Survivor star Sam Gash reveals brutal fallout you didn’t see on TV

Survivor’s latest evictee was subjected to “brutal” treatment after she was voted out, in hard-to-watch scenes we weren’t shown on TV.

Australian Survivor star Sam Gash was subjected to “harsh” treatment by her fellow eliminated contestants after she exited the game, in hard-to-watch scenes that weren’t shown on TV.

After being voted out on Monday night’s episode, Sam headed to Survivor’s “jury villa” – where eliminated contestants can eat, drink and relax until their next jury appearance.

Traditionally, it’s a place where old rivalries are put aside as contestants receive a warm welcome from their former tribemates.

Not so for Sam, who arrived at the villa in time for dinner – only to be iced out by the rest of the jury, who largely ignored her and ate their food in stony silence.

I haven't seen a dinner party this tense since August: Osage County

“It wasn’t great – I’ve been told it’s the harshest jury villa that’s been done,” Sam told news.com.au of the deeply uncomfortable footage, available to watch in full on TenPlay.

“You’re sleep-deprived, you’re emotional, you haven’t eaten, and … it’s a lot. I was holding back tears.”

Sam gets emotional as she realises she's being iced out.

This was hard to watch.

As Sam’s distress grew, the silence was finally broken by Jordan – who angrily demanded to know what part she’d played in voting him out of the competition.

“Jordan was the most angry at me, which was funny because I never voted for him,” Sam said.

“All the people there I’d played a role in voting out, except for Jordan, and I understand they had time to fester.”

A clearly shaken Sam was then shown retreating to her hotel room, telling the cameras she might have to hide there for the rest of her time at jury villa. Thankfully, she told news.com.au that by the next day the frost had thawed and she was able to have in-depth conversations and make peace with those she’d voted out.

A controversial couple

The husband and wife duo have had a surprisingly divisive second shot at Survivor. Picture: Network Ten

For Sam and husband Mark Wales, this season of Survivor was a team effort: The goal was to work together to get one of them as close to the end as possible, not both. As she told news.com.au, the couple share a bank account – a $500,000 win for him is a $500,000 win for her.

But it was a controversial strategy among some viewers, who felt Mark dominated his wife’s gameplay. She said that amid the “chaos and conflict” of Survivor, she and her ex-SAS husband both deferred to their professional backgrounds.

“As an endurance athlete, I use ego to get to a start line, then adaptability to get to the finish. Mark’s worked in war-torn environments as a soldier – it’s autocratic with not too much discussion,” she said.

“We know each other so much that we know that’s how we operate in these sorts of environments. That’s probably why you see me being a bit more adaptable and compromising, Mark a little less so.” She conceded that, while it was good to be so aware of their different styles, it didn’t make it any less “annoying” at times.

And she saw the viewer pleas to turn on her husband and vote him out – but said it wouldn't have happened in a million years.

“The casual viewers were happy for me to vote out my husband, but they were horrified I voted out someone I’d known for 30 days. Let’s get a grip, guys!”

That supervillain move

Jesse couldn't hide his glee when Sam was voted out.

Perhaps Sam’s most shocking move this season came when she voted out close ally Jesse, delivering a brutally out-of-character line to the camera as she cast her vote and revealed her intention to steal his idol: “Thanks for your idol.” Suddenly, one of this season’s most empathetic and personable players seemed to go full villain mode, out of nowhere.

As Sam explained to news.com.au, the full line – viewable on TenPlay – gave a bit more context to her decision: “Jesse, I’ve adored playing the game with you, but unfortunately your brother’s loose lips have sunk your ship. Thanks for the idol.”

“It was a villainous move, so they leaned into that with the edit, I get it. But I’m far too verbose to say something so succinct. If only I could be so cutting,” she said.

Survivor’s physical toll

In this challenge Sam collapsed into JLP's arms, then passed out altogether.

Sam was responsible for one of this season’s most dramatic moments when she collapsed during a particularly intense endurance challenge. Just how tough are the challenges on Survivor if they can leave a professional endurance athlete unconscious and in need of medical attention?

“I was physically deteriorating quite a lot at that point in the game,” she said. “Obviously I wasn’t winning challenges to get (food) rewards … I started the game at just under 50kg and I finished at 43.2kg. I was just purely going on grit and being able to bear pain in that challenge, and then I (collapsed) … I truly don’t remember what happened.”

The Survivor superfan said the collapse marked a big turning point in how she approached the game.

“From that point, I couldn’t get my physical body out of second gear, so I decided to focus on strategy instead.”

Australian Survivor continues 7:30pm Sunday on Ten.

Originally published as Survivor star Sam Gash reveals brutal fallout you didn’t see on TV