by Gina Scarpa

 

Mikayla found herself as a target, for no good reason, on the Upolu tribe this season on Survivor: South Pacific thanks to her fellow player, Brandon. Early on, he campaigned to get her out of the game and eventually, got his wish. Last night, she competed against Christine on Redemption Island and lost, ending her game for good. Today, we caught up with the lingerie football player in an exclusive interview about her experiences on Survivor.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What made you want to do Survivor?
A. Mikayla: My mom is a major fan so the fact that she was a huge fan. Someone asking me to starve myself for 39 days is crazy. But to do it to make my mom happy, it's like, okay! We've been watching it for years now. When this came to me, my mom was like, "Rock and roll!"

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: From the very beginning, Brandon had an issue with you. Did you ever get to the bottom of what it was really about?
A. Mikayla: I think he was crazy when he was younger and he did things and was all over the place. People in this game should leave their personal lives at home and play the game. He brought his personal life into the game, which you should never do. It's just crazy. After all these blowups, he's still got Coach on his side. Brandon is like the Phillip of last year. It's definitely stinks that he said I was flaunting my body. Could you imagine if he was on the other tribe with Whitney and Elyse? He'd jump off the island and swim away! What are you gonna do? I pray for him. If you can't handle one person who tempts you...

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Speaking of Brandon, why is he still in the game? He is such a loose cannon. It is because he's physically a strong player that can help your tribe?
A. Mikayla: Yeah, people said we needed him for strength. I was bringing up things. If you have three or four strong challenges in the beginning, they're not going to do that every time. It's like, come on! Nobody wanted to make any big Survivor moves.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: At Redemption Island, it looked like you were going to beat Christine. How did you handle it when you realized your game was officially over?
A. Mikayla: It stunk. I caught up and I thought I had it. I'm looking it and I'm like, "What do I have to change?" It didn't match up and when it was over, I told her, "Baby, give them hell!"

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: During the duel, Albert was cheering you on. Is it safe to say that you were closest with him?
A. Mikayla: Brandon was telling the tribe lies about me. Albert believed it but Sophie was on the wall. They were my alliance. Maybe if she had put her two cents in, she could've helped.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What have you learned either about yourself from watching the show?
A. Mikayla: I learned that I definitely stuck to my morals. I have younger siblings and they don't need anything from me to reflect on them. I would never lie and I'm trying to be a role model. I am becoming a role model and I want to make sure people see me as that. I want people to say, "She never buckled under peer pressure." Throughout this game, I stuck to my guns and I was always me.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What is next for you? Would you do another reality show?
A. Mikayla: I will definitely consider doing another reality show. I really hope Survivor would give me another chance. Unfortunately with Brandon, I was never given a fair chance and I feel like they haven't had many strong women lately. Parvati has already won. There's Stephenie but they haven't had a strong female in a while. Next in line for me, I'm still doing my modeling thing and I'm going back to acting classes.

 

 

Survivor: South Pacific airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on CBS.

 

(Image courtesy of CBS)

 

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