The “misunderstandings” can be costly on “Koh-Lanta“. Emilie, a promising and athletic adventurer, paid the price during the 5th episode aired this Tuesday evening on TF1. The 45-year-old candidate was almost unanimously eliminated at the council, notably for being at the center of conflicts with her teammate from the red team, Léa.
Or could it be because of the rumor that at the very beginning of the adventure, she “peeked” into Alicia’s bag before her elimination to check if an immunity necklace was hidden there? Emilie owns up to her action but regrets it. This telecommunications saleswoman from Aude and Bikini Fitness Champion opens up to 20 Minutes.
Did you expect this elimination?
A few days before, not at all, but at the moment of going to the council, yes. There were too many tensions, small groups starting to talk without me being involved… I started to feel the tide turning. I knew it was my time.
Did you expect so many people to vote against you?
I knew it would be almost unanimous. However, I hoped that Ricky and Mégane, with whom I had an alliance, wouldn’t vote against me. If it hadn’t been for Meïssa’s question about Alicia’s bag, I think some wouldn’t have voted against me because not everyone was aware of the rumor.
During this council, you admitted to rummaging through Alicia’s bag to see if she had a necklace before her elimination. Was it strategy or cheating? The term “looked” is better than “rummaged” because I just felt around. I even believe that if she had one, I wouldn’t have seen it. It wasn’t strategy because there were three of us. At one point, Cécile said we should make sure Alicia didn’t have a necklace. Personally, I didn’t feel threatened at all at this stage so I had no interest in doing it. Knowing she wouldn’t dare to do it, I did it, accompanied by Cécile and Julie who covered for me in a way. I regret it now because it’s not like me. Nothing prohibits it in the rules, but the gesture itself isn’t great. Afterward, I owned up to it. I didn’t think it would be known so early in the adventure, that Julie and Cécile would talk about it. I think Julie played it very well. The cameras didn’t film us, it was strategic for her, who was more threatened than me, to talk about it. She succeeded because my plan ended up working against me.
Are all tactics fair game on “Koh-Lanta” in your opinion?
You can do it, but then it’s a matter of ethics. It’s not the first time it’s been done on “Koh-Lanta”, I’m not the first one to peek into a bag. But it’s true that from an ethical point of view, it’s not great.
What played against you in this council?
Some told me they voted against me because I would have been a threat to them athletically, in the long run of the game. Others thought I was taking up too much space or because of Alicia’s backpack… Julie also wanted to break the girls’ alliance. There was also a bad atmosphere and misunderstandings with Léa where we didn’t know who was telling the truth.
Léa accuses you of being “hypocritical” and “acting in bad faith”. On your side, you mention a “misunderstanding”.
Viewers often struggle to keep pace… It’s complicated, indeed. With the Red team, it had been a while since we wanted to eliminate Léa. There was starting to be disagreement with everyone. I wasn’t a fan of eliminating her because she was strong athletically and we needed to keep her at least until the merge. But since everyone was in this goal, I went into the forest with her and wanted to devise a strategy. To make it seem plausible for her, I told her we wanted to vote against the weakest at the next council, so Julie and David. Léa talked to me about her feelings about the camp, that she loved Mégane. I told her she hadn’t appreciated that Léa knocked down the bamboo a few seconds after her [during a previous reward challenge], putting her in danger. I also told her she needed to change her attitude to avoid getting voted out. From there, I don’t know what she told Mégane, but Mégane arrived in fury around the fire. I think Léa misreported things.
So you didn’t tell Léa to be wary of Mégane?
No. I told her “Beware, Mégane is not happy that you knocked down the bamboo a few seconds after her.” Which was true. After that, it might be strategic on Léa’s part, I don’t know.
You’re criticized for talking a lot at camp, is it a professional habit for you who have won several times the title of best salesperson in France? Maybe. I talk a lot, all the time. I’m not naturally shy and reserved. I’m not saying I like to stand out, but I’m very sociable and tend to chat. Some told me afterwards but at the moment I didn’t feel like I had been too present at camp.
You were judged hastily on your appearance, especially by Alicia who called you “Beyoncé at the beach” in the very first episode. Did it hurt you? I found out during the premiere when we watched the episode together. The phrase itself made me smile more than anything else. What touched me a little more was when she said “One wonders what she’s doing here.” It’s judging a person before getting to know them. You can think it, but saying it to the camera is another thing. Today, I get along very well with Alicia, I don’t hold any bitterness, we even laugh about it.
On the island, we all got along well, including Alicia. We decided to vote her out because athletically she had a lot of weaknesses in challenges. She had a big mouth, but even after her departure, there were still arguments, we all had very strong personalities.
Being the French champion of bikini fitness in 2015 and passionate about bodybuilding, you are very athletic. Did it help you a lot in the game? In terms of diet, as it’s a sport that requires a very strict lifestyle and eating very little during competition preparation, it helped me incredibly. The mental aspect is super powerful. And in sports challenges too because everything that’s lifted, pulled, dragged, I could handle it. I regret not being able to do more individual challenges.
Did you think you could go further?
When you do “Koh-Lanta,” you sign up to go all the way. Without having too high an esteem of myself, I saw myself going much further than that, at least until the merge, or just before. Afterward, of course, we have regrets. When you come back, you replay the adventure in your head 10 times… But if I had to do it again, I would do it without any problem.
