Yahoo Lifestyle Jeremy Collins Reveals the Move He's Positive Would Have Saved Him on 'The Traitors' (Exclusive)
One would think that the more reality TV shows a person competes on, the less emotional they'd be when eliminated. Seemingly that is not the case for Jeremy Collins, who was unceremoniously "murdered" this week on The Traitors. This is the Massachusetts firefighter's fourth reality TV outing, having competed on three seasons of Survivor before swapping the Fijian beach for the Scottish highlands. While Collins has been blindsided twice before, he seemed noticeably shaken when he was cut only a few days into The Traitors Season 3.
"I don't do these shows much," Collins tells Parade after his elimination. "So when I go on the shows, I'm trying to win or get deep into it, you know? I don't like leaving my family. So when I'm knocked out, I'm like, 'I just got here.'"
In addition to losing the $250,000 prize, Collins, known for his strategic chops, is grappling with his own mistakes in the game.
"I was kind of disappointed," he continues. "I was disappointed in myself. I wish I played a little better. I wish I talked to the right people. I wish I didn't say as much to some people, and I wish I said more to other people. I'm just as disappointed in my own game plan."
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Collins' elimination will certainly go down in The Traitors history though as he was murdered by the Traitors in an unusual fashion, getting nailed into a coffin on the front steps of the castle rather than by the usual letter. Collins fell victim to Survivor-on-Survivor crime as his fellow CBS alumni Boston Rob Mariano and Carolyn Wiger, along with fellow Traitors Bob the Drag Queen and Danielle Reyes opted to off him over two other players resting in coffins. Collins' exit directly followed that of yet another Survivor winner Tony Vlachos, who was banished (also at the hands of Mariano) earlier in the evening.
After his exit, Jeremy Collins sat down with Parade to discuss his feelings towards Boston Rob, what he wishes he'd done differently and exactly how long he was trapped in that coffin.
Read below for the full interview.
To start at the beginning, what were your initial thoughts when you rolled up and saw Tony and Carolyn, especially given everything that went down with Tony during Survivor: Winners at War?
Me and Tony, we're good. You know what I mean? Like Tony took me out, but we have a really good relationship. So seeing Tony, I was like, "Yo, this is good. I need people that I know." And Carolyn, I was like, "Yo, she's a Survivor. We're all on the same page. Let's stick together." I didn't know anybody else out there. I knew of Nikki [Garcia] because my wife watched her show on E! But everybody else, I didn't know.
What were your thoughts when Rob revealed himself in Episode 1? Did you consider bringing him into the game?
Not at all. When I last played Survivor with Rob, I don't know how we ended. We didn't really come to an agreement on how we should feel about each other, so I didn't even want him in the game. When he got there, I was like "I would play with him." But there's no way I'm going to shake Alan's hand and get somebody else out. I'm not going to put a target on my back for Rob. He would never do that for me.
The first couple of days looked like a hot mess from a strategy standpoint. What was your strategy moving through the first couple rounds?
Especially with the first Round Table, it's a lot going on. Nobody knows anything. That's gonna be the hardest. That's gonna be the messiest. It's too bad for that first person, because you have no footing in the game yet, so it is gonna be ugly. It happens in every show. In Survivor, it's the same way. It's just like, "Alright, who's that? Let's get rid of them." It's just always like that. So it's not a big deal.
When Tony got banished, he was obviously very upset with Boston Rob. You didn't vote for Tony. What were your thoughts on his exit and Rob's gameplay at that point?
First of all, Tony was crying. If he's watching, let him know, "You big baby. Stop crying." I knew Tony wasn't a Traitor. I know how Tony plays. And if he was a Traitor, he'd be all over the place, and he wasn't. He was trying to chill out. For Rob to do that, it wasn't needed. If he just wrote Tony's name down, I would understand, because everybody was jumping on Tony. That's what happens in the first couple of votes. You just go with the group. But for him to say like, "I don't know if you're a Traitor and all that," it was just a lot. He should have just been like, "Tony, it just looks shady. Everybody's after you. I'm going to jump on board with them." Like Carolyn did.
What was going through your mind when you got to the coffin twist and your name was pulled?
As soon as it happened, I'm thinking, "Which one of [Nikki or Ciara Miller] are Traitors?" Instead of thinking like, "Oh, I can really go home." Then I get in ,and I'm like, "Aright, why am I in here? I did throw out Danielle's name. "But after it was done, three minutes after, I went, "You know what I should have said?" I should have said, "I don't talk much out here. I just do a lot of listening and watching. I said one name, and now I'm in the box. If I go home, that's the name you should be looking at." And I think if I did that, I stay in the game. Now, if Danielle wasn't a Traitor, and I did that, I think they send me home ,and then everyone goes after Danielle. But hindsight's 20-20.
Related: Reality TV Legend Sent Home After Less Than 24 Hours in 'The Traitors' Premiere
How long were you in that coffin?
Everybody asked me that. I want to say seven minutes. It wasn't hard. It was freezing out, and in the coffin, it was warmer because the wind wasn't going by, and it was cozy. My wife doesn't like to see that though. She was like, "I don't like that. I do not like that. Blah blah." I'm like, "It was warm."
What were your thoughts when you found out that Rob and Carolyn were both Traitors?
I was disappointed. Out of the four Traitors, I had a really good relationship with three of them. And even Danielle, I had a good relationship with, until I figured her out. Then she kind of stopped talking to me, which should have been a flag. I should have been like, "She's not talking to me. That means a hundred percent she is a Traitor, and she knows I'm after her." But the other three, I had good relationships with. I'm disappointed they didn't fight for me. When they went after Bob [the Drag Queen], I went to Bob and said, "Bob, they're after you." I had your back. So I just think it was a bad strategic move on their part for not keeping me.
Survivor 50 is coming up. Would you do that? Would you do The Traitors again? Are there other shows that you would be interested in competing on?
I'm at the fire station. If they're looking for me, they can call me there. I'm not looking at Survivor 50. I'm getting too old for that. I told Tony yesterday, "Just thinking about sleeping on bamboo hurts my hips." I don't want any part of that. I'm old. But The Traitors, I would do again. The Traitors was a lot of fun.
Related: Who Will Win 'The Traitors' Season 3? A Power Ranking After Episode 4
How would you compare Jeff Probst to Alan Cumming as a host?
They're totally different. I would love to see Jeff wear some of Alan's clothes. I would love to see him on an island in Fiji wearing a crazy dress and a bouffant or whatever. A monocle! That's what Jeff needs. He needs a monocle.
We need to do a wife swap with the hosts. So do you have any bad blood with Rob or Carolyn?
I'm a gamer. This is what I do. I have no bad blood. I'll tell them, "Bad strategic play on your part, but if they go on and win, then I guess it wasn't.
Is there one thing that happened while you were out there you wish had made the edit?
The game moves so fast. There was a lot of running around, but just random things. Just hanging out with the people. Me and Nikki have a handshake. Bob Harper and I had a real good sit down, and we were talking about relationships and my wife. I had really good talks with Dorinda, like heart-to-heart talks.
This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.
Related: Everything to Know About 'The Traitors' Season 3 (Including the Elimination Order)
