Parvati Shallow explains how real her “Deal or No Deal Island” relationship with David was

Warning: This article contains spoilers about season 2, episode 11 of Deal Or No Deal Island.

Parvati Shallow knows a little something about immunity from her time on Survivor. But even for the woman who won necklaces, and at one point simultaneously possessed two hidden immunity idols, this was a bit ridiculous. Parvati had elimination immunity for the first nine weeks of Deal or No Deal Island season 2 — a truly remarkable run. But then, the very first time she did not have safety, she was sent out of the game.

Parvati finally played the Banker on this week’s episode of DONDI, and she ultimately made a bad deal, eliminating her in fourth place on the season. What does the reality TV legend have to say about her time on the Banker’s island? How did she manage to stay so safe for so long? How much of her closeness with David Genat was an act? And what was it like being told by Phillip Solomon that her gameplay was “disgusting”? We caught up with the Black Widow to discuss all that and more.

Related: Joe Manganiello reveals explosive Deal or No Deal Island fire malfunction (exclusive)

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You told me you’re not a math girl and that you were kind of zoning out as Boston Rob tried to give you advice on facing the Banker, so what was that experience like of finally getting in there at the Temple and doing that?

PARVATI SHALLOW: I felt out of body. I was talking to [host] Joe [Manganiello] and I was like, "It's cool to be up here with Joe." But then I would look at the cases and I would be like, "Hmm…" Everyone else that played the banker, it seemed that they had some kind of focus with why they were picking certain numbers at certain times. Even Dr. Will with his one, two, three, four strategy. And for me, it felt very out of my realm of expertise, which was surprising, given how well I kept doing in the challenges.

Yeah, how did you manage to go nine straight weeks with safety from being sent home? What was the secret to your success?

I am good at these challenges! I've been doing it for a while, so I have experience built up to stay calm in those moments where the pressure's on and the adrenaline is rushing through my body. I love those challenges. It's one thing that keeps bringing me back to play these games is stepping into those arenas. And then on top of that, there was this added element of luck on the island.

Lucky, strange things kept happening. I found a four-leaf clover for a challenge in the jungle in Panama. I was like, "Do clovers even grow here? I don't know." And then it was the family alliance that really helped me out. Being able to work with David, who had a strong strategic mind, and play off of him and trust that he would do what I was asking him to do in a challenge was so helpful. It was like the stars aligned to help me get safety nine times in a row because no one else was a match for me.

Related: Phillip Solomon had an unaired 'full emotional breakdown' during Deal or No Deal Island

So clearly, you and David were very, very close in this game. How much of that affection was genuine and how much was gameplay?

David is a funny dude. He and I just clicked right away. And sometimes you get that, sometimes you don't. I had it with Amanda and Cire in Micronesia, and I had it with David. You don't necessarily have that very often, so when I do, I just lean into it. His brain worked very well alongside my brain in the game. And you take it with a grain of salt because you know that every single person — even Amanda and Cirie and me and David — we're all trying to win.

So the affection is real, alongside the strategy. And I think that is something that I also really enjoy inside of these containers working with people who've played this game before — that they're going to take it less personally when you have to cut them at the end. You go as far as you can with the people that you love playing with, and then you realize it is an individual game at some point.

But with Deal or No Deal, it was really different to Survivor. You didn't really have to cut anyone at the end. And I realized that right away. I was like, "Oh, this isn't like a backstabby game. This is a more fun, really work with people to get to the end game." And then who knows what the challenge could be. And I was like, "I could beat David in a challenge."

Related: Dickson Wong says it took 3 people and a rope to rescue him from Deal or No Deal Island quicksand

You obviously were rooting for David to win this final excursion — and we’ll see next week if he does — so why did you decide to help Lete and CK during that challenge?

I mean, did I help them?

That's what I want to know!

I was back at the hotel and it was like Ponderosa [on Survivor]. It was a jury villa back there, and people were saying, “Oh, we don't want someone who's won a game show in the past to win again.” So people were pulling against David there and they wanted Lete to win. People were mad at CK because she'd cheated and done some questionable things and was sort of playing all sides. So it seemed to me like people were going to all be trying to help Lete win.

So I was like, "Well, what power do I have? I can just mildly slow them down. I'm just one cog in the wheel here and hopefully help David just go a little faster." So when I had Lete, I was like, "Girl, you didn't even talk to me out here." Lete and I had not even barely one conversation. We made an alliance, the Banker's Angels, that didn't get shown on air. It wasn't really a storyline. It fizzled out. The following day. I was like, "Oh, this alliance is dead." And it was with me, Lete, and CK, and that was before the Ring Challenge. So Lete was a non-entity for me in the game, so I was like, "Why would I help you?" And then as I'm helping her, I'm also asking her questions and kind of slowing her down at the same time. So maybe it appeared to be help. I wasn't actually sabotaging her, I was just kind of slowing her down. Same with CK. CK came through with my throwing. I'm really bad at throwing, but I definitely hammed it up.

Related: Deal or No Deal Island host Joe Manganiello reacts to brutal elimination (exclusive)

Tell me about your relationship with CK in the game.

CK and I were roommates and we got really close. CK and I was my tightest alliance beyond me and David. So I had CK on one side and I had David on the other side. They both hated each other, so I was like the mom trying to get the siblings to work together. They were just not having it, but CK was more emotional and a little more volatile and erratic, so I was constantly reassuring her, having long conversations with her to let her know that she was doing a good job and playing great and that I trusted her and she trusted me. And I knew she was working all sides.

So when she was saying that she was going to take me out, I was like, "Oh, now I have to really lay it on thick that I'm really bitter because then she'll try to get back in my good graces." I knew that was a strategy, that I used emotional kind of warfare with CK to get her to play nice with me. It worked for the most part, but I didn't trust that she wouldn't take me out if she played the Banker.

Related: Deal or No Deal Island star La Shell Wooten lied to Parvati about elimination choice

We saw that scene of Phillip saying how disgusting it was for you to use his childhood trauma as a chess piece in the game. What was it like having to sit there and hear that?

I was really confused and surprised. I think you could tell when I was sitting on the couch with Phillip and he is finally talking to me after three days of silence. And before that, we were really close. We were chatting all the time, we were sharing really personal stories with each other about our lives, and I thought we had a great relationship. What I didn't realize was how much he didn't trust me. He saw me as a Black Widow. He was relating to me as the Black Widow, this ferocious, betraying game player.

That happens sometimes when I play because people don't relate to me as I am now. They relate to me as they saw me 20 years ago. So that's what happened with Phillip. And I was really surprised that he thought that I was weaponizing his childhood trauma. I didn't see myself as doing that. And I thought that he and I were on the same page about Dr. Will because all Phillip talked about with me was how disgusting Dr. Will's behavior was. So when I said that Dr. Will seemed to be one of his bullies in high school, I thought he would agree with me, not that I would be weaponizing his childhood trauma, but I think Phillip is more sensitive than I realized.

Also, he's just a very unique person and I love Philip. We're fine now and I think he's great and I wish him all the best. But out there, that was a big shock to me. And then some of the producers were even to me saying, “Oh, that was gameplay when you cried on the couch to Phillip and you were apologizing. You looked so surprised.” I'm like, “No, guys, that was real. I have real emotions. I really care about people. Even if it's a game, I can care about people.” And I did care about Phillip and I didn't want to hurt him. I thought he was a friend of mine. So even the producers relate to me as a Black Widow from 20 years ago. It's hard to shake the perception that people have of who I am.

Related: Deal or No Deal Island host Joe Manganiello reacts to Parvati and Phillip spat (exclusive)

Have you ever been more annoyed by a reality TV contestant in the game than you were with Dr. Will?

No. And I've been with some annoying contestants. I played with Russell Hantz for the entire 39 days of starvation and sleeping in the dirt on Heroes vs. Villains, and still he was less annoying than Dr. Will.

What's it been like out of the game? Have you crossed paths with Will at all?

I have, yeah. He had a Halloween party and I dropped by with [my daughter] Alma and he was dressed as Axl Rose throwing candy down a chute to the kids down below. He reminds me of Inspector Gadget outside of the game. He is just got all these little contraptions and things. He's very cerebral. His mind's always working on something. He's always very excited about something and outside of the game. He's fun because I don't need to work with him and I don't need to approve of his behavior. I don't need his behavior to be okay for me at all. He can do whatever he wants to do, and he is actually genuinely pretty fun to hang out with outside of the game… in small doses.

Related: Deal or No Deal Island star Dr. Will Kirby says 'you are never going to see me again' (exclusive)

What is the craziest thing that went down this season that did not make it to air?

Well, David fell off the swing at one point. So Dickson came back after he'd won his $5 million case and we were celebrating him and it was so funny. I was like, “Dickson, you basically did a double immunity play at Tribal!” and David's like, “What's an immunity?” And then Dickson gets down and starts explaining what an immunity idol is and my double idol play. And then David falls backwards off of the swing into the water and scratches his back up on the rocks. And it was just really funny, those moments where David was pretending to not know anything about Survivor and Dickson, who's a huge fan, is explaining it to him in the most basic, dumbed-down terms. And I'm just sitting there watching.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Deal or No Deal Island airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC.

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