With several Survivor superfans deeming the premiere of Survivor 45 to be one of the worst episodes of all time, why has it been given such a heinous review by lovers of the hit competition show?
From the unbearable Emily Flippen to the pathetic Brandon Donlon and beyond, one of the worst moments of the Survivor 45 premiere was the tribal council at the end, which shattered the hearts of hopeful castaways across the globe.
Despite arriving to Fiji ready to give the Survivor her all, Hannah Rose of the Lulu tribe self-eliminated at the end of last night’s episode, practically begging her tribemates to vote her out — she was hungry, she wanted to sleep in her own bed, and she was feening for nicotine. Naturally, viewers were not happy (to say the least).
@JasonGaitz: “Boy math is thinking Hannah stole 40,000 applicants’ spots on #Survivor45”
@wtfJaden1: “I don’t think anyone on this show has ever disappointed me more. Like, why did you apply? This spot on the cast could have went to someone that actually wanted to be there. #Survivor45”
@TheAllanAguirre: “Got excited for the return of Survivor just to watch 90 minutes of awful gameplay culminating in someone quitting because they weren’t allowed to have their Elf Bar. #Survivor45″
In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly today (September 28), less than 24 hours after the premiere of Survivor 45, Hannah talked all about her decision to quit the game.
Does she regret it? Keep scrolling to find out for yourself…
Why did Hannah Rose quit Survivor 45?
To kick off the interview, Hannah explained her reasoning for leaving the show in a long-winded response, much of which was not shown during last night’s episode.
For starters, hunger was a big reason for her self elimination.
“What happened is, first and foremost, hunger. I couldn’t possibly anticipate what it would feel like after days. The episode was incredible to watch, but what you didn’t see was trying to open coconuts without a machete, and having zero food at all, and not having a shelter, and it was monsooning for almost 24 hours. I mean, my toenails almost fell off and I didn’t sleep one minute.”
The 33-year-old then proceeded to elaborate on how the lack of sleep was taking a toll on both her physical and mental health.
“If anyone has ever experienced sleep deprivation — I haven’t to this extent; I don’t have a child, I’ve never just not slept — I couldn’t function. By the time we got to that first immunity challenge, I was waiting for that adrenaline and competitiveness to kick in, that’s who I am, and there was nothing there. I saw the rest of my tribe bleeding and fighting to get up that wall, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, they want to be here so badly.'”
“I think after the second night of not sleeping at all. I thought all my coping skills and all the preparation physically, mentally, emotionally that I put into the show — I genuinely believed ‘I’m going to do well here. This is going to be my thing,’ and I remember vacillating between crying and feeling a higher level of anxiety than I’ve ever experienced.”
Another thing that Hannah has briefly mentioned during last night’s episode was yearning for nicotine, which several Survivor superfans (and even former castaways) poked fun at via social media.
After seeing viewers make the case that Hannah quit simply because of her addiction, she shared her truth with Dalton Ross at Entertainment Weekly, ultimately putting these rumors to rest.
“I wasn’t smoking. I was vaping sometimes, but really I have these little nicotine pouches. I saw a tweet that someone sent me from Owen [Knight], who’s one of my favorite Survivor players, that was like ‘Hannah, searching for the immunity idol,’ and it’s just nicotine pouches. That’s what I have done in an effort to just slowly wean off nicotine for years, and it played a role.”
“Again, I had no control over my emotions, so I think caffeine, nicotine, sleep, and food withdrawal together, it was like, ‘You know what? I know people are going to rip me apart. I know people are going to hate me, [but] I would be inauthentic and I would be lying to myself if I stayed in that game.’ I stayed quiet during Tribal because I didn’t want to look bad.”
Does Hannah Rose regret quitting Survivor 45?
Even though her experience was short-lived, Hannah does not regret playing Survivor, and she does not regret quitting either.
“It was the best experience. People think like, ‘Oh, you were there for three days. That’s your whole Survivor experience.’ It’s not. The friends that I have made on this cast have become a second family. I hang out with a lot of them a lot, and I’m so glad I did this. I know that this feeling this morning will pass, right? Go read the news. There’s other stuff going on to focus on than whether or not I quit Survivor.”
The backlash Hannah has faced from viewers over the past few hours has been brutal, however, she has done the best she can to stay off of social media and ignore the haters — you go girl!
“I’m a really big advocate of limiting social media use. I think protecting myself, deactivating Instagram again when I came home — there was the speculation on Reddit. We read the stuff you guys say about us. I think that was super helpful, just finding ways to cocoon myself from all of the hypotheses about what might happen.”
“The people closest to me know what happened with me, and that’s all that matters. So I’ve just been excited. I love this cast so much, and watching it last night was the best. I have not felt a deep level of shame or embarrassment or pain and fear until this morning, until I woke up an hour ago and saw my business getting attacked. That’s not cool. Besides that, I’ve just been pumped. I was true to myself, and that’s all you can do.”
To see how the rest of Survivor 45 unfolds, tune into CBS Wednesdays at 8pm ET/PT — it is sure to be a season to remember!