Noelle was ousted after emerging as a true triple threat in the game.
She showcased her social skills by always finding a new ride-or-die partner after her number 1 was voted out.
In the end, her tribemates had seen enough.
Noelle Lambert on ‘Survivor 43’.Robert Voets/CBS
Nobody wanted to sit next to Noelle at the end, so they voted her off to the jury.
What does Noelle make of her ouster?
How was her reunion at Ponderosa with James?
James Jones, Noelle Lambert, and Owen Knight on ‘Survivor 43’.Robert Voets/CBS
And what happened on the show that we didn’t see?
Watch the entire interview above or read it below.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What happened.
Nolle Lambert and Jesse Lopez on ‘Survivor 43’.Robert Voets/CBS
Why are you talking to me right now?
When I was out there, I had a really great relationship with Jesse.
I had a really great relationship with Cody.
The cast of “Survivor 43'.CBS
I put my trust in the wrong people, and they did an amazing job at blindsiding me.
What were you thinking was going to happen when you went to Tribal?
And then Gaber, Cody, and Jesse all flipped.
Noelle Lambert on ‘Survivor 43’.Robert Voets/CBS
Oh, it was great.
I walked in and I immediately hugged him and said, “I’m sorry.”
I mean, it had to happen.
I was very, very close with Jeanine.
She was one of my very strong allies.
And I knew that I wanted to use my advantage because everyone knew I had it.
I need to make a big move.”
Especially having Owen there as well.
But the vibe back at Ponderosa, it was completely fine.
But at the end of the day, we have nothing but love for each other.
He played a really great game and I was just trying to build my resume.
How did you piece together that plan of stealing Owen’s vote but then using it on James?
And it worked out perfectly.
He won’t be able to do anything.
He’s a sitting duck.
So this is a perfect plan."
But then Sami goes on 10 minutes before Tribal Council and decides he wants to tell everything to Karla.
And then comes out to me and says, “Listen, I told Karla everything.”
And I’m freaking out because James has his Knowledge Is Power as well.
And so I’m thinking, “Is this guy gonna take my advantage?”
Owen still had my advantage at that point.
I kind of reached in Owen’s sock.
But it worked in Sami’s benefit.
After watching it back, I understand why he did it.
I think it’s brilliant that Owen was holding that Steal-a-Vote and that you reached into his sock.
He had it the entire time.
And that just showed my trust with him in the game.
He was one of my strong allies.
He’s like, “You’re gonna steal my vote.”
I was like, “I’m gonna steal your vote.”
We’re good, right?"
And I was like, “I swear to God, we’re good.”
Do I sort of sneak it to you as we’re walking in or something?"
Honestly, that wasn’t even a plan.
She does a great job of playing a poker face.
So I knew that Karla was thinking about it.
Originally, I thought, “Okay, maybe I shouldn’t play this advantage.
I think we have the numbers.”
You’re gonna do this."
And I just said, “You know what?
If I don’t play it, he’s gonna be suspicious and something’s gonna happen.
He’s gonna go up and now play a Shot in the Dark.”
Or I don’t exactly remember how Knowledge Is Power works.
I don’t know if he can take it from me even after I played it or something.
So it was the safest thing to do.
And I’m so sick of this advantage to begin with.
Everyone keeps telling me, “We know you have something.”
So I thought that was really cool.
It was like for two seconds.
It was right when Jeff said it was time to vote and I was kind of silent.
And he just came over to me and made sure.
It didn’t really make any sense, so I totally get why it wasn’t put in there.
What was going through your mind when you saw that?
There’s no shot."
But that doesn’t mean that I’m not gonna try.
That wasn’t even like a thought.
I would say probably like 20 to 30 minutes.
It was a long time.
I mean, everyone was at one point like, “Let’s go, Noelle!”
But I’m hearing them cheer and I’m not trying to cry.
I feel like I’m gonna win this."
It was so hot too.
Like it was probably a hundred degrees.
I thought that was really cool, because it’s something every single amputee has to go through.
But when I threw it and it landed…
I mean, you saw it.
And it’s crazy because I’m not an emotional person.
You have this bond with every single person.
So it was really cool to have them cheering for me.
That really made the moment even more special.
And it also made it harder for me to choose who I wanted to pick.
We heard people saying they didn’t want to sit next to you at the end.
Yeah, it was definitely in my head.
I don’t even wanna bring it up.
Like, I don’t wanna even talk about my story.
I actually lied to everybody.
I didn’t tell them I was a Paralympian.
Because I watched the show back and all these professional football players, they lie about their occupation.
I would tell them how my accident happened.
I would tell them how I lost my leg.
But I just didn’t want this to be the only thing about me.
it’s hard because that’s all that people see.
At least they did a great job at making me feel that way.
I mean, everyone was really amazing.
It’s something that I totally get and I have to think about it.
I have to think: You know what?
I should be the first amputeeperiodto winSurvivor."
So I get it.
But I think people respected me out there.
They didn’t just look at me as somebody who was an amputee.
[Laughs] I’m kidding!
NaOnka’s probably the sweetest.
I would love to meet her one day.
That was the biggest reason why I wanted to come out here and play this game.
I wanted to create a positive representation of the disability community.
And I can’t thank every single person enough.
My social media has been blowing up still to this day.
I’m just really grateful for that.
They can do anything that they’re capable of.
I was scared to death when I found out I was going on the show.
And the biggest reason why I wanted to do it and to overcome it was for anybody else watching.
