Anyone who watched Survivor 47 from start to finish, knows that Rachel LaMont and Genevieve Mushaluk were undoubtedly the strongest contenders for the title of “Sole Survivor” and the million-dollar prize, both playing a strong social, strategic, and physical game.
When 33-year-old Genevieve was eliminated at the final five, it was unsurprising that 34-year-old Rachel was crowned the champion at the Final Tribal Council — as she was the biggest threat between herself, Sam Phalen and Sue Smey, as well as “one of the best overall players to ever compete on Survivor” — receiving a vote from Genevieve (and every other jury member, besides Kyle Ostwald) for the million-dollar check.
Prior to Genevieve’s untimely elimination — as they were seemingly going neck and neck for the victory — what did the relationship between Rachel and Genevieve really look like?
Although it was hinted at on our television screens, Rachel confirmed in a recent interview with Parade that she and Genevieve had a “pseudo-rivalry” throughout Survivor 47. She delved into the details while speaking to Survivor journalist Mike Bloom, who wanted to understand how Rachel played with a participant she “couldn’t work with from the moment [she] hit the beach.”
Given the fact that Rachel began on the Gata tribe and Genevieve began on the Lavo tribe, the two “mothers” — in the wise words of Teeny Chirichillo — did not get the opportunity to work with one another (or attempt to work with one another) until the post-merge portion of the game.
Immediately, Rachel felt threatened by the corporate lawyer, telling Mike, “I hit the merge beach, and I just see Genevieve, and I see the way she operates and the way she moves around. Every conversation, Genevieve is standing there and listening 90% of the time and talking 10% of the time and never giving anything away. I was like, ‘This woman walks into conversations, takes all of the information, absorbs it, and walks out, giving nothing away, and that is so dangerous.'”
According to Rachel, this is when her “anti-Genevieve campaign” began, telling her tribemates things like “Do you ever notice that she only listens to you?” and “She doesn’t tell you anything when you talk to her.” The graphic designer continued:
“I was doing that very early, and obviously I had Sol [Yi] for a minute on my side, and we were trying to work together, and I was like, ‘What do you think of her?’ He’s like, ‘Can’t trust her. She’s good.’ So, it just reaffirmed that. Maybe that was his strategy to kind of keep us apart as well, but it worked.”
Rachel added that she and Genevieve “were at odds the entire time” and “never BS’d each other” throughout Survivor 47. Rather than pretending to be allies, it was crystal clear that Rachel and Genevieve were against one another, which is why their feud translated so well onto our television screens. Thank you, production team!
“Genevieve and I were just never going to be on the same page,” Rachel said to conclude the conversation, but based on some post-show social media activity, they finally seemed to be on good terms with one another. Now the only beef that needs to be squashed is between Kyle and Sue…
Nevertheless, to relive Rachel and Genevieve’s “pseudo-rivalry” from start to finish, you may stream the entirety of Survivor 47 — as well as the other 46 seasons of the show we know and love — now via Paramount Plus.