If Teeny Chirichillo would have won the infamous Survivor 47 final four fire-making challenge, Rachel LaMont would have been a shoo-in for the title of “Sole Survivor” and the million-dollar prize. With Sam Phalen’s unexpected victory over the New Jersey native, it is safe to say that Rachel entered Final Tribal Council with some doubts — sitting next to both Sam and Sue Smey — however, she emerged victorious nevertheless. Phew!
Despite having a rather rocky start to her Survivor journey — with her Gata tribemates, Anika Dhar and Sierra Wright, getting their torches snuffed relatively early — Rachel managed to become one of the Survivor GOATs, playing a strong social, strategic and physical game that caused Jeff Probst himself to call her “one of the best overall players to ever compete on Survivor.”
Not only did she form strong bonds across tribal lines, but Rachel played numerous advantages — from her “Shot In the Dark” advantage, to a “Safety Without Power” advantage, to a Hidden Immunity Idol and beyond — to allow her to coast her way to the Final Tribal Council, in combination with four individual immunity wins. With this impressive feat, Rachel joined Kelly Wiglesworth, Jenna Morasca, Kim Spradlin and Chrissy Hofbeck in sharing the female individual immunity record for a single season. Did someone say iconic?
Despite playing one of the best games in the “New Era” of the beloved competition series, Rachel still entered Final Tribal Council with some uncertainty, worried that Sam’s strong social game — and sweeping victory in the final four fire-making challenge — could allow him to receive enough votes from the jury to emerge victorious. You know what they say: “you are your own worst critic.”
In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, the Michigan native sat down with longtime Survivor writer and reporter Dalton Ross to discuss her thoughts heading into the Final Tribal Council. Referencing some specific jurors, keep scrolling to see what she had to say.
Heading into the Final Tribal Council, Rachel was certain she had Caroline Vidmar and Genevieve Mushaluk’s votes, but she was unsure where Kyle Ostwald and Gabe Ortis stood. As Tribal Council commenced, though, Rachel found herself feeling uncertain about Sierra Wright, Andy Rueda and Teeny Chirichillo’s votes as well, causing her palms to sweat while speaking to the jury.
She elaborated:
“Sierra was one of the votes at Final Tribal Council where I was like, ‘I think she’s voting for Sam,’ and so there were definitely things where I was like ‘Shoot!’ and then the way that Andy was, I don’t know. Even Teeny!”
Rachel continued by stating that after winning the final five immunity challenge, she was confident that she would be crowned the champion, “but then at fire-making, with the jury jumping off the bench and Sam winning fire in the most dramatic way, [she] knew that there was a possibility.”
The graphic designer concluded, “When Jeff went to read the votes, I was the most scared I was for a week. My stomach was in complete knots and, truly, there’s a part of me that was like, ‘I think I might’ve just lost,’ so the confidence really wavered throughout those last couple days.”
The 34-year-old was worried for nothing, though, now sitting at home with her husband, as well as a million-dollar check. Hip hip hooray! If you too are riding a high, to relive Rachel’s victory from start to finish, you can stream the entirety of Survivor 47 — as well as previous seasons of the show we know and love — via Paramount Plus as we speak