Survivor 47 star Kyle Ostwald reveals current status with Sue

Kyle Ostwald knew he had to keep winning immunity challenges if he wanted to win Survivor 47. So when he was unable to prevail in last week’s contest, the writing was on the wall… or, in this case, the parchment. Kyle was overwhelmingly voted out by his tribe, but he still insisted on hugging everyone and thanking them on his way over to the jury.

That meant even hugging Sue Smey, who had been desperate to get him out ever since he wrote her name down on day five. What does Kyle make of Sue now after seeing her nationally televised disdain for him? And have the two patched things up off the island? We asked the third juror about that and everything else that went down during his 20 days in the game.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I understand your final Tribal Council was a much more open affair then what was shown and that everyone was pretty honest with you before the vote that you were going home. Tell me about that and what that was like to hear from everyone that your time was up.

KYLE OSTWALD: That's one thing that I tried to hit a few different times is that in an odd way, it's a sign of respect for you to be sent home mid-game or even early-game. If you're a powerful player, if you're a force to be reckoned with, that means somebody's concerned with you making it to the end. They don't want you there. Good move on your end.

Ironically, the way that I went out, it seemed as if my social game wasn't there and I just kind of folded at the end. That was far from true. I spent a lot of time talking. I tipped that island upside down looking for idols. The efforts were there, but you saw that we got rid of the Shot in Dark a couple votes before I went out. So it was like there was really no even second plea to get out of it. It was like I painted the target on my back. I was proud to wear it. I was trying to wear it all the way through to the end and when I took the money I was going to take it with force. Kudos to a great group of people that got me before I got it.

What is it like getting enveloped in the warm embrace of Jeff Probst after getting your torch snuffed?

Yeah, that's something that means a lot to me. And that whole exit, that was a really emotional overload for me because it was like the end of a line for me. It was the end of a journey and a pursuit to try to gain financial freedom for my family. But then there was this rush of emotion that just opened my eyes to the fact that I just put a ripple effect into my family's future that will travel indefinitely, and it will ultimately give my family a sense of pride.

And when I say on this show, “I hope my family is proud” — It is not just proud of me. Where I come from, there's not a lot to be proud of. You can pick apart things to be proud of, but ultimately I had to find it within myself to really pick myself up in life and say, “I'm proud of me.” But now I've done something that, like I say, has put a ripple into my family's future indefinitely where they can say, “I'm proud of where I come from.” And ultimately, I didn't win the million dollars, but you and I both know we could blow through a million dollars in a very short period of time in this life. But what I did for my family and what that's going to do for so many other families, that's indefinite and I'm proud of it.

We heard you say on the show that you wanted to make your family proud. What has your family's reaction been to the show?

It's very positive. I've received a lot of very positive attention. My family's receiving a lot of positive attention, which has been very good because just like anybody else's life, there's a lot of highs and a lot of lows, and we go through that just like everybody else. And when we do hit those lows, when we do hit those highs, it's to be able to see other families and community come together and create a safety net for family.

When it's feeling tough for me, even I'm not the kind of person that asks for help, I'm always the one to give it. So to see that initiative come into play before I can even ask it or want it, that's something that a dad can lay his head down at night and just know his family is okay. And what more could you ask for at this point?

Everyone was so scared to go up against you at the end. How do you think you would have done with the jury vote had you made it there?

Oh dude, I would've tore it up. I would've let 'em have it. There's no way. I'm going to tell you right now, when I got on Survivor, my foot was hitting the gas pedal and my foot was not coming off the floor until I saw God or a checkered flag. So kudos to them because I was not going to let it go down easy. I'm a very manipulative human being when I need to be, so I would've happily stood in front of you and convinced you of things that I had no control over, I had no power of, and I confidently would've thought I would've swayed you my way.

So I was a huge physical threat. I played with a lot of heart. I was very vulnerable. I was very open. I didn't give a lot of room for any other edit other than who I am as a person. So I think that when I would've hit the end, it would've been quite damaging and somebody would've really had to pack a lunch if they thought they were going to get that money from me.

The one person whose vote you probably wouldn't have gotten at the end is Sue. Did you have any idea before watching the show play back on TV that Sue disliked you so much out there?

No. That is what it is. We have a great cast. Everybody on the cast is wonderful and everybody is triggered in life by different things. And some people choose to fixate on some of those things. And I just hope at the end of the day that everybody's proud of the game that they played and that they didn't just have tunnel vision on Kyle the entire time.

How are you and Sue now?

I'll put this wide open for you. Every conversation, every interaction that Sue and I have had off the island — positive, not one negative word. I think the first thing that happened when we locked eyes was we both smiled and we hugged each other. And I think that it's only fair that you give every single cast member a fair opportunity to be your friend and to be part of your life outside of the game, right? Because in the game you have such a big goal in mind. You have this prize that's going to change your life, of your family, whatever it may be. And so you're going to be tempted in this game of deceit, manipulation and just drive.

And so now that we're in the outside world, things have calmed down a little different. You're going to work normal schedules, your life is kind of coming back to as regular as it may be. And so this is time for us to give an open opportunity to show me who you are again. And hopefully there's just good relationships for a continuous future.

So I spoke with Rome after he got voted out, and he said you were saying stuff about Caroline and Sue that he says was outside of the game and that would have gotten him canceled for saying and how he couldn’t work with you after he heard those things. Do you know what he’s talking about?

Yeah, I know what he's talking about. I said that on television, they just chose not to show you. I was not scared of anything that I said. I don't regret anything that I said. I said everything that I said in front of a camera knowing very well that my entire family, the world would see it or could hear it, right?

So what happened was basically Rome gave you a Mad Lib for you to fill in the blanks. He kept you entertained. It's over. There's no importance to it. You've already heard the things that came out. What, Tweedledee and Tweedledum? I want you to look at a definition of that right now in the dictionary. What's it going to say? It's going to say "of two people alike," and in the game, if you have two individuals that will not vote for each other and will only vote the same direction, are those two of the same people in a game? I'll let you fill in those blanks like a Mad Lib. Have fun.

So is that what he was referring to? Tweedledee and Tweedledum?

That's my best guess, man.

So we saw you at the auction eating Buffalo wings and we also had a deleted scene here on EW of you eating crabs, and in both instances you appeared to really struggle with the decision, saying you felt like what you were doing was wrong. Is that something you continued to wrestle with, even after you got back home?

It's been tough. But I went on Survivor in hopes I was giving it all the whole way through, and you get hungry out there. And so you have to do some things on Survivor. Like I said in the show, what happens on Survivor stays on Survivor for the most part. I continued my vegetarian lifestyle after. And the difficult part was the fact that I've gone so long without doing it. Like seven, eight years. We're not talking about a couple of days without a cigarette. We're talking a long time of personal decisions and watching people eat food that I truly enjoy, but I make a conscious decision to not take part in.

And so for all those years to finally come down to a point where it's like, "This is it. This is the end of those years’ worth of effort." That's emotional. If it's not for you, then great. But for me, it's quite tough. And so when I did that, I ended a seven, eight year spree of being dedicated to myself. But I did it for all the right reasons, I believe.

So it was challenging in the mind aspect that yes, I've now stopped something that I’ve had this dedication for so long. But like I said, I did it for the right reasons. Once I got back home, I continued the vegetarian and vegan lifestyle, quite a healthy lifestyle. I do not eat meat, I do not eat chicken wings, anything like that. So it was tough, it was emotional, but I just had to keep reminding myself that it was all for the right reasons and that this was just a game.

Well, your tribe was very supportive and I think people were watching and hoping that you were going to be able to give yourself license to be able to do that in a very unique, extreme situation.

That's a good way to put it. And I think ultimately it would've been disrespectful to my game if I just let myself deteriorate to the point where I couldn't perform for the people I was trying to perform for. That's a selfish act for an idea that I was trying to stay true to. It's not like I was vegan my entire life and now all of a sudden I just killed something and I'm eating it. I ate meat for more years than I have not. So there was a big part of my past that gave some comfort to me in that moment because I've already done it. It's just a matter of, again, that long period of time of staying dedicated that I had to put an end to it.

What’s something that happened out there that did not make it to TV that you wish we had seen?

The editors did a good job at catching a lot of who I was and what I was doing. But I was a big camp guy. I love survival stuff. It's enjoyable. I spent so many years in the traveling van life and going so far back into the wilderness. And that's the way that I like it. So I was out gathering firewood, I was out preparing the shelter, I was doing all of these things and everybody kept asking me like, “Oh, should we do this? Should we do that? What do you think about this?” And I'm just like, “You go do your own thing, play your game, live out your dream and your journey. Let's work in tandem to get us to the end.”

But in the meantime, I'm flipping every rock I walk past, I'm looking up in the trees, I'm walking behind people, looking everywhere behind them, just waiting to see their ears move so I can pick my head back up and act like I wasn't looking. I don't know if there's a spot on that island that I didn't look. The problem was is I think that there was just somebody one step ahead of me or that chose that right path right before I did and was able to nip the opportunity before it came to me.

Would you play again?

I would absolutely do it again. When I left the game, I was questionable of it. I honestly was, because it was hard for me. I haven't left Cheboygan in 11 years. I spent one day away from her in 11 years — in a van, out of the van, whatever it may be. So to uproot myself from all of that comfort and put myself in that situation and have all these intrusive thoughts entering my mind about: If I do get a phone call out here, it's not good, and you're going to get pulled from the game and by then it's already too late. I'm 11 hours away from my own country. It starts to wear on you.

You start to question if the odds of you winning, you think one in 18, but when you're on the island, it feels like one in three million. So it's like the odds still feel so stacked against you. But once I got out of it and once I can see the big picture, I would absolutely do it again. Zero thought. As soon as they call, I would be on the plane. I would be gone. I wouldn't even pack a bag because I know I wouldn't need it.

What would you do differently?

I don't think I would do anything differently. Like I said, when I entered Survivor, I put my foot on the gas. My foot wasn't going to leave the floor until I saw God or a checkered flag. I just couldn't find it in myself to start rolling over in challenges or doing things that my family wouldn't be proud of. And I think that the greatest representation of that was watching when it was pretty unanimous vote that Kyle needs to leave.

That was a fall down. I failed. That was the end of my journey. But it was a false fail because I stood right back up.  And what I did was I hugged each one of my competitors and I gave thanks, because I don't think people understand the elite group of individuals that we had on that island. We had nothing but thinkers, players, and very smart individuals. So the fact that I could stand in front of them, and I made it to the position that I did as the threat that I was, I stood up taller than I've ever stood up before. And I think that's going to put ripples into my family's future. That's going to go on forever.

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