Frannie Marin reveals details of Survivor romance reunion with Matt

You go on Survivor to win. Sometimes, though, winning can make you lose. Frannie Marin learned that the hard way during her run on Survivor 44. She went for the overall win in one group immunity challenge, but when she took first place, she left showmance partner Matt Blankinship vulnerable and he was voted out.

On this weeks' episode, Frannie notched another victory in a reward challenge for tacos, margaritas, and letters from home. But her third individual conquest raised her threat level even further, and the tribe voted her out as a result.

Does Frannie regret going for the gold in those competitions? Was she surprised to be next on the hit list? And what was her reunion like with Matt at Ponderosa? We asked the 23-year-old research coordinator all that and more the morning after her televised ouster. She also shared an unseen story that you have to see/read to believe. Watch the entire interview above or read it below.

Robert Voets/CBS Frannie Marin on 'Survivor 44'

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I feel like we're going to be talking a fair amount about challenges you won but maybe shouldn't have, but before we get to that, what did you think was going to happen when you walked into that last Tribal Council?

FRANNIE MARIN: When I walked into Tribal Council, the last conversation that I had was that conversation that you saw with me, Carolyn, Lauren, and Jaime, where we were all standing around. We were like, why is everybody so anxious? Why are we so confused? Why can't it just be Danny? And then Heidi was going around and making the energy more anxious.

So we all stood around, we said, "Hold on, let's just make it Heidi right here, right now!" That conversation was probably 10 minutes before we left for Tribal Council. So, I was like, Yeah, last plan is the best plan. We're voting Heidi. I thought that we were all going to come together to vote Heidi out, but obviously [that's] not what happened.

Let's go back to that immunity competition where you were separated into two groups. You won immunity by being the last one standing in your group. Did it ever cross your mind in the moment to step off against Brandon, thereby giving Matt — who was eventually voted out — immunity as well?

I mean, Dalton, we were up there 45 minutes. I was thinking about everything. [Laughs] Of course it crossed my mind. I looked at that group and all the people that were most sympathetic to me and Matt and that wanted to work with us the most were in my group. So I was like, I love my group! And then I looked over at Matt's and I was like, Hmm… this might not be so good.

But I think what got lost a little is Matt was doing really, really well socially, which of course is what ended up hurting him. You have all these people saying, "We can't keep him around because everybody loves him." But I was not actually that concerned for him. Yam Yam is kind of on the outs. He's just had his name thrown out. He's feeling like he's on the bottom. Matt has been doing a really good job of integrating himself socially.

So I looked at the layout and I was like, I think that Matt could be okay. And also, I mean, I love Matt to death, but boy, when he lost his two votes at the very beginning, I was like: Okay, so I'm like pulling this man through this game. There comes a point where I'm like, You need to hold yourself up. And I thought he could make it through the vote.

So it crossed my mind to drop out. But also let me be clear: I felt very solid in that challenge, and I'm so awkward that if I had dropped out, I literally would've been like… [makes spazzy motion]. It would not have been subtle. And then of course I'd have a group of people looking at me saying, "Oh, I bet you dropped out because you tried to save Matt," and it would put a bigger target on my back.

I probably just shouldn't have won the challenge in general because then everybody was like, "She's so strong." But you know, that's a whole other can of worms that I opened. [Laughs]

I know Matt has said all the right things, but do you still beat yourself up about that a little bit?

God, I cried for hours. At Tribal, I became aware. I was like, Oh crap, this is going downhill. This is going to happen. But it wasn't until he turned around and walked out and he said, "Frannie, I'm so proud of you for winning the challenge," that I just broke down. I literally put my head in my hands and I came up and I cried for like four hours.

So, yeah, that was very difficult for me. At the time, I don't even get to talk to him! I don't get to hear him say, "Frannie, it's okay. I don't blame you." So I blamed myself for days. But getting to reunite with Matt and having him assure me that it's okay, he's proud of himself, he's proud of me assuaged my worries a lot.

And it's something that now, looking back, I just feel proud of myself. I'm so proud of myself for that challenge when I could have dropped out and said for months, "I knew I could win that challenge, but I dropped out to save Matt." But everybody would've said, "Oh no, you fell and you said that you dropped out." The only way to prove that I knew I could do it was to do it. And I'm proud of that.

Robert Voets/CBS Frannie Marin and Jeff Probst on 'Survivor 44'

What was the reunion like with Matt at Ponderosa? Tell me about that because we don't get the Ponderosa videos anymore.

I know, I was like, "Can somebody set up a camcorder when I come in or something?" It was joyous., Kane and Brandon and Matt weren't really sure what my energy was going to be when I came into Ponderosa, right? Sometimes people are devastated. But I ran up the boardwalk and I was like, "I'm giving everybody hugs! We're here to have a good time!" And, of course, I literally ran like a slow-motion movie and jumped into Matt's arms and we had the best hug. And then we talked until like 4 a.m. and it was so amazing. I mean, literally two dorky magnets. We cannot separate from each other. It's such a beautiful thing.

I was wondering how much of that boat ride to Ponderosa you were thinking about the game being over, and how much you were thinking about being reunited with Matt in a weird, emotional back and forth.

Right after I got voted out, I was like, Well, that's a bummer. This journey's come to a close. But then immediately after that, I was filled with this devilish joy. I was like, Hang on, I've got a good week at Ponderosa with Matt. This is an excellent honeymoon for us! And so the boat ride home was like 5% sad, 25% thinking about Indian food, and the other 70% was Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt. [Laughs]

Here's something I always wonder: Is it hard making a romantic connection in the game when you have no soap or toothpaste and are just dirty and smelly out on an island?

What's good about it is now we're still dating and he's seen me really dirty, right? I don't have to be like, "Oh no, I'm embarrassed. I don't have my makeup on" around him. We've been to that low point, and everything is just uphill from there. But I don't know, Dalton. You make it work. Love finds a way. [Laughs]

Was it nice to be with Matt after you could actually shower and brush your teeth and stuff?

I'll tell you, the romance accelerated rapidly once we were both a little cleaner. [Laughs]

CBS Frannie Marin on 'Survivor 44'

I know you're still together, but are you in the same city now or doing long distance? How is that working?

Oh, we're doing long distance, but Matt is such a great guy. He's so kind. He's so patient and he's the best person to do long distance with. I feel like we just communicate so well and we're making it work. Also, I'm considering making a little cross-country move in the near future, but don't tell anyone.

It's just between us. No one else will know.

It's just between us.

Your third individual challenge win was on the tacos reward contest. Was there ever any consideration to throw that one because it would increase your threat level, and you were going to have to potentially piss people off by not inviting them along?

You think about when you go in to play Survivor: What things might make me a threat? What threat management do I have to do? I never once thought that I would have to deal with challenges being my threat management point of concern. Never once. But in my mind, I was like: Okay, there's this weird trend where sometimes women win like the first individual immunity and then suddenly they have this huge target on their backs. They can't get it off.

I told myself: Don't win the first immunity. And then I did that. And then I also told myself: It's a bad position to be in if you win the family reward challenge. It's so much better to be taken. And I love my family, it was so meaningful to get my letters, but I knew that everyone was fine at home, right? I didn't feel like I needed that as much as other people did. So I would've been fine to get picked or not get picked.

But in these challenges, something turned on in me where I just loved it. I just loved competing. I could not help myself. Especially that challenge was so much fun. I was cackling the entire time. Maybe if I had a little more rice in my belly, I would've been able to think through that. That wasn't a good one to win, but I was just so excited I couldn't help it.

How much did you surprise yourself with all these feats of athletic prowess, and what is it like watching it back on TV and hearing people say, "We better get her out. She's a beast. She's a challenge dominator"?

It's so crazy. I said it on the show, but I literally before the game cried because I thought that I was the weakest woman there. I completely surprised myself. I feel like throughout this whole experience I reshuffled my understanding of what I bring to the table and what my strengths are and how other people perceive me. Honestly, it does it kind of hurt to see people say, "We need to get Frannie out." But it's always, "We need to get Frannie out because she's going to win everything and we don't want to sit next to her." And I'm like, Okay, well that's a big compliment I can't be mad about.

Robert Voets/CBS Frannie Marin on 'Survivor 44'

Why did nobody buy a single word Jaime was saying when it came to her "idol" leaving the game with Kane?

That whole sequence is silly upon silly upon silly. The fact that the idol was fake just makes it all better. The thing about Jaime is I had actual good reason to believe that she was a very good liar because when she showed up at Soka, she completely lied about the state of Ratu. She told us that the first vote was a unanimous vote against Maddy. She did not tell us about the Shot in the Dark plays. She did not tell us about the bird cage situation. And she had a poker face for all of it.

Come the merge, all of that information comes to light. She's like, "Oh yeah, sorry, I didn't tell you." I'm thinking to myself, Oh my gosh, Jaime's thinking more than I thought she was. And she can really lie very well. I never suspected her. So when she comes to me with this, like, crackpot tale of Kane walking out with a sock idol, I was like, I'm not that silly. I see you right through you. Of course, now watching it back, I was like, Did any of it matter? But literally nobody believed her story for a second. We all stood around and laughed about it, and then that made us look so silly. [Laughs]

What's something that happened out there that never made it to TV that you wish we could have seen?

In the early days on Soka, Claire and I really wanted to aqua-dump. Like, this is a rite of passage. We were very excited about the concept of pooping in the ocean, but we were both too scared to go on our own. So we asked [a producer], "Can we go poop together in the ocean? We promise we will not talk about the game, we'll not talk strategy." And we got the okay: "If you guys are 10 feet apart and not talking strategy, you can go poop in the ocean."

So literally we ran naked into the ocean and we're pooping. I'm, like, batting my poop with my shoe. And then a drone comes and is watching us from the air. I was like, "Not here! Not now!" It was so funny. I mean, we wept from laughter. It was a good aqua-dump initiation. It was a baptism of sorts.

I'm so bummed that wasn't the EW deleted scene for that week.

I know! I was like, I don't think I could be concerned about this one making it.

Robert Voets/CBS Frannie Marin on 'Survivor 44'

Who was part of your endgame after Matt went out?

That's a great question. I was very destabilized after Matt went home. I think that this is where the shortened game makes a big difference because literally Matt goes home, I cry for hours, I wake up, eyes are puffy, I'm like, blah. And then the next day we have the next challenge, and we vote out the next person. I think in a longer game, I would've had more time to build relationships back. But it's so fast that I was kind of like, I don't know who's in my endgame.

I really, really wanted to work with Kane. Kane and I had a lot of strategic conversations together and I thought that he was somebody who I could make a new group with. I was not interested in this Ratu-Soka thing. I was like, This is boring. I want to make new alliances with these new strategic people that I'm interested in. And that's why nobody told me about the Kane vote, because they thought we were too close.

I also love Carolyn, and she seemed like somebody who people were discounting, and I was like, I don't want to discount you. I think you know what's going on and I respect you and let's work together. So, something with Carolyn. I don't know. It got away from me.

Would you play again if they invited you back?

I would relive every single moment. I would do it all again. I would do it tomorrow. I would leave this Zoom call and do it right now if I was asked.

Alright, go get on the plane!

I've got my bags packed. We're going!

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