And the blindsides just keep coming.
For the second week in row the women of Survivor: One World took out a male ally who believed he was safe. Working model Jay Byars was the unsuspecting sacrifice this week after the intended target, Troy, revealed he was going to play a hidden immunity idol. The last-minute news sent the entire tribe scrambling, and Byars, 25, was sent to the jury.
Now back home in Gaffney, S.C., Byars tells PEOPLE why he dropped out of his final immunity challenge, why he trusted the women, and the one thing he would have done differently that could have changed the game.
What was going through your head during the immunity challenge?
I thought, "Who is going to go home at the next tribal council because tonight it is not going to be me. If I step down I won't look as big of a threat in the challenges and I get food, so I will be stronger for the next immunity challenge." I felt safe enough to jump down and it hit me back.
Walking in to tribal how certain were you of how the votes were going to go?
Not at all. Everything hit the fan right before we left and everyone was trying to figure out what happened. Literally, I think some votes were swapped during tribal. I mean look at Tarzan, he was talking about a guys' alliance and then he voted for me.
Why do you think Tarzan flipped?
I think just the talk of Troy's idol and my name coming up as not feeling safe. The girls thought I would be more of a threat. Any time you are sitting at tribal and attention is coming your way you don't want it.
Do you think you could have saved yourself had known it was going to be you?
I wish I would have known about Troy's idol longer. It was very last second so I didn't feel like there was an adequate time to put together a solid game plan to get enough people on board.
Do you think you could have saved yourself had known it was going to be you?
I wish I would have known about Troy's idol longer. It was very last second so I didn’t feel like there was an adequate time to put together a solid game plan to get enough people on board.
Chelsea said she liked working with you but she voted for you anyway.
I think she couldn't have said it better herself, "I love money." So that's the way she went. I don't know if she could have saved me if she had stepped up and voiced her opinion more. She was definitely fun to work with, super awesome. I loved her on the show and am going to enjoy watching her moving forward.
Any regrets about the way you played?
I wish I wouldn't have cared if I pissed of the men's tribe and said, "No, we are not going to give up immunity and send our own player home." I voiced that opinion but at a certain time you have to back off so you don't put a target on your own back. And I should have made a few more small alliances. I never spoke to Tarzan or Leif [much] and after the merge I didn't really speak to Christina or Alicia. I should have been picking their brain more.
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