Chrissy Hofbeck Was 'Feeling Safe' Before 'Survivor 50' Double Elimination (Exclusive)
Chrissy Hofbeck knows the sting of coming up just short, having finished as the runner-up in her original Survivor season. But even she couldn’t have predicted that her fate in the show’s milestone 50th season would be tied to her closest ally in the game, Benjamin “Coach” Wade.
The episode’s “Blood Moon” double-elimination twist forced players into pairs at Tribal Council, turning what many assumed would be a straightforward vote into chaos. Heading into the night, Chrissy felt confident believing the target was on another pair: Aubry Bracco and Rick Devens.
That sense of security quickly unraveled when Devens did what Devens does and performed a dramatic fake idol play, while Cirie Fields capitalized behind the scenes–something Chrissy says played a major role in shifting the vote. Even her allies Joe Hunter and Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, ultimately flipped, catching both her off guard.
In her exit interview with Men’s Journal, Chrissy opens up about why she was “feeling safe” heading into Tribal Council, how Devens’ move and Cirie’s influence changed everything, and why—despite the outcome—she still considers the twist that ended her game “really brilliant.”
Scroll down to read the full interview with Chrissy.
Men's Journal: How are you feeling today after watching the episode?
Chrissy Hofbeck: I'm good. How are you? Oh, wait, I'm sorry. I think that I was your winner pick. I'm very sorry to be talking to you right now.
Men's Journal: I know, I'm so bummed, but it's OK! I don't know if it's because you got screwed a little bit with this twist. I mean, it's a fair twist. I'm not complaining, but what did you think of the twist?
Chrissy Hofbeck: The twist was great. I know, like, of course I'm out. But the fan in me love the twist so much. It was good. It was it was really brilliant. And the fact that, first of all, I've heard since then that they do this twist in some of the foreign versions, South African or something. Maybe, how did none of us on the beach ever bring that up? Like, why did nobody say, oh my gosh, be honest. Yeah, no, you saw after we were paired up, we were still talking about which person we were voting out.
Men's Journal: What was the logic behind how the pairs were formed?
Chrissy Hofbeck: So the reason I was with Coach is a I was just standing there, and he just went like this and looked at me like he was like, pointing at me. So I was like, Okay, Coach was my best friend out there, so obviously I was going to go with him. What really happened, actually, when the pairs got set is that Aubry and Emily were together, and then all the pairs were done, Rizo and Rick were together, and Aubry and Emily said, "We don't know what's going to happen today, but we feel like if there's any physical challenge, this is very unfair for it just to be the two of us." So then Rick and Rizo decided to split up, and then Rick went with Aubrey and Rizo went with Emily. Great on them, because if that hadn't happened, me and Coach would not be voted out of this game.
Men's Journal: How much did the Rick Devens fake idol play factor into the night?
Chrissy Hofbeck: I don't know. Coach and I went into Tribal Council feeling safe. We felt like the vote was Aubry and Devens. I personally didn't want to vote at Aubry and Devens, just because I really liked them both. And I thought they were just fun to play with, especially Rick, like I think he's just really interesting and creative and cool. And Aubry and I were getting along well. So if it were up to me, obviously I would have voted out Rizo with Emily being collateral damage there, but we really thought it was going to be them. Then Rick plays this thing, which was so brilliant. Of course, I was sitting right next to Emily, and she's looking at she's going, "That's not real, that's not real, that's so dumb, that's not real, that's not real." The whole time, she just kept saying that. It was really a shock that Stephenie and Joe flipped. Apparently, Stephenie looked at Coach and mouthed the words, "Use your Shot in the Dark," which is why Coach used his Shot in the Dark.
Men's Journal: Were you even able to use your Shot in the Dark? That wasn't clear.
Chrissy Hofbeck: I think, like, in retrospect, I wish I did, and I wish then we had a two and six shot at getting the safe one. I think that I could have used my Shot in the Dark, but again, like, I just didn't think it was going to be me. Was going to be me and coach. I thought in my mind, what I was thinking is, obviously there weren't a lot of people that were available to vote for, just because of the idol situation. So they could have tried to vote for somebody with an idol. Obviously, I did. Rizo had an idol. I didn't think he'd play it, but I really just did not think that the alliance would vote out two loyal members this early in the game. It just seemed a little early to make that move. So that is the thing that surprised me.
Men's Journal: Do you think Cirie was the one who ultimately turned the tide?
Chrissy Hofbeck: Hands down. I believe that, like right now she and Jonathan are playing the best game, yes. And so this is why I say I don't know who would have gone home if Rick hadn't played that awesome move. Because for all I know, and you know, you see an edit, but it's an edit, right? I don't know. How much did Cirie? Had she turned everyone before tribal, except for Stephenie and Joe? Like had she had she turned enough people before tribal to vote for me and coach? Maybe? Alternatively, Ozzy did say, and she did think, at some point, you know, maybe it's not the right time, like will be the right time at some point, but not the right time yet, and maybe it became the right time when Rick played that.
Men's Journal: Do you think being tied to Coach was your downfall?
Chrissy Hofbeck: Again, I'm just going to say I just don't know, because also, I was the one who was throwing Rizo's name out there. Coach wasn't doing that. That was me. So, you know, we could probably ask coach the same question, like, "if you weren't tied to Chrissy and she hadn't thrown Rizo's name out there, do you think you'd still be there?" Coach and I have talked about, you know, whose fault was it? And we both really, I mean, we were like, "No, we both. We both are responsible for our own demise." There was a lot of great game playing that was being had out there.
Men's Journal: What exactly was it about Rizo? You guys could never get on the same page.
Chrissy Hofbeck: So I think that the one of the reasons we just got off on the wrong foot, the it was, like, the first day of the merge, maybe it was the second day of the merge, Rizo was really sick. He had played two, basically two, back to back seasons with only, like, nine days in between. Like, his body was just, like, in really bad shape, and he was laying in the shelter, just very sick. And there were a lot of us who were almost, like, came out of gameplay, right, to just really, like, help. Like, he's a kid, he's like, 25 years old, right? And I remember, like, laying next to him and just trying to talk to him and other people also. We were sort of taking turns trying to, like, take care of Rizo. After he had a chance to see the doctor, he never said thank you to anyone. And I remember that. Like that was sort of like my first introduction to Rizo of then he just started with, like, that word was, like, every other word out of his mouth, and talking about himself as, you know, "the man, the myth, the legend" and all this stuff. And he just kind of rubbed me the wrong way that I just kind of thought, like all these people just spent literally almost an entire day taking care of you. Like, the least you could do is just say, "Hey guys, thanks for, you know, thanks." That didn't happen. And then the first conversation that I had with him after that, he sits me down, and he's like, "do you trust me?" I was like, "Rizo, I've known you for five minutes." Like, we just got off on the wrong foot.
Men's Journal: What did you think of Coach's "Four Horsemen" alliance that you weren't apart of?
Chrissy Hofbeck: I knew about that. I knew about that. Actually, Coach calls it the Three Horsemen. I don't know. He literally told me that he invited Rizo to be the fourth horseman. Coach told me all of that. Coach was my best friend. I think I was his best friend. He would announce every single day that I was his number one. I'm like, "Coach, you have to stop saying that." So I think that this was Coach's way of going out and trying to keep people from getting wobbly, like, keep people, like, whenever you form an alliance name, it's like another thing that keeps people close or tied together. Like, I didn't need that with him, because we were already just all we like, we were each other's ride or dies. I think so. Like, I really I didn't need a nickname. I didn't need I didn't I knew about the Four Horsemen. I thought it was so dumb.
Men's Journal: How was your experience overall compared to the first time you played?
Chrissy Hofbeck: Yeah, so the experience itself was amazing this time. Like, I know I didn't go as far, but I feel like I I feel like I really connected with a lot of people out there. Okay, I know that Coach had to tell me that I talked too much on my first tribe, and it is like, totally fine if my first tribe didn't like me that much. But really, actually, I didn't course correct. Really, I just got a different tribe now. I just had people who actually like, you know, were fine. And they're like, "Yeah, you know, we totally vibe with Chrissy." But I came out of this game really feeling like I was cared for in the game, like there were, like, every day somebody would come over and, like, hug me, because they, you know what? Like it was we cared for each other. There really was a lot of joy and celebration in this Survivor game, which I didn't have the first time, however, the first time making it to, you know, final three was like, way better. So, yeah, you know, it is a little bittersweet being early on the jury.
Men's Journal: Was the "Zoom Alliance" a real thing?
Chrissy Hofbeck: It's so funny. I had actually heard about the Zoom Alliance before I went out to play. There was a comment that all of the old school players had zoomed once. I don't actually believe it was a thing, because I do know that Jenna Lewis said no one reached out to her, and I highly doubt that Cirie was involved in any Zoom Alliance. I can't imagine that happening. Did the other five zoom? Probably not. Do people talk on the phone? I'm sure they did. You know why? Because there's also, like, we could also talk about the Clock Tower Alliance, or the people played on prior seasons together. We could talk about people who have been on vacation together. There's so many alliances that you could give a name to that, in a way, if someone didn't reach out to at least one other person. Like, that's dumb, because there is so much pre gaming going on in the new era. Just like organically, like, they just hang out together all the time, like all of this, like online gaming stuff that they do that, I almost think that pre gaming was a little necessary. So I'll admit, like, I called Genevieve before the game started. She and I and Jonathan were the only two, three people who had never played the game with another person, I did, yeah. So I remember calling her, we talked for at most 10 minutes. It was really more like a meet and greet, but I didn't want to get to the beach and feel like I had never met or talked to any of these people before, when some of them had talked to 20 people or have known each other for 20 years. I don't think the Zoom Alliance was real thing. But also, I think everybody pre-gamed.
Men's Journal: Is your Survivor book done or do you have another run in you?
Chrissy Hofbeck: My book is done and my book is done because my heart is so full. I am so grateful to have gotten to do this twice. That itch was scratched. I just I leave this experience with a grateful heart, and I'm happy to go back to my good life. And you know, I had two great runs out there. So I feel very fulfilled by what I've done in this game.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.