Alexis Lete is even more pissed after watching “Deal or No Deal Island” finale

When Entertainment Weekly spoke with Alexis Lete down in Panama the morning after she was eliminated on Deal or No Deal Island, the runner-up felt “shattered” and “betrayed.” In that raw interview, Lete expressed disappointment that her biggest ally in the game, Phillip Solomon, directed her rival David Genat to the highest-value briefcase, especially after she had asked him to help her get to the final face-off against the Banker. Had he done otherwise, that would have been Lete playing for over $12 million.

For his part, Phillip told EW the morning after that excursion that “I hope that in time she will get to watch it back and see that I made it really hard for him and I kind of left it up to ‘If you trust me here, this is it. If you don't, there are other options here.’”

Well, suffice it to say, that has not happened. In fact, if anything, Lete is even more pissed off now after watching the excursion play back on TV. We caught up with the runner-up for an emotional chat in which Lete looks back at what could have been, reveals she is still living in her parents’ house, and explains her plans for the future.

Related: Everything you didn't see on the insane Deal or No Deal Island season 2 finale

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Last time we spoke was the morning after you lost the final excursion, and you used words like shattered and betrayed as Phillip and others gave David high value cases. How difficult was it to then watch it all play back on the TV screen months later?

ALEXIS LETE: It was harder to watch it back than when I was there. And I'll tell you why: Because people did not tell the truth about how they played the game. And so I was with my family and friends watching it when I saw the way Phillip gave his case to David. Not “Choose one of these,” just “This one is for you." So definite, so sure. And it's the highest case. I literally audibly said [screaming] “ARE YOU F---ING SERIOUS?!” I got up and had to go to the bathroom to calm down.

And I came back to the whole audience and I was like, “You guys, I'm sorry. I had to take a moment. I was told that these actions were done differently than they were.” And for me it's hard to process that someone 1) Betrayed me and then 2) Lied about the way they did it. And I have to see it on live television months later with my friends and family who are here to cheer me on and support me. I'm upset about it.

Related: Alexis Lete felt 'shattered' and 'betrayed' by Phillip's game-changing Deal or No Deal Island decision

I remember you telling me down there that you didn't know if you could be friends with Phillip outside of…

I’m not. I don't accept people in my life that are spineless and willing to screw over someone that loves them and is willing to do anything for them. Because I would've helped Phillip. And if I have a friend in my life that's not willing to do for me what I am to them, that's an issue. And that's not someone who's my friend. That's someone who's a liability to my future.

Has he tried to reach out to you since you guys got back?

He has, yes. Multiple times.

And how did that go?

I'm pretty cordial with him. He messaged me after the episode, I messaged him and I said, “That was really tough to watch.” And he replied back, “Yeah, it was for me too.” He said, “But I have to let you know, I felt the need to help David win because he has a family of four children and a wife with lupus. And I couldn't have my conscious knowing that I wasn't helping a family.”

And I didn't respond because to me, what if I want to start a family in the future? Why don't I get the privilege to be financially stable when I want to have kids and a husband? What if I want to start an organization that helps unprivileged children move to a safer home. To say someone's situation was more intriguing to help in the moment doesn't really show that they were playing the game, because it was a game. And it is a game. If you can't tell, I'm still butt hurt.

Related: Deal or No Deal Island star David Genat reacts to epic finale ending

You spoke very emotionally before the excursion about really needing that money and having financial woes and moving back in with your parents. How are you now with all of that?

I'm doing this interview from my parents' basement. I am still working job to job. I'm not giving up on my dreams though, because I'm not someone who just lies down and waits for opportunity to happen. I do have plans to move to New York. Am I going to be able to have a place that is as safe or as spacious? No, because I can't afford that. And it's frustrating that someone who in interviews said “an investment in Lete is a good one” was lying so that people would like them. And I respect Parvati leaps and bounds more because she's real about everything she says and she says the truth whether you like it or not. And I would prefer always to receive the truth rather than lies to my face with a smile.

I know what it was like from my vantage point watching David in that final Temple win almost $6 million. What was it like for you being so close to that money and watching him just be a lunatic up there? I’m sure there were a lot of emotions swirling.

When I was sitting there watching David, I wasn't bitter, I wasn't upset. I was able to compartmentalize: “That just ended for you. How are you going to act in this moment for someone that you bonded with on the show?” And I had a decision. I could sit there and be upset, be annoyed, and make it about me. But this moment wasn't about me, it was about David and it was about him breaking game show history.

And to be a part of the story within that is something that is really cool for me. Do I wish it was me? 1000 bajillion percent? If I could go back and do things differently in the game, I would've if it would've made me win. But being in that Temple with everyone that I had bonded with over the show, cheering someone on that we got to know on a deeper level was an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life. It was such a cool moment.

Related: Deal or No Deal Island host Joe Manganiello reacts to 'miraculous' finale (exclusive)

Were you putting yourself in his shoes at all and would you have taken one of those earlier offers, like a sane person?

For me, in my financial situation right now, yes. Of I was in David's financial situation where I had won a show and I was getting paid to be on a show — no, I would've gone balls to the wall too. Because at that point, why not? You're already coming away with the success and finances just from being there. He had another show lined up after in this situation, so go big or go home.

All I know is I walked by a van at like 3am after filming was over and there was all this noise coming out and a bunch of you all were in there and Will’s shirt was half-off and I have no idea what was happening but you all did not seem ready to go to bed.

Okay, we talked about going out. There's this place right by the hotel that I think goes to four or five, something crazy. And so we're like, “Let's go party! Let's rage!” We got back to the hotel and I had not raged yet. I was on the island as long as possible. So I didn't come out to the hotel, I didn't come out to parties and the beautiful excursions and the surfing lessons that everybody got to experience. So I'm like a new little baby. But the only people that went out with me that night were Seychelle and Storm, and everybody else just ended up going to bed.

Related: Deal or No Deal Island winner David Genat still hasn't gotten his $5.8 million

So what reality competition show would you like to do next?

I know The Traitors is really hot right now. The outfits are phenomenal. I don't know if you clocked my temple outfits, but I took some time to put those bad boys together because I was wanting to give Princess Warrior vibes and I feel like that's what it delivered. So I would love to go on The Traitors, one for the fashion and two to meet other cool people in the reality TV space.

Something that is also enticing is The Challenge. A ton of people have reached out to me, they're like, “Lete, you're meant for The Challenge. You're a challenge beast.” And I am young. I'm physically fit. I work out, I lift. I feel like my body has reconstructed itself since the WWE and I'm lifting more than I had when I was there. I'm doing more things that are hard physically than when I went to DONDI because I was still recovering from all the bumps I took and my poor knees hitting the mat in the WWE. So I'm ready for something physical, but I also love the pageantry of The Traitors.

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