SURVIVOR 51’S ORI JEAN-CHARLES AND JELLY HAVE TAKEN THEIR CONNECTION BEYOND THE ISLAND — AND ORI’S REVELATION ABOUT THEIR OFF-ISLAND DATE HAS FANS WONDERING IF THERE’S MORE TO THEIR STORY THAN WHAT CAMERAS CAPTURED On Survivor, relationships are built under extraordinary pressure, where trust can mean the difference between staying in the game and going home. But once the competition ends, those connections can take an entirely different turn. Now, Ori has opened up about spending time with Jelly away from the cameras, revealing that their story didn’t simply end when they left the island. And the details of their reunion could give fans a new perspective on their relationship.

In the end, Ori Jean-Charles was chopped down by his own helicopter alliance.

Ori became the first man to be voted out of Survivor 51 when day 1 besties Jelly Loblack and Devin Way stayed aligned after their Savu tribe lost the immunity challenge. That left Ori as the third wheel — an ironic place to be, considering his flirtmance with Jelly — and when his Shot in the Dark scroll read Not Safe, the personal trainer had to train his sights on the Tribal Council exit.

How does Ori feel about Devin and Jelly ignoring his pleas to stay? Did he ever tell them about the tethered idol? And how real was all that flirting with Jelly? We asked Ori all that and more, and you can now watch or read the entire interview below.

You looked super defeated walking off that Tribal Council set. Tell me about absorbing that L.

ORI JEAN-CHARLES: It was brutal. It was one of those things where, I talked to Jeremy a lot. Shout out Jeremy, OG. One of the best ever do it, on my Mount Rushmore. And he said he remembered the first time he played, he was like, “Oh, I know I’m gonna win it.” He saw his path to winning, and he got sent home at 10.

And it’s crazy that at 13, 14, I saw that path. I’m like: Oh, okay, I make it through this night, or I win one challenge, or I just make it through this night. I saw it! I’m gonna be gold. I’m gonna be in a really, really good position to do a lot of things. And that was just so dejecting because you see it, you see it, you see it. But the reality is, like I said, I just couldn’t make it through that one night, just couldn’t make it to that next step. So I was heartbroken. I try to have a good poker face, but you seen it all in my face. You seen it. It was brutal, man. It was brutal.

You said it was a failure being voted out. Jeff Probst told you it was a win just getting on the show. How do you feel about it now?

Now… I mean, who am I to tell Jeff Probst he’s wrong about anything on Survivor, man? Come on. You know what I mean? He’s the OG, he’s one of the creators, this is his brainchild, this is his baby, so he knows the game. But it was one of those things where a lot of people go on Survivor for so many different reasons, you know?

Survivor is a once in a lifetime experience. It’s not just a social experiment. It’s not just a game. It’s not just a reality show. It is something special, So many people go there for so many different reasons and so many different experiences. They learn and they get so much out of it. But my reason was plain and simple, Dalton. I was there to win.

I’m gonna take you behind the curtain just a little bit. Prepping for the season, it was like, “Okay, send in your challenge clothes, your marooning clothes, your jury clothes.” I’m like, “Listen, I don’t have any jury clothes. I’m not gonna be in a jury. Shop for me. Do what you want.” And I was right. You’re not gonna be in a jury. But I was so steadfast, so locked in. And like I said, it was a singular goal. And it was just one of those things where, looking yourself in the mirror, facing that defeat, knowing that you didn’t achieve that goal, it sucked. It hurt.

Yeah, but I love seeing the attitude you had, like with the jury clothes, and we saw you with the Shot in the Dark saying it was gonna hit, and we saw you after Jelly and Devin are telling you it’s you, you’re not giving up and you’re still pitching them both as to why they should keep you. Although it seemed like you kinda knew that those pitches weren’t landing.

Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Come on, man. I’m all the way in Fiji, this is a shot for a million, maybe two million dollars, man. I gotta put up a fight. I gotta go to the last second, man. I couldn’t just cower and tuck my tail and just accept defeat. It’s just not me. It’s just not in me. Like, innately, I’m a fighter till I see my torch get snuffed. So it’s one of those things where, I did all I could till the last second. Absolutely.

Did you ever tell Jelly and Devin at all about the tethered idol you had with Kristin and Sharonda?

I kept that under wraps. Listen, we’re in the alliance, but at the end of the day, only one person could win. So you guys can’t know everything. You guys can’t know everything. So yeah, definitely kept that under wraps.

Who was your absolute number one out there? Did you have one between Sharonda, Jelly, and Devin?

Oh, absolutely. Sharonda. And it was so funny to see the dynamic. It was cross-tribes. Like Devin and Jelly ended up being together and Sharonda and I ended up being together. And it’s so funny how it worked because you see Devin and Jelly, they’re very similar. They’re out there, they’re expressive, they’re entertained, they’re big.

And me and Sharonda were very similar in the same way that we’re more stoic, we’re more strategic, we’re more low-key. We were building connections, we’re vibing, we’re trying to keep things precise. We’re trying to be calm, cool, collected. We’re trying to play a game where it’s under control, it’s controlled, it’s calm. And the Toka tribe, them two, like I said, they were in the thick of things. There was like so much going on, but it went with their personality.

So it’s one of those things where those were the evil twins for sure, but Sharonda was my girl and I wish the roles would’ve twisted and I had my number one and I had a fighting chance.

You and Jelly were certainly doing a lot of flirting out there. How real was that out on the island? Was there legitimate interest or were you all just having fun?

Oh, absolutely. Like I said, Jelly had a little crush on me. I had a little crush on Jelly. Come on now. That’s an amazing girl. That’s a beautiful girl. She’s smart. She’s dope. Listen, man, can’t complain to be having something to look at in Fiji. I mean, Survivor’s hard, so having something nice to look at, someone to talk to, someone that you click and you vibe with is a major plus. So there was no complaints at all. That was definitely real, for sure.

So, you mapped out your first date with Jelly in New York, and she wasn’t feeling your seafood or your museums or your ginger ale. What do you make of that?

Dalton, man, I don’t know, man. Listen. You mean to tell me I’m gonna take you out on the water? You know what I mean? Seafood, pizza, whatever you want? A couple of games. Museum vibes after. Whatever you want. In my eyes, it was a good date, but it wasn’t the perfect date for her.

So we had to spin back, go back to the drawing board. We made it right though. We made it right. I then take Jelly out to the type of date she likes. We’ve done it right, so like I said.

You say you’ve done it right. Does this mean you guys had a New York date?

Come on, Dalton. Like I said, I gotta keep some things close. But yes, me and Jelly have hung out in New York, and like I said, we get along real well. She’s a very, very cool girl, for sure.

I hope you didn’t take her to City Island then if she doesn’t like seafood.

I did not take her to City Island. I listened. She looked like she wasn’t in it. I was like: All right, we gotta remix. We gotta change the channels. We gotta switch it up.

Jeff mentioned you were very new to Survivor. How did you end up on the show then? Did someone find you somewhere on social media and recruit you?

I think I have one of the most unique Survivor stories ever. Like, ever, ever, ever, ever. I’ll be honest, Survivor found me. It’s so funny because a young lady caught me on a dating site. And I don’t really use it, so I wasn’t on it. I didn’t check it. So I don’t know if she did her CIA/FBI work or she liked me that much, but she ended up finding me on a social media app and DMing me.

And the message read, “Hey, Ori, I wanna hang out. I’m not in town anymore, but I just sent you a message because I think you’re like me, you probably don’t check the app.” So I’m like, “Okay, cool. What’s up?” She said verbatim, “I know we can’t hang out, but you look beautiful. You need to be on TV.”

Dalton, when I heard that, I’m like, “Yo, this is the best pickup line I’ve ever heard in my life! I’m gonna use this, throw this in my pocket. I might become Casanova throwing that one out, you know what I mean?” But then she was like, “No, this is really what I do.” I click on her page, and she’s a casting assistant.

And then she connected me with the amazing Penny [from Survivor casting], and it was supposed to be a five-minute call just to see would Survivor be something that made sense for me, but we end up talking on the phone for two hours. She fell in love with me. I fell in love with her. I fell in love with Survivor. And I ended up in Fiji. Can you believe that? That’s crazy.

So how much did you have a chance to watch the show before you stepped onto the island?

Once things got real, I definitely did my thing. I splurged the 40s, just knowing, that’s the most recent thing and I could pick up game from that. But then find out it’s permanent uncertainty, so I wasted my time doing that. And, you know, the OG seasons, Cagayan, Heroes vs. Villains — I watched a lot of real notable seasons. But I also did my homework because I used ChatGPT. I described myself, and asked, “What seasons should I watch that would help me mold a winning game the best?” I did my homework. I was late to the party, but I didn’t go out there blind, I promise.