By Ashley Thompson

Christina McQueen appeared in Sunday night's episode of Naked & Afraid in a Mexican jungle. Reality Wanted caught up with her for an exclusive interview to hear more about her survival experience and getting casted on Naked & Afraid.

Reality Wanted: How were you cast?

Christina: I actually never really watch tv that much and I turned it on the Discovery Channel and saw Naked and Afraid. I thought, 'I could do that, you know, I grew up in the country'. So I did the online application and the next day someone from Metal Flowers called and they talked to me for a couple of hours on the phone. They were like, "Awesome, you need to come to LA and let's do this!".

Reality Wanted: Did you do anything special to get cast?
Christina: You know, once they spoke to me and were interested I had to do a 5 minute video of my survival skills... My daughter actually taped that for me. They saw that before I went to LA.

Reality Wanted: Is your daughter as good at hunting as you are?
Christina: No, she's more of a city girl. She's not as aggressive as I am. I grew up with hardly ever any shoes on, no video games, I was just always outside playing. My father was always hunting and fishing because that was our food source. We grew tobacco... she grew up a little different. She never had to do that. It was really cool because after we watched the episode, emotionally this has really opened up a lot of doors for me because I've ever really been one to show emotion. So after the show she was like, "Now that I've seen it..." she's really proud of me.

Reality Wanted: How did you prepare?
Christina: I didn't really eat more, I exercised to keep my strength up. Drank lots of water and coconut water because it stays in your system longer. I tried to walk around barefoot more. I wanted to make shoes but they would have just popped off because everything was mud up to our ankles, it was crazy.

Reality Wanted: Did walking around barefoot work?
Christina: No it didn't ::laughing::. Not at all. The jungle floor there was a lot of weeds and so many thorns. The thorns would fall off the trees and it was impossible to not get a thorn in your foot. Our feet were completely cut and torn. For 21 days.

Reality Wanted: Are you allowed to make shoes or clothing out of your bag?
Christina: I'm not even for sure, I never asked that. I assume not because we used that to carry our diary cams and whatever our item is. People asked me if I was going to make clothes and I thought, 'no, I want to be naked for 21 days!'

Reality Wanted: Do you bring your own survival supplies or are they provided?
Christina: You actually bring four items and they chose one for you to take when you're filming. I mean, I could've brought a toothbrush.

Reality Wanted: Who brought the fire starter?
Christina: I actually brought the fire starter. I brought some machetes and a pot as well but they chose the fire starter for me.

Reality Wanted: When burning the termite nest to repel mosquitoes didn't work, did you really want to tap out after all the bug bites?
Christina: You know, it took almost two week before I mentally broke down. I just didn't know if I could keep doing this. The mosquitoes were really bad but there were fleas that would come out of the ground at night. It was miserable because every second there was a bite. I would layer myself in mud but it wouldn't keep the fleas away.

Reality Wanted: So mud doesn't really keep the mosquitoes from biting?
Christina: I personally don't. I think it depends on how thick you put the mud on. I remember one night I layered and layered the mud on me but then the mud would dry and fall off.

Reality Wanted: Was sleeplessness from the bites or the hunger the biggest hurdle?
Christina: It was definitely the hunger. I've always thought I know what hunger feels like. I've gone to bed without eating, you know? But nothing, nothing, like... I literally went 9 or 10 days with nothing in my stomach. It was miserable. It was a constant sharp pain in my stomach. I would have dreams about food. My body was wanting a certain type of food, I would crave salt or sugar one day. Definitely the hunger. I could at least take a couple naps during the day because when the sun would come up the mosquitoes and fleas wouldn't bother us. If I could have eaten my spirits would have been way higher.

Reality Wanted: Did your trap catch anything at all?
Christina: It did not. I set up a couple really deep holes that I knew animals were in but it did not work at all. I set it up after we killed the snake so I used the guts and things to attract animals but it didn't.

Reality Wanted: Do you think that had an affect on your PSR?
Christina: Um, I think, yeah. Because that was one of my skills that I have. I was talking to my father and I was saying it's different when you don't have equipment to hunt with ::laughs::. It's definitely harder, I made a spear when I was there. Even after not eating for so long, you know your energy level goes down. It was tough. I mentally didn't realize how tough it would be.

Reality Wanted: Would you do it again?
Christina: Absolutely! I really would. I enjoyed the experience. Since I've gotten back, it's a life changing experience. It's changed my heart. I've worked in the city in Louisville and would feed the homeless people and I would take them even a hamburger or anything. Over the winter my car was full of blankets and coats and I would hand them out. I thought I knew what hunger was until I did the show. And I knew I only had 21 days and I could eat but some of these people don't know when their next meal is.

Reality Wanted: So you have more empathy?
Christina: Absolutely. I've always done for others more than I have for myself and I've always had a big heart. But knowing how someone feels when they're that hungry, yeah, I completely have a different outlook on it. For sure.

Reality Wanted: What, if anything, would you do differently?
Christina: Um... I don't know. I would try to think of ideas or different ways to catch food. I tried when I was there but I don't know if I put that much effort into it. My strategies on the hunting thing would be a little different. I would study more on different traps.

Reality Wanted: Do you feel like your PSR score was accurate at the beginning and the end?
Christina: I thought it was going be a little higher. I assume it was because I didn't do anything or I suppose my constant complaining. I mean, I didn't complain the WHOLE time but it was a good editing time. I'm glad I made it to the end so that was a huge accomplishment.

Reality Wanted: Did you know your PSR score before doing the challenge? After? Or do you find out when the show aired?
Christina: When the show aired. No, I wasn't disappointed. This was one of the most fantastic adventures I've done. I've done some wild and crazy stuff and the whole thing, I'm just going with it. I had read a lot of negative comments and I just smile and laugh.

Reality Wanted: Do you and Steve keep in touch?
Christina: We do, we do. We have remained friends. He was like a brother to me and he helped me through. There were a couple of times I didn't know if I would make it and he was like, "I really don't want to stay in the jungle at night by myself so I need your support."

Reality Wanted: One last question, did you ever get to lick the salt off an almond?
Christina: NO! ::laughs:: I was begging! I was like, "let me lick it!" but they wouldn't let me. I was literally begging. It was crazy because there was berries but they'd make you sick if they weren't ripe and I almost ate one but I knew it would make me sick.

Follow Christina:

Twitter & Instagram: @cjmcqueen11

Photo credit: Discovery Channel