KILBY THOUGHT HE’D MADE HIS MOVE AT ‘SURVIVOR 51’ TRIBAL COUNCIL — BUT WHAT HE QUIETLY WHISPERED TO LINNEA CAPOBIANCO AFTERWARDS SUGGESTS HE ALREADY KNEW SOMETHING HAD GONE TERRIBLY WRONG. Tribal Council is where alliances are tested and even the smallest decision can change a player’s entire game. But according to Linnea, one revealing moment happened away from the main confrontation. Following a controversial strategic move, Kilby reportedly made a brief admission to her that hinted at immediate regret. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the pressure of Survivor, where a decision that seems right in the moment can look very different once the votes are cast.

Linnea Capobianco had the numbers on her side. Sure, her new Savu tribe was heading to Tribal Council due to a Survivor 51 double elimination, but there were four original Savus on the tribe and only two original Tokas.

So what if Maggie Nestor wanted to come over in her little boat and give an extra vote to Danny Kilby? One vote changed nothing! Plus, Kilby had flipped so hard to the Savu side that he even told Linnea about the extra vote Maggie gave him. No problem!

But there were a few things Linnea did not know. She did not know that Maggie actually had a second extra vote she got by whining enough to Brady Booker, and she had given that vote to Lewis Kelly. The other thing she did not know is that her alliance partners (Eric Macksoud, Sharonda Cox, Cristian Chavez) had no intention of risking their own lives in the game to save hers.

So when the vote deadlocked twice between Lewis and Linnea, Kilby refused to back down, and the Savu-strong folks folded rather than go to rocks, it was Linnea who was getting her torch snuffed… after first forgetting to bring her torch up, that is.

How disappointed was Linnea that her tribemates would not risk going to rocks for her? Would she have done it for them? And would she really have worked with Kilby after all that, as she promised? We asked the Jersey girl all that and more, and you can now either watch or read the entire interview below.

Alright, let’s rip the Band-Aid off right now. What do you make of your Savu strong tribemates refusing to go to rocks to save you?

LINNEA CAPOBIANCO: Look, I love my Savu alliance. They’re a little softer than I anticipated. My number one Alexis definitely would’ve gotten to rocks for me. Still love my Savu alliance members. They were in a tough place. It’s three to one, right, with Kilby. So most likely one of them would’ve gone home. I totally get it. Devastating, nonetheless.

After the deadlock, we saw Lewis talking a lot to convince Kilby to stick to his guns and go to rocks, but didn’t see you doing a lot of that with the Savu folks. Did you try to put any pressure on Eric, Cristian, and Sharonda to do that?

Yeah, there was a lot of that. I mean, one of the reasons it got really emotional for Cristian in particular is because I looked over at him and I was like, “Please, please, please do this for me.” And they weren’t able to do it. It happens. They also didn’t show a lot of me talking to Kilby. I mean, it was like a two-hour-long Tribal. It was really emotional. Everyone was talking. Lewis couldn’t keep his mouth shut because he was trying to save himself, obviously. It was a crazy Tribal.

Take me through some of the arguments or lines of persuasion that were going on in some of those comments that obviously didn’t make the final cut.

I had a really close relationship with Kilby that wasn’t shown. He was my day one alliance. He’s really the only person I bonded with on the beach at marooning. We actually hiked a mountain for, like, 20 minutes together, and we were looking for advantages and idols together. And so when the tribe swap happened, we were thrilled to be on the same team, and we really bonded in those three days. So that was not shown at all.

And a lot of my talking during the chaos of that Tribal was telling Kilby, “I understand you’re in a tough spot and you got these crazy advantages, but I’m still willing to work with you. Our bond is real.” And they did show that. But I think a lot of the audience had that sort of out of the picture.

And Kilby was actually really on the fence; at least that’s what it was sounding like during Tribal. He was like, “I’m so sorry. I know, I know.” And it was a lot of back and forth. And when I actually finally hugged him goodbye, he said, “I screwed up. I f— up,” were his exact words, and I was pissed. I was like, “Really? Because you can still change it.” So it was a lot of emotional back and forth, a lot of teeter-tottering.

When did that happen that he said that to you? Was that after you were voted out?

Well, he said a lot of things similar to that, but when I actually hugged him goodbye, he thought I didn’t wanna hug him goodbye because I was super hurt. I still gave him a hug because the bond was real and I’m gracious. And while hugging him, he said, “I f—ed up.” And I sort of cursed. Maybe that’s why they left it out. But I was like, “Really? Like, yeah, you did. Go ahead, you can change it. If you think you messed up, you could still change it.” It was tough for everyone.

Maybe that’s why you forgot your torch. You were giving him more time to rethink it.

My brain was in another dimension during that Tribal. I was trying to avoid that torch, okay?

It’s interesting you talk about the Kilby stuff because we see you in that Tribal saying, “Look, I still wanna work with you. We can get through this.” Was that real or was that BS? Because if Lewis does go and then you guys go back to Tribal, are you telling me you wouldn’t have taken out Kilby?

I would’ve absolutely taken out Kilby at some point, but I actually was still willing to work with him. I’m really not a grudge holder, especially in the game of Survivor. So I would’ve been willing to work with him for the near future, of course. Not till the end, because I was really devastated.

What do you think you would have done in Eric, Sharonda, and Cristian’s position had all the votes been on one of them? Would you have gone to rocks for them?

I would say yes. Particularly for Sharonda. I think I was closest with her out of my Savu alliance. I think yes. It would’ve been a baller move. The numbers weren’t necessarily in our favor, but that’s the excitement of Survivor.

It’s interesting you mention that, because I wrote about this in my recap a little bit. There is a lot of pressure on you guys to make big moves or play aggressively. This starts in the casting process. And they even put on air on 50 Jeff saying, “We want everything from you.” So how much of that, just as a player in general — and maybe getting to some of Kilby’s thought process — is like, “Hey, maybe maybe this isn’t the best strategic percentage move,” but there’s a little bit of an inherent pressure to go big, knowing that also people are gonna be watching and commenting and stuff.

Yeah, absolutely. And I kinda think about that when it comes to Maggie, because I had never really interacted with her. I was not gunning for her in any capacity. I would’ve been excited to make it to the merge and potentially work with Maggie. But she thought it was a good idea to have a big move with these crazy votes. It’s good for her résumé; it’s exciting, even though it really wasn’t good for her game to get me particularly out.

Which spelling of your name was your favorite?

Am I the first person in history to have every single spelling be wrong? I think so. Eight spellings? It’s absurd.

And Lewis went with two different spellings, and he did one in print and one in cursive.

That’s part of the reason my brain was in another dimension. I’m like, “Also, did they even really vote for me? Did I actually go out if not a single person actually wrote my name down correctly?”

Take us through your mental state after you walked off that Tribal Council set.

I was devastated. I was really hurt, particularly by Kilby, and I was pissed. I had no time to react to these two extra votes that had the power to re-vote. And I’m all about the twists and turns and challenges that Survivor throws at you, but I really feel like I didn’t even have the opportunity to react to these things.

Those two extra votes arrived an hour at most before Tribal Council. And I was really under the impression that I was reading the room correctly in terms of what Lewis and Kilby had prior to Maggie arriving. I was the only person who went through Lewis’ bag, I didn’t find anything. And he was making up the whole Blood Ring thing, which really told me he doesn’t have anything. So I felt rightfully safe, and something was thrown at me — two things — right before Tribal.

You’ve had a lot of time to dwell on this. Do you think getting eliminated in this fashion is easier or harder to take than a normal vote out?

Oof. I think going out at any time in Survivor is an emotional rollercoaster that you really cannot prepare for. It was a lot harder than I expected on my mental state. And I don’t know. I said during Tribal, “At least I went out in a historic fashion.” I don’t know if I’m still agreeing with that sentiment. I’m still pissed.

Why are you not agreeing with that sentiment?

Because I would’ve actually liked to have fully played in a more strategic manner. Epic vote out, for sure. Yeah. But they were blessed by an angel named Maggie an hour before Tribal with not one but two advantages. So I don’t know. It hurts, and it sucks, and I just wish I had more time to potentially use my strategic skillset to outlast that.

Obviously, there’s been a lot of talk about the first six players voted out all being women. And it’s not like these votes are being led by men, you know? It’s not like the men are like, “Let’s get all the women out.” So what do you make of this? Is this just a weird, odd coincidence, or is there something else here?

I guess first we need to stop assuming that beefy men are essential to our tribe for these challenges. That is absolutely a factor. And historically throughout Survivor, women are a little bit unluckier in the first half. That’s just how it’s been. But you’re right, women have been involved in the votes to get out other women. That’s true.

It still burns. It’s rough to be the sixth woman out. It’s sad. I wish the women united forces a little bit more. And I’m good at challenges! We don’t need all the beefy men. Not everyone is a good swimmer or good at balancing. I am. So I don’t know. Men get to run their mouths and be a little bit louder in the first half of the game without being as threatening because we need them for the challenges. So that does play a role in women going home first.

What’s something that happened out there that we didn’t see on TV?

I really did have a deep bond with Kilby. We were winking at each other every single challenge leading up to tribe swap. The alliance was there, and they only showed the bromance between Eric and Kilby. So I was surprised by that for sure. In addition, Alexis and I did a lot more work than was shown for that Ana vote. It was shown a little bit, but that was a crazy vote, and it took a lot of gathering people to make that happen.

How’s your backstroke?

Fantastic. How was every other stroke? Still subpar.

Were you on the swim team?

No, not at all. But I’m an Olympic-level backstroker,

Finally, if you could go back and do anything differently, what would it be?

I would’ve volunteered myself to be the one to go visit the other tribe instead of Carter. I felt like I already had a target on my back because I’m a loud personality on my tribe, and then I let it go to chance, and Carter left. I would’ve loved to be the person to go form those alliances. I think Maggie maybe wouldn’t have come for me later.