.
Matt Blankinship on ‘Survivor 44’.Robert Voets/CBS
To make matters even worse, Matt decided tonotbring his bag of possessions to the challenge.
Why didn’t Matt bring his bag with him?
Was he surprised Frannie didn’t throw the challenge?
Matt Blankinship on ‘Survivor 44’.Robert Voets/CBS
Did the showmance ultimately do him in?
And what exactly is the status of the island couple now?
(you’re free to watch the interview above, or read it below.)
Matt Blankinship on ‘Survivor 44’.Robert Voets/CBS
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: This isSurvivor.
Weird things can happen at any point.
MATT BLANKINSHIP: I know, I know.
Matt Blankinship on ‘Survivor 44’.Robert Voets/CBS
I’m such a fool for that one.
And I say it in my confessional, too.
I’m like, “I’m an idiot!
This is the worst play ever!
This is a rookieSurvivormistake!”
In that moment I was just like, “We’re merged.
No matter what, we’re coming back to this beach.
I’ll [be] okay.”
And, for the record, I wasnotthe only one who left their bag.
I’m kicking myself for that one.
I don’t know that it would’ve made a difference, but at least I would’ve tried.
Well, if you had the bag, what would you have taken out of it?
At this point, I’m pretty sure my idol is fake.
I would’ve played it anyway.
[Laughs] I’m throwing everything at the wall.
I would’ve played the idol, and I would’ve played the Shot in the Dark as well.
I thought that was funny somehow, and so I was fixated on making that happen.
I also saw the Shot in the Dark as pretty much my only shot here.
At least until the whole advantage situation.
So let’s get into the challenge a bit.
Had that scenario run through your mind at all?
Especially once it was only Frannie on the other side.
But, at the same time, this isSurvivor.
Anything can happen, and you want to put your best foot forward.
I’m genuinely so proud of her for winning the immunity and setting the tone in this way.
I don’t fault her at all for wanting to compete and wanting to win.
We all dream about that all the time.
But, at the same time, I can’t hold it against Frannie for wanting to compete.
Come on, she beat Brandon!
The freaking NFL player!
A little girl from Minnesota outlasting this big guy who played on the Seahawks.
Like, how cool is that?
I think she has a future as a boom mic operator.
When it got down to Frannie versus Brandon, were you hoping she would drop the ball?
[Laughs] I mean, okay, I was hoping that I would be safe in that moment.
I was so excited for Frannie.
I was putting myself in her shoes, being like, “I’ve won the challenge!”
And I jumped up and I was like, “Woo!”
And then I had a turnaround of like,Oh s—.
Now I’m screwed.The emotional response came before the logical response.
It reminded me of Josh when Jeff came over and announced that Matthew was leaving the game.
He was like, “I’m safe!
Oh, but that’s really sad.”
you’re free to’t help but feel that competing thing, but the opposite for me.
Like,I’m so stoked for Frannie!
Oh s—!
I’m very proud for her.
What would you have done had it been, say, you vs. Carolyn at the end?
Do you think you would’ve thought it through and stepped off?
Or do you think you would’ve gone for the win?
Oh gosh, it’s one of those situations where you don’t know until you’re there.
Honestly, I think I would’ve thought about it and probably knocked it off.
But it is hard.
We’re all competitive.
You have a lot of time to think about it.
I think I probably would’ve ended up there.
I know you know this question is coming, but what is the status of you and Frannie now?
Go ahead, spill the beans.
Yeah, we’re still dating.
We’re still going strong.
Obviously, there is so much chemistry there.
We’re two dorky magnets.
We couldn’t stay away from each other.
And we knew the whole time.
I think of myself as a very logical, smart guy.
So, yeah, we’re still going strong.
We did get Ethiopian food.
We’re planning that road trip.
We’re making it happen.
Is she on the other side of that wall right now?
Yeah, she’s over there.
[Laughs]
I love it.
I figured as much.
You didn’t do a great job of hiding your showmance.
Like you said, it’s the last thing I expected.
You prepare for this game, but you could never prepare for that, right?
I think I really did that.
For me, that connection is so strong.
That relationship with me and Frannie is so beautiful and so pure.
I’m the real winner ofSurvivor 44.
If it works out, it’s better than a million dollars, no question.
It will last longer, too.
Me and Fran were not that subtle on Soka beach.
It was very clear.
But we did actually kind of turn it down and come to our senses, right?
Our heads were in the clouds for a bit.
We tightened it up.
I don’t think that the bond between me and Fran was so obvious to everyone else.
She didn’t really pick up on it, as deep as it was.
So I don’t think it was ultimately the showmance.
I do think people thought we were an alliance and close, and that may have played a factor.
I also think that the idol thing was a big factor as well.
With those 11 people, I felt like I had made good bonds with seven of them.
I was genuinely feeling really good.
We have to take this opportunity to take him out.I’m pretty sure that was how it went down.
Yeah, there are so many different permutations of how the teams could have gone.
There are so many different ways that the twists could have gone.
There are so many ways that the idol or the advantage could have gone.
I mean, the stars aligned, but [in a] negative [way] for me.
All of that had to be true for me to go home.
Any other group of five, I think I would’ve been okay.
But it is what it is.
Honestly, having seen the episode, it was like a Matt swan song and a beautiful episode.
I think I came out as good as I possibly could have.
Like, I was freaking out on Soka beach, I was unhinged going to Tribal.
I was losing my mind, and I think it was a very kind edit.
So I’m happy with the whole thing.
Um, how did Frannie handle watching the episode?
Oh, we were both in tears.
[Laughs] She was weeping.
It was a really intense experience reliving that.
I think you could see it at Tribal.
I felt like I was processing my elimination sitting at Tribal before it had happened.
That was a rough place.
I think you might see it in my face as well.
Back on Soka, riding the good times, we were winning challenges, everything was good.
We were talking about what’s the wackest analogy you could make at Tribal Council.
Like, what’s a really silly thing you could throw in there.
What we landed on was a bidet.
There’s something just so funny about bringing a bidet into Tribal Council.
So I tried to make up a bidet analogy just for them.
I knew it wouldn’t make air.
I knew it wasn’t for anyone except for those people sitting on the bench.
I just had to do it for them.
So, yeah, talking about bidets with Jeff at Tribal.
What was the analogy?
Jeff was like, “This is a family friendly show.
We can’t be talking about poop.”
I want to come clean and be totally honest."
Honestly, the analogy worked because that genuinely was my play at that point.
I was trying to convince Brandon that I did not have a real idol.
I was trying to convince all the Ratu people, like, “I don’t have this.”
I was telling them the whole story.
So, the analogy worked, but it was mostly for the people sitting on the bench there.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
