If there is one thing to remember about Sue Smey from her Survivor 47 journey — well, besides the 59-year-old making Survivor history as the oldest woman to win an Individual Immunity Challenge, as well as the oldest woman to make it to the Final Tribal Council — it is that she had a burning hatred for her fellow Tuku tribemate: Kyle Ostwald.
Throughout the Emmy Award-winning series, Sue formed strong ties with most members of the Tuku tribe, notably Gabe Ortis and Caroline Vidmar, but she simultaneously developed a feud with Kyle that has been described as a “one-sided vendetta.” With Kyle beating her in Individual Immunity Challenges and casting a vote for her on numerous occasions — as well as assisting in the infamous blindside against Gabe — Sue went so far as to say she wanted to kill the 31-year-old construction worker. Did someone say intense?
In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, Sue reacted to how her beef with Kyle translated onto our television screens, admitting that she was “blown away.” After all, the flight school owner admitted that she doesn’t even remember saying such heinous things, and that she received some pretty severe hate in return. Poor Sue!
She spilled:
“I was frustrated with Kyle. He wanted me out and I hold a grudge, whatever. I wanted him out because he was my competition, and I wanted him out because he did write my name down.
According to the New York native herself, the hatred came from an intimate conversation the pair had with one another prior to Tribal Council, leaving her feeling as blindsided as can be when he casted a vote for her. She then delved into the details:
“The day that we were going to Tribal, he and I went for a really long walk and we had a really, really good conversation. His words to me were, ‘You’re a mama and my girlfriend is a mama, and I’m not going to write down a mama’s name. I have other options,’ so I literally never expected him to write my name down… I was shocked that he had told me he wouldn’t write my name down that day, and then he did. So, there was a little bit of stuff going on, but still, he’s a great guy.”
Confirming that “he’s a great guy” after all, where do Sue and Kyle stand with one another now that Survivor 47 has come to a close? Are they friends? Are they enemies?
In the same interview, Sue gave a major update to their friendship (or lack thereof), detailed below.
Despite “twist[ing] the knife” by giving his vote to Sam Phalen at the Final Tribal Council — causing Sue to fall into third place with a 7-1-0 finish — Sue confirmed in a conversation with Survivor journalist Dalton Ross that Kyle is “a wonderful, wonderful guy” nonetheless.
She continued:
“I felt like he has a great story. He had a rough childhood. That was a story that you don’t want to sit next to at the Final [Tribal Council]. He’s a competition beast — that’s another thing you don’t want to sit next to — and he’s a good guy. He had such a great relationship with everyone that he’s someone you want out.”
Believe it or not, it sounds like the feud stemmed from some jealousy on Sue’s side!
“Do I love Kyle? Yes. Was I trying to influence the other people to maybe look at him differently and see we gotta get him out? I really rallied hard… I wanted to make sure that the next opportunity we had, we would get him out, but he’s a good guy. I love Kyle to death,” Sue concluded with a smile.
Don’t just take her word for it, though. Kyle also gave a major update in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly as well, taking place earlier in the season after his untimely exit.
Despite having no idea Sue hated him so much on the island, Kyle confirmed that “every conversation, every interaction that [they] have had off the island has been positive, not one negative word.” He then delved into the details:
“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. Hopefully, there’s just good relationships for a continuous future.”
Naturally, it was music to our ears to hear that Sue and Kyle are on good terms!
Nevertheless, to see their feud unfold all over again, you may stream the entirety of Survivor 47 — as well as previous seasons of the show we know and love — via Paramount Plus as we speak.
Published: Dec 23, 2024 12:46 pm