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On the Wednesday, October 5 episode of “Survivor,” Nneka Ejere became the third person voted out of “Survivor 43” after the Vesi tribe lost the Immunity Challenge.
Nneka formed a close relationship with her tribemates Jesse Lopez and Cody Assenmacher, who wanted to protect her in the game. But Nneka did not perform well in the challenges, which put a target on her back. Cody and Jesse struggled with the decision of who to vote off their tribe. They considered getting rid of Noelle Lambert, the 25-year-old Paralympian, but in the end, the Vesi tribe chose strength over loyalty and voted out Nneka.
Nneka opened up about being blindsided by her allies in an interview with “Entertainment Weekly.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Nneka on Tribal Council Blindside
Prior to Nneka’s eviction, Jeff Probst sat down with the Vesi tribe and asked each castaway how confident they were going into the vote.
Nneka told Probst she would rate her confidence level at a 9 or 9.5 out of 10. Noelle rated her confidence level at a 5, which gave viewers the idea that Noelle was the target.
When Jeff read the votes and revealed that Nneka would be leaving the game with a 3 to 1 vote, both Nneka and viewers at home were surprised.
Nneka told “Entertainment Weekly” she was surprised by the vote.
“Honestly, at the time I did not think I was going home,” she said.
The Texas native admitted that, in retrospect, there were some clues that she was the target before Tribal Council.
“There were actually a few [clues],” she told the publication. “First of all, I knew that Cody and Jesse were not happy. Cody was having a rough time. He said he hated losing. It makes sense. Nobody likes to lose. I do not like to lose.”
After the Immunity Challenge, Nneka took most of the heat for the loss because she struggled with the puzzle.
She continued, “Also, when we were packing up, you want to pick up everything to go to Tribal. Noelle didn’t take everything, and I’m like, ‘Huh, that’s unusual.’ So those little things, but I just chose to not dwell on it. There was no point. We were living for Tribal, there’s no need to like start losing my crap at that point.”
Nneka on Her Relationship With Cody and Jesse
In an October interview with Parade, Nneka spoke about her close bond with Cody and Jesse.
The 43-year-old told the outlet that she and Cody just clicked.
“Cody and I connected,” she said. “As much as I did not want to take up the mom role, we were kind of like the mom and pop of the tribe.”
Nneka also spoke about her relationship with Jesse.
“Jesse and I had a lot of good moments and good conversations on the island. Jesse’s story touched my heart in so many deep ways,” she told the outlet.
She also addressed his comment where he said she reminded him of his mom.
“It was such an honor to hear him say that last night,” she told the publication. “I was a crying mess last night. Because I know how very highly he thinks of his mom. So to hear him make that comparison, that just blessed me in so many ways. There were a few things that we shared; we found similarities in conversations. But it was a blessing to hear him say that.”
“Survivor” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS.
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