&34;I've gone from being the prize piglet my season to being the opposite of that.&34; Survivor 50 star Aubry Bracco opens up about the 'freedom when you fall from grace' &34;I've gone from being the prize piglet my season to being the opposite of that.&34; By Dalton Ross :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/DaltonRossauthorphoto2e15b12006e2438a99fb06db6d682421.jpg) Dalton Ross is a writer and editor with over 25 years experience covering TV and the entertainment industry. Survivor is kind of his thing. EW's editorial guidelines January 30, 2026 9:15 a.m.

"I've gone from being the prize piglet my season to being the opposite of that."

Survivor 50 star Aubry Bracco opens up about the 'freedom when you fall from grace'

"I've gone from being the prize piglet my season to being the opposite of that."

By Dalton Ross

Dalton Ross is a writer and editor with over 25 years experience covering TV and the entertainment industry. *Survivor* is kind of his thing.

EW's editorial guidelines

January 30, 2026 9:15 a.m. ET

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"I was on *Survivor* autopilot. I don't know who the f--- I was." That's Aubry Bracco describing her headspace the last time she competed on *Survivor*, for the *Edge of Extinction* season. It was her third *Survivor* outing in four years, and Aubry was in the midst of battling a severe case of reality TV whiplash — having trouble processing all that already happened both on and off the island surrounding her *Survivor* stints.

She had played a stellar game on the *Kaoh Rong* season, but was denied by the jury in favor of Michele Fitzgerald in one of the franchise's most polarizing results. Aubry returned a year later for *Game Changers,* making it all the way to fifth place, but was overshadowed by others in the edit.

By the time Aubry came back for season 38, her head was swirling from her time in the reality television bubble, and her psyche was ready to burst. The fact that the newbies on her season were determined to vote her out early (she was the fifth person shipped off to the Edge) only exacerbated the condition. "That experience sucked," she says simply.

Aubry Bracco on 'Survivor: Edge of Extinction'.

Robert Voets/CBS via Getty

After that outing, Aubry went on a reality TV cleanse, and completely disconnected from *Survivor* while she built a family. Which is what makes her return to the island so surprising… and intriguing.

A completely different Aubry showed up in Fiji to play *Survivor 50* (premiering Feb. 25 on CBS). In fact, this reporter can safely say he has never interviewed someone in such a different mental and emotional state than the previous time they spoke.

How does a now 40-year-old Aubry, who has been knocked down a few times, pick herself back up to show everyone what she's made of? Through a new sense of clarity.

"I've gone from being the prize piglet my season to being the opposite of that," Aubry tells *.* "There's some freedom when you sort of fall from grace. There's nothing America loves more than an underdog, and the only thing that America loves more than an underdog is tearing someone down when they're at the top."

Here's the rest of our emotional and open chat with Aubry from Fiji just days before the game began.

*(This is one of 24 deep-dive, on-location interviews with the *Survivor 50 *cast. Links to the other interviews will be posted at the bottom of this article as they become available.)*

Aubry Bracco of 'Survivor 50'.

Robert Voets/CBS

**: Give everybody your life update since you last played *Survivor*, Aubry.**

**AUBRY BRACCO:** When I played the *Edge of Extinction*, I was living in L.A. during the pandemic. I moved to Southern Oregon. I met my partner right before the pandemic, had a pandemic relationship and we ended up moving to the East Coast together. We have a son now. My dad had a heart transplant, which is a really big thing for my family. He's doing well and I started a marketing consultancy, so a lot's changed.

**How old is your son now?**

He's going to be two in August. His name is Odin, which means God of chaos and wisdom, which I love, but we call him Odie, kind of like Garfield's sidekick. I can't believe he's almost already two. It's really weird coming out here with a kid.

**You, of all people, know how emotional this experience can be from when you first started and how it can be the highest high and…**

…And the f---ing lowest.

Aubry Bracco on 'Survivor: Game Changers'.

Jeffrey Neira/CBS via Getty

**So how do you think you're going to be on day 11 when you're in one of those low moments, missing your son?**

Yeah, if I make it that far, because after the *Edge of Extinction*, it can't get worse. That experience sucked. [*Pauses and starts to cry*] But I want to prove to my son it can be hard and you can go back and do things you love even though people give you a lot of s--- and kick ass at it.

So how am I going to be? Probably crying, but all the tears make you stronger. I love *Survivor,* and this is kind of to reconcile how I feel about the game. I took myself out. I didn't talk to Survivors. The fans, I have a love-hate relationship with. I would dare any of them to come out off the couch. Some people are lovely, some people are not, but we subject ourselves to it.

Yes, you sign up for it, but no one can ever tell you in a contract how it's going to feel when you go and have an experience that literally rips you out of your life and thrusts you into a whole new reality. Here's a good example. I love Cirie. I love her. She's a friend. I haven't kept in a lot of touch with her, but I have such a soft spot for her. And I'm here before the game, like, "I don't know if I can trust you." That's a whole mindset shift. That's the point. No one can tell you what it's like to go into something that's so all-encompassing, and then come out of it again.

**You said you subject yourself to it. Why do that?**

I really think that you learn what you're made of when you do hard things. I am very much an evolve-or-die kind of person. It's the Scorpio in me. Jeff's a Scorpio too, and you have to keep evolving. If you don't push yourself, how you [do] know what you're made of?

**You asked me before we started recording if I was surprised you were here.**

**You're easily the person I'm most surprised by, and not just because you kept quiet about it. I thought you were done after your last outing here. I thought you were just like, "That *Survivor* chapter of my life is completely over." Did you feel that way, and, if so, what changed?**

Yeah, I did feel like *Survivor* was done. The last two weeks of the *Edge of Extinction*, I would wake up and savor the moments of being out there. I really remember my time. I never talked to him again, but Eric Hafemann and I would sit there and really savor the here and now and the present moment. And I was at peace with that being the end. Did it end how I wanted it to? No, but when I got the call, I was shocked.

I don't think anyone on *Survivor* deserves anything. I think you get on the show, you get to the end, you get everything with a little bit of luck and you earn it. And I feel so lucky that I was called for the chance to go back and reconsider how I close out *Survivor*. I can't give that chance up.

**Why were you surprised that they reached out to you?**

I was surprised they reached out because 38 was not the best, and because I have played three times and there are so many worthy people who could be in this seat.

Aubry Bracco on 'Survivor: Edge of Extinction'.

Timothy Kuratek/CBS via Getty

**How are you mentally and emotionally entering this game as opposed to the last time you played?**

This time I keep saying I feel the closest to myself since the first time I played. I've had time to take the lessons that I gained playing *Survivor* three times in four calendar years, which is a lot, 111 days. And I have life more in perspective. This is a game. I'm going to cry in this game. It's going to be hard in this game. I'm going to feel it, but I think I'm able to step back and be true to who I am without letting all the side noise get in the way.

**Any personal regrets from the previous times you played?******On a personal level, I regret that I didn't trust my gut and that I let all the outside noise kind of take me from myself. I let it get to my head what other people said.

**You're talking about what people said online?**

Oh, the internet? I feel like I can deal with it now. It's a battlefield. I think it's gotten worse for Survivors, but now it's like: Okay, that's just what this is. Because I feel like when people know that you care, you're an easy target.

Aubry Bracco on 'Survivor: Edge of Extinction'.

Timothy Kuratek/CBS via Getty

**So let's get past the playing and look ahead till next March. How are you going to handle the social media reaction to the season?**

Now I'm a little bit fueled by the haters. I have it in perspective now. You can never make people happy. You ask people about Aubry: "Is she a threat?" You'll hear 18 different answers. Zeke once said to me, "Aubry, people see whatever they want to see when they look at you. That's the challenge you have in this game."

We live in a world that's so tribal and polarized that you can't even breathe. So, for me, this season really is about me coming out here, playing the game that I love on my terms, playing fearlessly, listening to my gut, and trying to have fun. *Survivor* is not always fun and, rest in peace Keith Nale, he said, "This isn't fun." You know what though? Parts of it *can* be fun.

On the beach for 'Survivor 50': An exclusive, all-access first look at the biggest season ever

Watch cast members of 'Survivor 50' vote their first players out of the game (exclusive)

**You've had a lot of success in this game, and you also had an early exit with *Edge of Extinction*. How are you going to be able to handle it if things don't go your way?**

If things don't go my way? I came out and did something after flopping really hard, and not many people can say they do that.

**I understand why you say that about flopping really hard when you came out, but I think you guys were set up to flop really hard with the whole structure of that season.**

[*Looks to ground*] You're not allowed to say that.

**Well, I just did, so nothing we can do about it now.**

Thanks for saying that.

7:23 The Cast of 'Survivor 50' Reveals Who They Want to Vote Out First

**I know it's been seven years. Have you recovered from having to pretend to be excited to do Ron Clark's Kama dance?**

Oh my gosh, no! God, the dancing. Extinction is so cringey, the dialogues, the dancing — I've not recovered from that fake dancing, but I would happily in real life dance with Ron anytime. He's lovely.

**I had such secondhand awkwardness for you when you had to pretend to be excited to do it.**

Yeah, it was really bad. I really didn't like the Kama tribe. I would tell them all to their faces today: "I could not stand you guys. I'm sorry. You're nice individually, but as a group, I just didn't relate." It was so hard. It's hard when people are having a whole different experience.

Aubry Bracco on 'Survivor: Kaoh Rong'.

Monty Brinton/CBS via Getty

**Aubry, it's so interesting talking to you right now. I don't know that I've ever talked to someone who tonally is coming off so different from the last time I talked to her before she played.**

When did you last talk to me?

**Before *Edge of Extinction.* I'm talking about the last pre-game of yours.**

Did you talk to me on *Edge of Extinction?*

**Yeah, I was out there.**

I literally don't remember that, which is probably a problem.

**Why don't you remember that?**

I was on my third *Survivor* season in four years. I didn't know where the f--- I was, Dalton.

**That's what I'm saying about the difference between now and then.**

I didn't know where I was. I've talked to [executive producer Matt Van Wagenen] about this, where I wasn't in my own body. I've done intuitive healing, meditation, a lot of stuff to learn how to ground myself, and I'd be in class and they'd have people trying to leave their body to try to observe themselves and I'd be like, I can't get back in it. I know that gets really woo woo and heady about *Survivor*, but I grew up in very achievement-oriented environments, and I do think that after I lost, the wind was knocked out of me and then I just played it in rapid succession. And by the time you saw me on the *Edge of Extinction,* I was on *Survivor* autopilot. I don't know who the f--- I was.

**When I spoke to you before 38, you almost seemed manic, and now you seem very calm.**

That's interesting. Yeah, I feel anxious, but I also feel calm. It's like the normal kind of anxious. And that makes a lot of sense. I'm actually happy you could see that because I look back now and I'm like, what the hell?

**I could tell you were in a weird place entering that game.**

I was, yeah. I felt that way.

Aubry Bracco on 'Survivor'. CBS

**So how have you changed then as a person since the last time you played and how's that going to impact how you play this time?**

I do think I have life more in perspective. When you have a kid, that really does change everything. I know it's cliche, but I see the world through his eyes. He's curious. He's joyful. He's fearless. The day before I left, he ran into my head at 10 miles an hour and left two little teeth marks. I was like, "Those are my good luck marks, buddy."

I just have life in perspective. Having my own business and doing this entrepreneur thing, I use my *Survivor* skills and mess up all the time. And you have to pivot quickly. if you fail as a business owner and figure it out and leverage your relationships, I know I can get through anything. And then when I freak out, I can return to center a lot more quickly.

Aubry Bracco on 'Survivor 50'.

Robert Voets/CBS

**You mentioned you were very quiet. Are you telling me you didn't pregame with anyone before you came out here?**

[*Pause*] I don't talk about that. We're not supposed to do that.

**I know the way it works, Aubry. Let's ask it this way: Who do you want to work with out here?**

I would like to partner with Joe from season 48. I think he's probably going through some weird head trip about having just lost, and watched it, and then come out a week later. I can really relate to that. I like Tiffany. I thought she was a player who was almost underrated. I want to play with Emily Flippen. I think she's wonderful. I love how direct she is.

I want to play with Dee. Dee scares me, but damn, she's a good player and I really love how she looks at the game. I mean I'm coming into this very receptive. I look back on 34 and think: *Oh, in 34 I wish Ozzy and I would've spoken*. My last conversation with Ozzy literally was him dragging bamboo across the beach on the merge tribe and he said, "Hey, we should talk sometime." I'm like, "Yeah, we *should* talk sometime." And then I got voted out that night. And Ozzy's just like f---ing cool.

**What about the people that you're wary of?**

I'm wary of Cirie because I love her and I don't feel like we could ever go to the end together. Sorry. I love you, Cirie.

**Why can you not go to the end together?**

I think Cirie knows that I see what she's doing. Cirie also voted me out before and I was like, "Please! That was great! Thanks! Do it again!" And so I'm super aware coming into this. I am wary of Dee because she's so socially savvy and so fantastic. She's a wonderful player. I'm wary of Kamilla because I haven't thought about her a lot and she's here.

Genevieve — she makes me feel like she would commit a murder and then clean up so well that you would not know that she was ever supposed to be questioned. I'm afraid of Genevieve. There's a lot of people to be scared of. I mean, my buddy Q has a wanted poster of me in his kitchen plastered to the wall, but I'm also very intrigued by Q.

**What was your reaction when that all happened on TV?**

I was honestly flattered that Q brought me up. I'm like, "Are you kidding me, Q? I'm the Ghost of Christmas past?" Didn't he say you could cancel Christmas? And I'm the ghost of Christmas past? I was honored.

Aubry Bracco of 'Survivor 50'.

**Beyond Q, how do you think other players see you? What are they telling me if I ask them about Aubry? How do they see you as a player?**

I actually have a hard time with that, Dalton, because I'm so used to everyone having different opinions of me. I think people are like, "What's the deal? *You're* here?" And I do think there's some question marks. *Kaoh Rong* went really well, *Game Changers*, you didn't really see me, and everyone knows what happened in 38. And then I kind of left the community. I think I'm a little bit of a wild card.

**Everyone has different *Survivor* experiences, and everyone does either better or worse the different times that they play. Is it frustrating to watch your trajectory? I don't mean to put this harshly, but …**

No, no, no, don't be sorry. You can be direct.

**You started way up here as a dominant player, and obviously had a frustrating result, and then it has gotten harder as it has gone on. That can be difficult for someone who experiences early success.**

I actually think it's an advantage. I am no under no illusions here. I've gone from being the prize piglet my season to being the opposite of that. And there's some freedom when you sort of fall from grace. There's nothing America loves more than an underdog and the only thing that America loves more than an underdog is tearing someone down when they're at the top.

And there are quite a few players here that don't know what it's like to be blindsided and don't know what it's like to not be the star of their season. So I'm talking a little meta now, but I almost feel like in a way it's an advantage to know what it feels like when things are going right in the game, and what it feels like when you're about to be blindsided. Not everyone here has been. What it feels like when certain things are happening. And then also to have in perspective that when you go home, you played what you think is the best damn game, and nobody sees any of it.

Aubry Bracco of 'Survivor 50'.

Scott Duncan/CBS

**What's your biggest weakness heading into this game?**

Anxiety is always there. I can be a little closed off at the beginning and I just want to make sure I don't come off forced friendly. That's probably my biggest weakness coming in.

**How do you handle the unknown element with these season 49 folks?**

I actually think they're in a good spot. I am interested to get to know them. Zeke and Michaela were on 34. They slid right into the mayhem.

**Finally, give me your take on Mike White being here.**

Everyone's going to want a cameo on *The White Lotus,* as we know. But my favorite part of Mike White being here is just watching him literally writing the next season as he's sitting around observing these people. Mike White's a human, too. I'm stoked he's here. I hope he's been having fun. I really hope people don't fawn so hard over him that he can't have a *Survivor* experience. He's here to escape L.A. and the production land, so just let him be and *Survivor* around. Give him some wine!

***Want to be kept up with all things Survivor? Dig deep and sign up for 's free Survivor Weekly newsletter to have all the latest news, interviews, and commentary sent right to your inbox. ***

**Other *Survivor 50 *deep dive player interviews:*****• Survivor 50* star Ozzy Lusth opens up about hitting 'rock bottom of my life'

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Original Article on Source

Source: "EW Survivor"

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Source: Survivor

Published: January 30, 2026 at 09:57AM on Source: PRIME TIME

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