“Survivor 49”s triumphant and turbnulent premiere episode on Wednesday (Sept. 24) ended with castaway Nicole Mazullo becoming the first player to have their torch snuffed this season. While the blindside elimination hit hard, particularly for longtime host Jeff Probst, it similarly left fans wondering why Mazullo didn’t resort to using her Shot in the Dark after realizing she was the clear target at this season’s first Tribal Council ceremony.
Robert Voets/CBSIn her exit interview with TV Insider, the 26-year-old financial crimes analyst revealed that she felt “confident” she wasn’t on the chopping block after a conversation with fellow tribemate Alex Moore that unfortunately didn’t make it to air.
Nicole Reveals the Real Reason She Got Sick on ‘Survivor’
After losing Season 49’s first Immunity Challenge, Nicole found herself immediately targetted by her Kele tribe mates – Alex, Kimberly “Annie Daivs,” Jake Latimer, Jeremiah Ing and Sophi Balerdi – who labeled her as a physically weak player. A “core four” alliance later formed between Alex, Sophi, Jake and Jeremiah, leaving Nicole and 49-year-old alt-rock musician Annie on the outs.
CBSMatters only got worse for Mazullo when she vomited after returning to camp. While TV Insider asked if the bout of sickness was brought on by the “intense heat” Probst previously teased for the early portion of the game, Nicole revealed it was actually brought on by something as simple as a vitamin.
“It’s so funny. It was the third day. I hadn’t eaten. You had a piece of coconut, that’s not real. I hadn’t eaten. I had a vitamin. They give you a vitamin. I had a vitamin on an empty stomach and I got sick,” she reported. “That was truly it. It hit my stomach, and I got sick literally three seconds later.”
Nicole Explains Why She Didn’t Use Her ‘Shot in the Dark’
Before heading into Tribal Council, while Nicole was aware she was going to receive votes, she felt secured in her alliance with Alex, who reportedly “calmed her nerves” about being eliminated in a now-deleted scene.
“I had built a relationship with Alex up until that point. I felt like it was a good alliance,” said Nicole. “The perception that doesn’t really come through in the episode was that I had a good relationship with him, and he was kind of my ticket into this group of four. And so I felt as through the four, though, was me, Alex, Jake and Sophi. Whereas the real four that came through in the episode was maybe Jeremiah, Sophi, Alex and Jake.”
CBSGoing into Tribal Council, Mazullo added that she was “50/50” when it came to playing her Shot in the Dark – a last ditch effort that would’ve given her a one-in-six shot at Immunity, but only if she sacrified her vote.
“It felt logical at that point [that it was] an Annie vote-out,” said Nicole, adding, “I went in 50/50, and then I turned to Alex at one point, after Jeremiah says, ‘It’s between two people.’ And I’m like, ‘OK, he’s probably insinuating it’s me and Annie,’ but I thought he was just saying that to appease Annie.”
Nicole said that her likelihood of playing her Shot in the Dark decreased to 30/70 after Alex once again reassured her that the votes were going to Annie.
“I trusted Alex at that point. I just decided not to play it in that moment,” Nicole explained. “I went in and I said, ‘Nah, I’ll just save it for next week if I need it.’”
Nicole Reflects on Her ‘Survivor’ Journey
In the aftermath of her elimination, Nicole added that she wishes fans had gotten to see more of her strategizing on-screen, reporting that many of her conversations with her tribe mates were cut from the episode for the sake of time.
“I wish they could have seen some of that strategizing,” she said. “It felt like lay down and die a little bit, or I got a stray, I just got shot, and I took it. But no, there was that strategy. I did have those relationships with Alex. I did have those conversations with Jake and Sophi and Jay, and even Annie and I had some of those conversations, so it would have been nice.”
Regardless, Nicole said that she was “happy with the episode, happy with the edit.”
CBS“I’m grateful,” she added. “That’s all you can hope for.”
“Survivor 49” continues on Wednesday, October 1 at 8:00pm ET on CB
1 thought on “‘Survivor 49’s Nicole Mazullo Reveals Behind-the-Scenes Moment That Led to Her Blindside Elimination”