Serving as a member of the Yanu tribe alongside Q Burdette, Bhanu Gopal, Jess Chong, Kenzie Petty, and Tiffany Nicole Ervin, it is safe to say that David Jelinsky had a less-than-ideal journey on Survivor 46, but he sure gave his short-lived stint on the beloved competition series his all.
After losing the marooning challenge, the Yanu tribe was required to complete the “Sweat” portion of the “Savvy or Sweat” challenge, where Jelinsky volunteered to be one of the participants. After several hours (not seven), the 22-year-old decided to call it quits, but this was not the only challenge he failed on Survivor 46…
Volunteering to go on a journey on behalf of his tribe, Jelinsky lost his vote after losing a challenge to Nami member Tevin Davis and Siga member Maria Shrime Gonzalez. To follow, Jelinsky was a key part of the Immunity Challenge, volunteering to take on the puzzle and (you guessed it) failing once again, ultimately sending the Yanu tribe to the first Tribal Council of Survivor 46.
After being deemed the weakest link — with Survivor writer and reporter Mike Bloom revealing that “he cut his feet up on the ‘Sweat’ task, discovered he was allergic to coconut, lost his water bottle, and got pinched by a crab” as well — the Las Vegas native was unanimously voted out by his tribemates, something that he deemed to be a “huge blindside” during his exit interview.
Huge blindside? Bhanu pretty much confirmed that Jelinsky was going home during the middle of Tribal Council!
His lack of self awareness and inability to take accountability for his actions are what caused the luck to run out for the slot machine salesman in the end, however, something he said in a pre-game press session might have foreshadowed this erratic style of gameplay…
In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jelinsky shared with Survivor writer and reporter Dalton Ross one thing that he planned on keeping a secret from his fellow castaways. After knowing how his journey ultimately played out, we are not sure whether these words will make you laugh or cry.
Nonetheless, keep scrolling to see what the “passionate, confident, and intelligent” individual had to say.
“Something that I don’t want other players to know about me is that I’m incredibly perceptive and observant. I think one of the most important skills to win this game is your self-awareness. If you don’t know how people are reacting to you, if you don’t know how people are feeling about you. You’re going to be sent to Ponderosa in no time,” he shared in said interview, something that directly contradicts what actually occurred. How ironic is that?
“I’m not here to go to Ponderosa. I’m here to win the Survivor jackpot,” he concluded. Perhaps he was not as “perceptive and observant” than he thought he was going to be prior to his stint on the show…
While Jelinsky will not take home the title of “Sole Survivor” and the million-dollar cash prize, he is still number one in our hearts, but to see who is actually crowned the champion, catch brand new episodes of Survivor 46 every Wednesday evening at 8pm ET/PT on CBS. With just one episode in the books, we can already tell that this season will be nothing short of sensational!