Island Drama

Nicole Matsuro, who was the first contestant voted out of “Survivor” season 49, shared her thoughts with the Post about her relationship with fellow tribe member Jake Latimer. She mentioned that she “didn’t get along” with him and wondered if the vote had any personal motivations.

“Honestly, I think I felt that on a personal level,” the financial crime consultant said. “I mean, isn’t it pretty much a personal vote? It’s a game, after all.”

Matsuro elaborated on discussions among the tribes regarding whether votes are personal. “It was a topic we talked about quite a bit—though it didn’t make it to air—about whether the vote is personal or not. Jake had significant social standing in the game, and he was close with many people.”

“Yeah, that could have been somewhat personal,” she acknowledged. “But I guess everything has a personal touch to it.”

In the season’s premiere, Latimer played a prank by hiding one of Matsuro’s shoes, calling it the “Shoe Bandit.” “I knew someone was messing with my shoes. I’m just a whimsical person, I think. It’s a little quirky, but that’s just how it goes,” Matsuro remarked. “It kind of reminded me of Russell Hantz. Let him have his fun.”

Matsuro revealed that she learned from a call that the prank would be featured in an episode. “When it aired, I was genuinely amused. It was just a whimsical moment, really.”

Despite her positive demeanor, she admitted to feeling isolated within her tribe of six. “I’m the kind of person who usually gets along with everyone. I’ve never struggled to make friends,” she explained. “So I thought I’d connect with Annie and J. [Jeremiah]. I expected it to be a chance for us to bond, but that just didn’t happen.”

“It was a bit challenging to break into that group. It really was,” Matsuro added. “When I first saw the tribe, I believed we were going to be strong. Honestly, we thought we would be a great team. We didn’t anticipate losing any of the initial challenges.”

“Survivor” airs on CBS on Wednesdays at 8 PM ET.