Despite what viewers saw in the Survivor 49 premiere on September 24, Nicole Mazullo did strategize with other players between Kele’s immunity challenge loss and the first Tribal Council. In fact, she tells TV Insider that she was led to believe that she was part of Kele’s “core four” alliance that quickly formed, and it was Alex Moore who made her think so. (See our Episode 1 recap here.)
Nicole, a financial crime consultant, was labeled a physically weak player and targeted by her tribe mates — Alex, Kimberly “Annie” Davis, Jake Latimer, Jeremiah Ing, and Sophi Balerdi — as a result. After Alex and Jake’s “bromance” formed, and the pair teamed up with Sophi and Jeremiah, the vote was between Nicole and Annie. What Nicole didn’t know was that Alex had a closer secret alliance with Annie, which is why she was saved from elimination. Nicole was confident in her ability to sniff out a liar, but she tells us that that skill failed against Alex’s powers of persuasion.
Nicole was adamant that she would play her Shot in the Dark if necessary. In Tribal, it became clear that it was necessary, but she didn’t play it. Here, she reveals the scenes you didn’t see that explain why she felt confident enough not to play her only advantage. Plus, she details how those two players who were cut just hours before filming began impacted her gameplay, what made her get sick, and more.
We have to start with the big change that occurred the night before filming began. When and how did you and the rest of the cast find out that those two players were cut from the game? And what was your reaction to that news?
Nicole Mazullo: The morning the game started, we found out when we all showed up in our tribe outfits. And I wasn’t surprised, to be honest. I was like, “OK, wow, that’s crazy. That is crazy that that just happened, but also, OK, that happened because X, Y, and Z.” So it was a product of a situation that happened, and that was that. It was shocking, but I was like, “OK, that makes sense.”
Did you witness any of that alleged pregaming that was happening between them, and what did you see?
I did. I don’t know if I can talk about that, but yeah, you just see people, you’ve got a set list of rules, and there are rules you have to follow. I just saw people not following the rules, and that was that. I think that’s all I can say in that regard.
Can you say how it made you feel? Did it make you mad to see rules being broken like that?
Yeah, I think I respect the integrity of the game, and that is this concept that there’s a shipwreck and you’ve got to come onto shore and play a game and survive. And when people aren’t following the rules prior to game, it ruins the integrity of the game. So yeah, I was like, “What the hell are you guys doing? That’s not allowed.” I was literally like, “That’s not allowed.” But I was also like, “They’re doing it. That is going to implicate their own game. They’re making a decision, and that’s going to play into their game.” But it also gets you in the mindset of, “Oh my God, the game is already starting. I need to be on, I need to do something now.” And so it changes your mental outlook on when the game is starting and what has already happened in the game, if that makes sense.
It does, yeah. So was there a vibe shift for you when you first got on the beach because of that?
I would say so. I would say truly, truly. I think it kind of threw me off a little bit in terms of just how I was going to approach the game and how I was going to start the game. I went in with a very distinct strategy of I was going to act pointed and try and act a little bit dumber than I was, but I felt like you [see a] pregame, and it does implicate your mental [state] and how you’re going to attack the game. So I would say yes, it did.
You have your conceptions of how you’ll play the game before you go in. Then you actually get there and you’re like, “There was no point in planning.”
Exactly. Because you don’t know who you’re going to be surrounded by, and you don’t know how they’re going to act and what their change-up in their own strategy is going to be. So a lot of moving parts. Yeah, it was crazy. It was just crazy.
Robert Voets / CBS
Jeff teased that the heat was really intense in Fiji during filming. There was a scene in which you got sick in this episode. Was it the heat that caused it? Was it nerves? What happened there?
No. It was nothing other than — this is 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. That truly was it. It hit my stomach, and I got sick literally three seconds after. It was not a mental thing; it was not a physical thing. It was, I don’t take supplements. So it was, “OK, here’s a supplement on an empty stomach.”
How did you react when you saw that it was in the final edit?
I was like, “Are you kidding me?” I was like, “People are going to think that I can’t handle it.” And it’s like, “No, it was a f***ing electrolyte.” I was like, “Whatever.” But it’s funny. I just have to laugh at it, and I don’t even know. It’s hysterical.
You had these exit interviews, so now you can clear the air and say, “It was a vitamin, OK?”
Exactly. It was! I know my truth. I know my truth, and that brings me peace. That’s all I can say. [Laughs]
After the immunity challenge, you were back at camp, and Tribal deliberations are happening. Were there any scenes of you trying to strategize with other players that we didn’t see in the final cut? We didn’t see much of you talking to other people.
You didn’t at all, which was funny. You didn’t at all. But I had built a relationship with Alex up until that point. I felt like that was a good alliance. 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 though 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. And so Alex did a really good job of making me feel included, but I had talked strategy with him, talked strategy with Sophie, talked strategy with Jeremiah, Alex. Annie was really the only one I didn’t talk to because they did a good job of making us feel contentious. But there were a lot of conversations that were had. There was idol searching that was had. It didn’t come through. So yes, absolutely, to answer your question.
When did you realize that Alex had duped you a bit, and you weren’t part of that four?
It was like on the third day, when we got up, it was probably 3 in the morning, but we thought the sun was rising. Really, it was the moon just coming into orbit or whatever. We got up on the beach and sat up and talked a little bit, and just the way that the four of them were sitting, it was like they were sitting and I was here, and then Annie was over there, but it felt like this was the four. I felt that a little in me. And then I had a conversation with Alex later that day, and he kind of calmed my nerves. But I would say at Tribal Council, when I’m being voted out, I was like, “Oh, really? Wasn’t in the four. Really?”
Alex Moore and Jake Latimer in ‘Survivor 49’ Episode 1 (Robert Voets / CBS)
We saw you start to notice that in Tribal. You turned around and asked, “Am I OK?” Earlier in an interview, you had said, I’m going to play my Shot in the Dark, even in the first episode if I need it. You were really gung-ho about that. What did you observe in Tribal that made you not play it?
Great question. I went into Tribal saying I’m 50/50 on playing my Shot in the Dark, because it felt logical at that point [that it was] an Annie vote-out. It just did. That made logical sense to me. The way that we had talked about it as a group made sense. 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. I don’t know why he was saying it. Whatever. I turned to Alex. I said, “Hey, am I good?” And he says, “Yeah, you’re good.” So instead of being 50/50 after I asked him, I was like, 30/70. I was like, “OK, I don’t need to play my Shot in the Dark.” I trusted Alex at that point. I did. We had somewhat of a relationship at that point. I just decided not to play it in that moment. I went in and I said, “Nah, I’ll just save it for next week if I need it.” So yeah, that was that.
Did you have any hesitation in the voting booth?
No, not at all. No. After I asked Alex, I was like, “OK, I won’t. I believe.” No, I don’t. I didn’t.
Earlier in the episode, you said you can sniff out a liar because of your career. So what did you sniff out during the time before Tribal? What made you confident? What made you nervous?
What made me confident was my relationship with Alex. Honestly, he was my ticket into this mental safety zone of, “OK, I’m fine.” But there were some people who were raising flags to me, like Sophi and Jeremiah, who I didn’t initially click with. I feel like I can naturally connect with people, and I had difficulty connecting with them in the beginning. And so I thought that maybe the inability to connect was because they were already planning my vote out. So they kind of threw some red flags my way. But Alex did a really good job of making me feel safe. I was battling those two conflicting perspectives.
And other than Annie, who do you think strategy-wise would’ve been the best player to vote out from this team? They really set it up so it was either you or Annie, but that “bromance” that was going on [between Alex and Jake] — I would’ve been like, let’s split that up. They have too much power already.
I know. I agree. I think Alex would’ve been a good vote out, but I was working with him. So I think by default, Jake, but Jake was also really strong. We needed him in competitions. He was our bulky guy. So while I think he would’ve been a good vote out from a social play, it would’ve been hard challenge-wise because we had already felt a little bit lackluster in that department. It would’ve been hard convincing the group to vote him out, so I don’t think I would’ve went for it. Maybe Sophi. She had a lot of social capital. The guys really liked her. She fit in really well with people, so maybe her. Everyone did a good job, though. I mean, anyone but me, right? I was all gung-ho.
We didn’t see what strategy you were playing out in those talks, so what was your campaign? What were you saying to save yourself?
They did a really good job of making Annie feel weak, which Annie, in the grand scheme of things, is not weak. She’s a badass, right? But they did a good job of that. And so I was participating in that sort of dialogue, and I was also participating in this dialogue of, I’m here for the team. I am here. I will vote however you want me to vote. I was pitching that I’ll be a number for them. I didn’t want to seem threatening in any sense of the word, so I didn’t want to say that I felt good at puzzles, which, up until that point, I wasn’t in their eyes, and I wasn’t based on how the performance went. So I was just like, Hey, I’ll ride and die with you guys. Wherever you want me to vote, I’ll vote however you want me to vote. I was with them. That was my pitch for that. I didn’t want to seem threatening in any sense.
What else do you wish fans could have seen from this episode?
I wish they could have seen some of that strategizing. 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 that would’ve been nice. But that’s wishful thinking. I’m happy with the episode, happy with the edit. I’m grateful, so that’s all you can hope for.
Did watching the premiere change your perspective and understanding of how you got voted out?
No, honestly, no. No, because I’ve had conversations with folks after, and they were able to provide some of that clarity. I think the edit was gracious. I felt grateful that there was only that one disgusting, embarrassing moment of me being sick, because they could have, who knows? Maybe there’s other footage out there where I look like a total idiot. So no, it didn’t change my perception. I think I had a good read on the situation, outside of the fact that they were actually voting me out instead of Annie.
Could you share what you learned from those conversations that helped you get things better?
It just reemphasized the fact that I didn’t fit in with that core four. Maybe it was me not doing a good job in trying to ingratiate, though. I felt I did. I just think Survivor‘s like a microcosm of the world. You like some people, and you don’t like some people. It didn’t gel as naturally as maybe relationships that I had with other people, and that’s fine.
Survivor, Wednesdays, 8/7c, CBS
More Headlines:
- ‘Bargain Block’ Is Returning to HGTV — But Not in the Way You Think
- ‘Survivor 49’s Nicole Mazullo Reveals Deleted Scenes That Explain Tribal Council
- ‘Jeopardy!’ Contestants Slammed for Not Knowing Kris Kristofferson
- How to Watch the Ryder Cup 2025: TV Schedule, Lineups & Preview
- ‘DWTS’: Why Was Alec Baldwin Missing From Week 2? Hilaria Baldwin Explains
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.