‘It stung’: ‘Survivor 47’ finalist Sam Phalen shares how it REALLY felt getting backstabbed by Sierra Wright at Final Tribal Council

Making it to the end of Survivor 47, Sam Phalen might not have taken home the title of “Sole Survivor” and the million-dollar prize, but at least he got a pity vote from his closest ally, Sierra Wright… right?

Well, fans of the franchise — as well as the sports reporter himself — were shocked during the finale of Survivor 47 last night, Dec. 18, when Rachel LaMont emerged victorious in a 7-1-0 vote over Sam Phalen and Sue Smey. While Rachel taking home the check and the title of “Sole Survivor” was unsurprising — as she played a game that was nothing short of sensational, even tying the record for the most individual immunity wins in a single season by a woman — the shocking part was that Sam only received one vote at Final Tribal Council, and it was from Kyle Ostwald instead of Sierra.

At the beginning of Survivor 47, the Gata tribe consisted of finalists Rachel and Sam, as well as Sierra, Andy Rueda, Anika Dhar, and Jon Lovett. Almost instantaneously, Sam and Sierra were attached at the hip, even sparking relationship rumors as they controlled the Gata tribe Tribal Council after Tribal Council. Connecting with members of the Lavo and Tuku tribes at the merge, Sam and Sierra’s bond was deemed too close for comfort, causing the 27-year-old to be blindsided, ultimately becoming the first member of the jury.

As a juror, Sierra sat in on each and every Tribal Council, casting a vote on day 26 to help determine who would take home the title of “Sole Survivor” and the million-dollar prize. Casting her vote for Rachel, rather than her ride-or-die, Sam opened up about the betrayal he felt from Sierra in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly after the finale of Survivor 47 came to a close.

Kicking off the conversation with reporter Dalton Ross, Sam admitted that “it stung” seeing that Sierra voted for Rachel, delving deeper into some of his thoughts on the situation:

“When you play the game with somebody, and they’re right by your side for your time in the game, I almost felt like I’m playing the game for both her and I as your right-hand ally, as somebody who gets taken out instead of me at a Tribal Council where they split the votes between us.”

He continued, “I did expect to have her vote. That stung a little bit, but I think we’ve seen through [Survivor] 46 and whatnot too that you can never guarantee it, and people vote for different reasons. Random reasons that you might not expect,” referencing when Maria Shrime Gonzalez casted her vote for Kenzie Petty at Final Tribal Council, ultimately costing her bestie boo Charlie Davis the check at the end of Survivor 46.

While Maria’s controversial vote caused her to lose her friendship with Charlie altogether, Sam later confirmed that he and Sierra are still on good terms, telling Dalton “We’re good, We’re friendly.” Naturally, this was music to our ears!

Nevertheless, if you are anything like us and are already mourning the loss of Survivor 47, you can stream the season from start to finish as we speak via Paramount Plus.