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Survivor continues to show firsts in its new era. Noelle Lambert is part of that since she’s the first with her disability to compete. Showbiz Cheat Sheet talked to her about her historic performance and more over Zoom on Nov. 28.
Noelle says Karla inspired her to finish the balance beam on ‘Survivor 43’
Q: So in the reward challenge, you were stuck on the balance beam. What was going through your mind as you kept trying to get through that part? Did you hear the other castaways encouraging you or were you in your own headspace trying to figure it out?
Noelle: I was definitely in my own headspace trying to figure it out. But the reason, what kept me going was hearing the other contestants cheering for me. You know, every single person, I kept hearing it and I kept saying, ‘Oh, my God,’ like, this is something that I have to be grateful and fortunate of.
Because I mean, all of us are competing against each other for $1,000,000. But I think it was Karla. I heard Karla’s voice. And you mean we weren’t working together. So hearing that, I was like, ‘Oh, my God. OK, This is firing me up.’ It just kind of lit a fire inside of me. And I was kind of the only reason why I wasn’t giving up it was for them.
And I just kept telling myself, ‘Just get through us as much as you can. At least try to do the balance beam. And even if you don’t win, just try to get over it.’ So that was really what was egging me on and keeping me going further. It was the contestants, which was incredible.
Would Noelle change her picks for the reward?
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Q: So you chose Sami, Owen and Jesse for that reward. Do you think if you would have chosen anybody else, we would have had a different outcome at Tribal?
Noelle: I wouldn’t say a different outcome, but I would say if I did choose Karla, I think I would have benefited my game, especially, you know, with having her vote with me in the previous vote with James, I feel like we could have added on to it.
My reasoning as to why I picked the people I did was because I didn’t even think about who I was going to pick. Walking in, I’m like, ‘There’s no way I’m going to win this.’ And I was telling myself, ‘You know what? I have to pick the people that haven’t gotten any food reward challenges this entire season.’ And there were two people left, and that was Owen and Sami.
They hadn’t received a reward. And I chose Jesse because, at the time, I mean, I had an amazing relationship with Jesse, and I was thinking I have to bring him, especially if he has such young kids. And I wanted you know, we talk about family. We talk about our lives. And I wanted to give him that moment.
But yeah, if I had to do it again, I mean, I would have picked Karla. Instantly, I remember going on the boat ride home, and I remember asking Jesse, ‘Do you think I should have brought Karla?’
Why Noelle thinks her story was told perfectly
RELATED: ‘Survivor 43’ Fans Theorize About Gabler’s ‘Perfect Game’ and Jesse’s Future
Q: Going back to the beginning of the season, it was all about keeping the tribes strong for, I think, all of the tribes. We saw a lot of women go because of this. Nneka and Justine on your tribe was part of that. Cody had a talk with Jesse saying, ‘You got in there and swam just as good as anybody’ after one challenge. That was the one where Nneka was going to be leaving. After that, she said he no longer had doubts about you. Meanwhile, Nneka cried because she thought she let you down. I think because she thought she had such a good relationship with Cody, it was like, ‘Oh, it’s going to be Noelle.’ How do you feel knowing that there was some doubt about your abilities at the beginning and maybe you knew going in you would have to prove to other people or maybe you didn’t know?
Noelle: So I absolutely knew going into it that I had to prove myself. I had to prove myself at challenges. Especially like in the tribe phase like people always say like you don’t want to do, like keeping the tribe strong.
But you, like when you go to those tribal councils, I mean, and especially the tribe phase and, you know, these other two tribes, they’re like going to bed at 8:00 probably, or whenever the sun goes down, they’re immediately going to sleep, and you have to be up for another four or five hours. You just don’t want to do it. So I knew that I had to prove myself.
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That was, and I mean watching it and especially that third episode and having that, you know, that conversation with Cody and Jesse like of him saying, like, I proved myself. I love that. That’s what I wanted. I wanted the reassurance from everybody that, like, you know what, I can do this.
And I actually did not tell anybody that I was a Paralympian. I actually lied to everyone and said I was a lacrosse coach. And so, I mean, that kind of, you know, I had to prove myself even more because I feel like if I said I was a Paralympian, they’d be like, ‘OK, well, she’s an athlete, she’ll be able to do this.’
But I didn’t want, like, the stigma of, like, this incredible story. Like, I just I didn’t want it. And so, you know, watching it back and seeing, like, ‘This girl, she proved herself.’ And so that’s what I wanted.
Q: You got a different kind of attention during challenges because of your disability. You and Jeanine got stuck in the twisted net to where the cast had to help free you. But Jeff Probst singled you out saying, “You are not alone. This is a difficult challenge.” The next leg of the challenge, Gabler held out in the endurance dedicating minutes to a war hero, his dog, Idaho, Alaska, and you for inspiring him. How did you feel about this different kind of attention to your performance, and overall, how do you feel about how your story was portrayed?
Noelle: I feel like my story was portrayed perfectly! It showed how competitive I am and my mindset of wanting to make big moves in the game and also try and have good social relationships. When Gabler said this next moment’s for Noelle during that challenge, I thought it was awesome! It was also an honor to have Jeff give me so much props during challenges that I’m going to remember it forever!
This interview has been condensed for this article.
Other Exit Interviews:
‘Survivor 43’: James Gives His Fix for the Knowledge Is Power Problem, ‘It’s Not Meant to Be Fair’
‘Survivor 43’: Ryan’s Secret Goal in His Merge Alliance Pitch, ‘It Was More of a Trap’
‘Survivor 43’: Jeanine Says ‘Kudos’ to Jesse Keeping Her ‘Baby’ in the Game
‘Survivor 43’: Dwight on That Idol Mystery and a Jesse and Karla Preseason Theory
‘Survivor 43’: Geo Responds to Cassidy’s ‘Sassy’ Comments and Says ‘Karla Had the Bullets’ Not Her
‘Survivor 43’: Lindsay Hates You Think She’s out for ‘Paranoia’ and Not Karla’s Strategy
‘Survivor 43’: Nneka Talks Struggling in That Challenge, Bonding With Cody, and More
‘Survivor 43’: Justine Says ‘Hats off!’ to Cody for Clever Idol Hat, Shares What the Edit Left Out
Morriah on Disappointing the Dad of ‘Survivor 43’ and Not Believing Gabler
