Still grateful. Survivor superfan Zach Wurtenberger looks back at his experience “so positively” even after being voted out first during the premiere episode on Wednesday, March 9.
The student, 22, “wasn’t one hundred percent sure” he was going home but “felt pretty confident” the tribe was leaning toward keeping Tori Meehan over him. He was right and he was voted out unanimously as he couldn’t vote since he used his Shot in the Dark.
“There was just not enough people fighting for me,” Zach exclusively tells Us Weekly. “You had Romeo [Escobar] fighting for me a little bit, but Romeo himself wasn’t gonna be able to turn the numbers.”
After the challenge, the Florida native seemingly took responsibility for the tribe’s loss as he was in charge of the puzzle alongside Swati Goel. Still, Zach says he doesn’t “feel like I particularly fell on my sword so much as – just in that moment – like, ‘Hey, you know, I’m sorry. I wish that we had done better on that puzzle.’”
The producers “kind of protected” him, he admits. “They edited out me in that challenge being like, ‘I know this puzzle, I know this puzzle.’ And then getting there and not really knowing the puzzle super well. Swati said a very similar thing and they just didn’t show that.”
As for what he thinks he could have possibly done better to stay in the game, Zach tells Us: “I think that there is a chance of me going just completely nuclear on Tori in that moment. I think that that could have possibly swayed things. I also think I would’ve come off a lot worse. … Maybe this is a youth thing. Maybe this is kind of a naivety for me, but I just didn’t have the heart. I do really like Tori, and I did really feel bad that I was trying to end her dream to save my own.”
What else did Zach have to say about his game? And as a fan, what did he think about this “new era” of Survivor? Scroll down to read our full interview.
Survivor airs Wednesdays on CBS at 8 p.m. ET.
Us Weekly: How are you feeling this morning?
Zach Wurtenberger: I’m feeling great.
Us: What was it like watching it back?
ZW: Honestly, it was really fun. I was really enjoying it again to see how they edited everything together and how everything was portrayed. I was really happy with how my story came together.
Us: As a superfan, was the experience what you expected?
ZW: As a fan, it definitely wasn’t what I expected. It’s like you can’t really expect to live out in the jungle. The people that you’re with too. It was, like, completely not what I expected. I think that watching the show through was … maybe it was more so what I expected, what I hoped. It was a great episode.
Us: What did you think of this accelerated version of the game?
ZW: I mean, I’m always gonna be a purist. I would’ve loved to get to do the whole 39 days, no ship wheel island, all that stuff. But I would play Survivor if it was three days long, and hey, look, it was for me. I would’ve played no matter what. So even if it was like the “new era,” it was still blast.
Us: How bad was the food situation?
ZW: It was bad. I mean, you don’t have any food. The most we had was coconuts, which we couldn’t even really eat because Drea [Wheeler]’s allergic to coconuts. Maybe there are other reality shows that have less coconuts. You have an allergy to coconuts (laughs). So we always had to be really careful with eating the coconuts so that we weren’t gonna make Drea get sick.
Us: So let’s talk about tribal. Talk to me about how it went from Tori to you and when you realized you were going home.
ZW: It was a steady progress. The pushers of it were – obviously Tori was going to do anything to make sure it wasn’t her – and then you had Rocksroy [Bailey] who was always just gonna [base his decision] on challenges, unfortunately. Swati was gonna go with wherever the numbers went. She wasn’t really gonna put herself out there too strongly at all. So that was always gonna be a tough spot. There was just not enough people fighting for me. You had Romeo fighting for me a little bit, but Romeo himself wasn’t gonna be able to turn the numbers.
Us: Some people on social media wanted me to ask about you falling on your sword a bit after the challenge. Why did you immediately take responsibility for the loss? Talk to me about that.
ZW: I don’t know. I don’t feel like I particularly fell on my sword so much as – just in that moment – like, “Hey, you know, I’m sorry. I wish that we had done better on that puzzle.” But I certainly wasn’t pulling a Zane [Knight] and being like, “Guys, vote me out, vote me out.” It was just a quick moment. And I did honestly feel bad about that. [The producers] kind of protected me a little bit. They edited out me in that challenge being like, “I know this puzzle, I know this puzzle.” And then getting there and not really knowing the puzzle super well. Swati said a very similar thing and they just didn’t show that.
Us: Right. We do often see the person who feels like they messed up apologize to the tribe after the challenge. Anyway, when did you decide you should play the Shot in the Dark?
ZW: I wasn’t 100 percent sure that I was getting voted out there. I felt pretty confident. I felt like it was probably, like, a 70 – 80 percent [chance], but I also knew that my vote wasn’t gonna actually matter at this tribal because I knew it was either all me or all Tori. So I just was like, “Well, if my vote doesn’t matter and I can decrease my odds by 16 point whatever percent, why wouldn’t I do it?”
Us: What was the plan for tribal as you knew it? What were you told was happening?
ZW: I knew it was either me or Tori, and I was pushing for Tori in that moment. And Tori was pushing for me. It made it pretty easy for everyone else to kind of just back off in that moment and kind of let one of us go. So I felt like it was gonna be one of the two of us. And I felt like I was not getting the reassurances from my tribe that I probably would’ve been getting had they not been targeting me in that moment.
Us: So there was no talk about one of you having an idol?
ZW: That didn’t even matter because it was clear I was voting for Tori and Tori was voting for me. Even if Tori had an idol, it’s like, “OK, then she just gets Zach out so we don’t even have to worry about about this.” So there wasn’t too much concern about idols and stuff. Plus, idols don’t even work anymore with the phrases and stuff. We didn’t know that, but there really was not a threat of that.
Us: Right. How do you feel about this new era of idols and advantages?
ZW: Well, it’s funny because you see these people run back with fake blood on them and you’re like, “What is going on here?” And now you get to see all of the behind the scenes on that stuff. When I got back to Ponderosa, I was like, “Oh man, if only I had found an idol,” and then I found out that, like, if I had found an idol, I wouldn’t have even been able to play the Shot in the Dark.
Us: True! A lot of the episode was also spent on Jackson [Fox]’s story. What were your thoughts watching that last night?
ZW: I just think that Jackson is an incredible person and is one of the most inspirational people I’ve ever met. I’m so happy that they were able to have his story out there. It’s so great that he got to talk all that through. I really think that Jackson is phenomenal and I had such a joy getting to to spend Ponderosa with him.
Us: Looking back, what will be your fondest memory from doing the show?
ZW: Honestly, I look at the entire experience so positively. It may be that the three days in the game – at the very least the final day in the game – wasn’t particularly the most fun day of my life. When I think about getting to be at Ponderosa afterwards with people and, like, all the pre-game stuff, and getting to live my dream and have all these firsts of getting to go to challenges and tribal and all of that, every single step I just felt so grateful that I had this opportunity.
Us: Does that mean you’re interested in playing again?
ZW: It’s impossible to say no to Survivor. It really is. We talk about it as a once in a lifetime opportunity, right? And if you get a once in a lifetime opportunity twice, it’s impossible to say no. I would definitely play again. I would definitely work really close with Reem [Daly]. But also, at the same time, if this is the end of my Survivor experience, I couldn’t be more grateful for it.
Us: Do you think there was anything you could have done at tribal council to stay or do you think it was a done deal at that point?
ZW: I think that there is a chance of me going just completely nuclear on Tori in that moment. I think that that could have possibly swayed things. I also think I would’ve come off a lot worse. So it’s kind of like this back and forth for me. Maybe this is a youth thing. Maybe this is kind of a naivety for me, but I just didn’t have the heart. I do really like Tori, and I did really feel bad that I was trying to end her dream to save my own. Um, yeah. So I think that if I could have pushed so much harder for her, maybe I could have changed something, but at the end of the day, I just know that that’s not, at that moment, what I would’ve been able to do. It would’ve been hard to get the votes at that point. They wanted strength.
