I’m going to Redemption!'"
says the first victim of the season.
“I swore I was still in the game.”
Morriah Young on ‘Survivor 43’.Robert Voets/CBS
Is it possible to win an immunity challenge and then get voted out ofSurvivor?
It is if your name is Morriah Young.
It’s okay."
Morriah Young on ‘Survivor 43’.CBS
(you might watch the entire interview above, or read it below.
Also confirm to check out ourSurvivor 43premiere recapandexclusive interview with Jeff Probst.)
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Why are you here talking to me right now?
Morriah Young and Jeff Probst on ‘Survivor 43’.Robert Voets/CBS
Why do you think your tribe voted you out?
I think that they found value in everyone else in different areas than me.
I just didn’t measure up.
The Baka tribe on ‘Survivor 43’.Robert Voets/CBS
Did you have a feeling that it was you when you walked into Tribal Council?
I started to feel it in my gut.
There was kind of a shift that happened in Tribal Council where I started to feel it.
And I’m like, “Let me just trust my alliance.”
I really wanted to work with the women.
I really wanted to work with Sami.
Do you still feel like you all were winners at the challenge?
And I think that’s just my general outlook on life.
I’m not gonna label us as a failing tribe or loser tribe.
We lost the challenge, of course.
I mean, that’s something that is a fact.
We did lose the challenge, but I think that we won in so many other ways.
And so I definitely want to continue to acknowledge that.
You said youwereout there to make friends and then use that to your advantage in the game.
Do you feel you were able to do that?
And that might have been a downfall for me in a way.
Why were you targeting Owen?
I was targeting Owen because I had already made an alliance with Elie and Jeanine.
I really wanted to stick it out with the women.
And Gabler went on that journey and got the idol.
you might say you’re not gonna play your idol all you want and still play it.
If I had an idol, I would’ve played it.
I didn’t wanna give up that control and that power.
And then I really wanted to work with Sami because he was someone that I really vibed with.
So I’m gonna assume that you’re trying to do me because it doesn’t make sense.
So the whole time when he is telling this story, I didn’t buy it for a second.
A lot of folks have been pretty devastated by being the first one to go.
How have you handled that, Mariah?
It was definitely devastating.
Like, the amount of emotions that I felt.
First of all, it took me a long time to accept it.
I was on the boat leaving the island and I’m like, “I’m going to Exile!
I’m going to Redemption!”
I swore I was still in the game.
So my initial coping mechanism was just believing that there was like a second part.
And I got a chance to do that.
I truly believe I was put on the right tribe.
I was with the right people.
It just wasn’t in the cards for me.
And then holding onto high hopes that I’m gonna play again.
I’m gonna have a conversation with Jeff about that.
Hey, it’s happened before.
They brought Francesca back.
How was that last night watching it all unfold on TV?
The support of family and friends definitely helped.
And the support of my fiance, Michael.
I’m getting ready to be the first boot and everyone’s here to celebrate me.
And it’s gonna be such a pity party."
But I got voted out, and everyone was cheering and clapping.
We worked on that fire for maybe an hour.
When I say the fire was gone, it was gone.
There was no strategizing, there was no scrambling.
I felt like that kind of really encapsulated the spirit of our tribe.
And so that’s something that I wish had a little bit more airtime.
And then I talked about my mom a lot.
It’s a game that I love, but something I’m doing to commemorate my mom.
Morriah, you are a very colorful personality.
You have very colorful clothes.
You have a colorful backdrop on your Zoom right now.
Clowns are also very colorful, yet somehow you are deathly afraid of clowns.
I am terrified of clowns.
I do not think they’re funny.
Like, they are terrifying.
The main thing that bothers me is how they draw their smile.
And then they make different facial expressions and it’s really distorted to me.
So when they have a painted red smile on them and they frown, that freaks me out.
It’s… no.
