For math teacher Alex, he well and truly embodied the ‘go big or go home’ mentality when he decided to go after master strategist Kirby in his final tribal council.
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As the tribe scrambled earlier in the day, and Alex failed to win a brutal individual immunity challenge, he felt like it was only a matter of time before his torch was snuffed for good – opting into one last-ditch plan to maintain his place in the game.
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Ultimately, despite his best efforts to throw Kirby under the bus, the only tribemate to stand by his side was Mark, and Alex became the fourth member of the jury after receiving five votes from his tribe.
Speaking with New Idea the morning after his self-described “hectic” elimination aired, Alex said in hindsight there were “heaps of moments” where he could have acted differently.
“In reality when you look back on it there’s just so much happening and it’s tough to make rational decisions when you are in that environment,” he shared with us.
And whilst he doesn’t regret anything, he does admit it was painful to watch things unfold as they did on screen.
“It is what it is,” he laughs.
While hindsight is 20/20, the Rebel says if he had his time again he would “pay much closer attention” to the alliances unfolding between his tribemates.
He’d also bring the remaining boys (Mark, Feras, and Raymond) to the Survivor spa to cement a “boys alliance” instead of trying to earn the trust of Caroline, Kitty, and Kirby.
“Mark said ‘Leave me back at camp. Let’s split ourselves up so we can keep an eye on everyone’ and that sounded like a great idea at the time, but what I really should have done is brought all the boys and really solidified that alliance,” Alex admits to us.
“He [Mark] is a really good talker so I thought he would be able to get Feras and Ray[mond] on board and I would try and distract the girls; but thinking back on it, it was such a silly decision and I really regretted it.
“The game would have been so different if I brought the boys.”
A huge part of Alex’s storyline onscreen was his back-and-forth banter with Kelli Harris, so we of course had to ask if he had been in touch with his former tribemate since filming wrapped all those months ago.
“Kelli messages me quite frequently if I’m honest. It’s at least once a week at the moment, sometimes consecutive days in a row,” he shared exclusively with New Idea.
He added that whilst he liked Kelli she was “infuriating at times”.
“There’s been a lot of chat about us applying for The Amazing Race together which would be excellent TV but probably more challenging than living on a beach for 39 days,” he laughs.
As for her big reveal that she was a psychologist, Alex said his face “said it all” as to how he felt about hearing what she did for a living: “I’m just not sure how people can pay for her to talk through their problems,” he jokingly lamented.
With the end in sight, every move counts, which is why this Rebel is especially curious to see how Kirby adapts her gameplay.
“I think that Kirby is in a bit of a tough spot here after I shone the light on her. But to her credit, the girl has played an incredible game and I’m really proud of her. I can’t fault her gameplay.”
As for whom Alex will give his vote to come final tribal council, he’s looking for someone who isn’t afraid to make big moves.
“Timing is everything. I’ll be looking for someone to take out Kirby or for Kirbs to win some more [individual] immunity, build her social game [and make it to the final tribal council].”
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