And she is naming that player. Survivor 49 star Nicole Mazullo says she was voted out because 1 player did not like her

And she is naming that player.

Survivor 49 star Nicole Mazullo says she was voted out because 1 player did not like her

And she is naming that player.

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.

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on September 25, 2025 11:44 a.m. ET

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Nicole Mazullo on 'Survivor 49'. Credit:

Robert Voets/CBS

- *Survivor 49 *player Nicole Mazullo reflects on being the first one out of the game.

- Nicole says she was voted out because one player in particular did not like her.

- Nicole also shares behind-the-scenes intel on why she spat in Jeremiah's face and threw up back at the tribe camp.

Nicole Mazullo thought she was good. She had put herself in the key puzzle position in the *Survivor 49* marooning challenge, and the tribe lost. She had put herself in the primary spot for the last stage of the all-important immunity competition, and the tribe lost. She had vomited all over the tribe camp, fallen victim to the Shoe Bandit, and spit water into the face of another player, yet she thought she would live to see another *Survivor* day. She did not.

Nicole became *Survivor 49*'s first victim when she was seen as the team's weakest link and was unanimously voted out by the Kele tribe. What does Nicole make of being the first one to go? Did she ever consider playing her Shot in the Dark? And how does she feel about Jake stealing and hiding her left shoe? We asked the financial crime consultant all that and more.

Nicole Mazullo on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

**: Let's start at the end. I was there at that Tribal Council. And you looked legitimately shocked at the results of the vote. Tell me what was going through your head as your name kept coming up.**

**NICOLE MAZULLO:** Yeah, I was a little shocked. I knew it was between Annie and I, and right before we had voted, I turned to Alex and asked him if I was good. And at that point in time, I was 50-50 on using my Shot in the Dark. And he had said, "You're good." And him and I had, I thought, built somewhat of a solid relationship at that point.

And so then that 50-50 became more like 30-70, and I felt pretty good about the votes. And then as they came through, I was just shocked. I was like, "Wow, okay, they got me. There's nothing I can do."

**There was all this talk during Tribal about how much everybody loved everybody else and it was all Kumbaya, and yet after you were voted out, there were no hugs, nobody standing up, just a lot of awkward silence, so what was going on there?**

I'm not a very Kumbaya player, so maybe that was my style coming through, but I think my vote-out was the product of one person not liking me, frankly. And they were just going to have the sole impact on that vote. And it was his vote, basically.

'Survivor 49' premiere recap: Everything you didn't see on TV

'Survivor 49' host Jeff Probst calls first vote out 'clearly personal'

**Who are you talking about, Nicole?**

I'm talking about Jake. I think Jake just didn't like me from the jump, and he just wanted me out, I think he was just like, "Eh, that's an easy target," if you will. So I wasn't going to turn around and hug him. I was like, "Nah, you guys just voted me out. I'm not hugging you."

**Good for you. Why do you think he didn't like you? Why do you think he wasn't jibing with you?**

I have no idea. And that's not even a question I need to try to attempt to answer. You sometimes you just don't jibe with people. They didn't show it, but I put a lot of effort into trying to cultivate a relationship with him. And so I was really shocked to see the Shoe Bandit thing. That was so random. It just didn't click maybe. And *Survivor* is like a microcosm of the world. Some people you just don't get along with. And so I can appreciate the unpredictability of that and the nature of that.

Jeremiah Ing and Nicole Mazullo on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

**You brought up the Shoe Bandit. What did you think had happened? Did you think someone put your shoe over there? And then what was your reaction when you found out that Jake had done it?**

I knew someone was throwing them around, and I was like, "Who's trying to get more screen time here?" I knew someone had done it, but I I didn't even give it a second thought because everything was happening so fast. So it was like a tiny blip in my experience. And I found out after the show had wrapped, and I just laughed. I just thought to myself, just so cliche. But no hard feelings. I didn't really care. It doesn't bother me. It's just hysterical.

**It didn't make it into the episode, but there was a lot of talk about whether the vote was personal or not. You said after in your final words that you did not take it personal, while Jeff told me after Tribal, "How could it not be personal?" So how did it all sit with you in that regard and in terms of being told by these people, for whatever reason, "We don't want you here anymore?"**

At the end of the day, it's a game. And I appreciate that this is a game. And so in that respect, the concept of them voting someone out didn't feel personal. Someone had to go and it's me and I'm it. It's whatever.

The part that *does* feel personal in the aftermath when you go back and watch it and you talk to people is just, "Okay, this one person maybe had a personal thing with me." It wasn't reciprocated from my side, that personal "Okay, I don't really vibe with you." But it was for that one person, for Jake. And so, I don't care. Not that I had done anything or that we didn't get along. It just was, "I don't really like that person." But in the game, someone had to go home.

Jeremiah Ing, Nicole Mazullo, and Jeff Probst on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

** How was watching it all play back on TV, because that can be traumatic as well?**

Honestly, I was so grateful for what they put on the show. I thought it was a great episode. I had so much fun watching it. I was just honestly grateful that I even made it, that I had the edit that I had. I thought it was great. I thought they did me well. I thought they did the cast well. I had so much fun. I had a couple drinks in me, so that made it a little easier. But I had a blast watching it

**What was your take on the tribe dynamics when you were out there. The bromance was pretty obvious, but did you have Sophi and Jeremiah pegged as being in that alliance, and who did you *think* was your closest ally?**

I thought Alex was my closest ally. They didn't show it, but he was the only person that I was having genuine conversations with. Whereas the other conversations I was having were more performative from my part and their part. It was a very tangible feeling that performativeness. So Alex, I thought I was closest with.

I did peg Sophi kind of looping in Jeremiah. It felt like it was them four, and then Annie and I. I thought that I was the number five on that, and that Annie was somewhat isolated, and it felt like that on the island. So they did a good job of making her feel isolated, though she was looped in. So that was the dynamic there.

Nicole Mazullo on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

**You put yourself in the key final stage positions in both the marooning and the immunity challenges. Were you nervous that might come back to bite you or were you trying to prove your worth to the tribe?**

So I knew for the marooning challenge that I wanted to do the puzzle because that just felt like where I was going to fit best. There was no other thought outside of that, that just made the most sense to me. For the second challenge, I wanted to take the lead on the puzzle because I knew at that point that I wasn't as ingratiated with my tribe as I would've liked to have been.

And I'm competitive by nature. And so I thought, "Okay, I'm just gonna take the bull by the horns on this puzzle, and if we don't win, I'm okay." I know that I did everything I could in that moment to try to get the win, and it just didn't come to fruition. So that was me just wanting to take the bull by the horns and do it. And I didn't necessarily think of the repercussions in that moment.

Jeff Probst and the cast of 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

**This doesn't really come through in the edit, but I remember being out there and you guys were way behind when you got to that last section with the winding snake. But you all very early on, on one of your very first runs down, made it almost all the way down. And I was like, "Oh my God, they're gonna win!"**

**You were so close and it dropped and then you guys never really made it far down the track again. Tell me what happened there because that first time I was like, "They're gonna take it."**

I know, they didn't include it. We got like 95 percent of the way through. I would say we had a little bit left, and then I just think it was a mental block where we couldn't get that momentum and that unity on from the three of us. We just couldn't get that unity going forward. I don't know what it was. I think it was some sort of mental block because we knew the other two tribes were doing well at that point.

**Have you ever spit water into someone's face before?**

No. I wish. He asked me! He said, "Please spit in my eye." I didn't even think to pour the water, which I've gotten a lot of questions about. "Why didn't you just pour the water on his face?" He explicitly asked me to spit.

**It's better the way they edited it.**

Jeff Probst and the cast of 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

**Speaking of things projecting out of your mouth, I want to ask you about the vomit. We don't see it a ton, but puking is a relatively common occurrence on *Survivor*. What was the cause of your situation? Was it nerves? Delayed challenge reaction? Were you sick? What was going on there?**

I took like a vitamin on an empty stomach, and I immediately threw up. It had nothing to do with the game. I was shocked it was included in the episode, but it had nothing to do with any sort of a mental or physical feeling. I had an empty stomach and got sick on it and it made the cut. That was it.

**Whom were you rooting for in the game after you left? Were you rooting for Alex after you got voted off, or were you like, "Screw those guys"?**

I was definitely rooting for him because at the end of the day, he was the one I had formed that genuine connection with. And I could appreciate that he was attempting to build that connection in a reciprocated nature. So yeah, I was totally rooting for him. I was rooting for Annie as well, being on the outside. So those were the two I were rooting for.

The Kele Tribe on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

**You said your family was going to laugh hysterically at you being voted out first. What was their reaction to the episode?**

They just hugged me. They were proud that I didn't freak out on anyone. They were like, "You walking away was great." They were just happy that I was even on the show. They were so proud of me. They did laugh a little bit, but it was all in good fun. And yeah, it was just great to watch with them, honestly.

**So you told me before the game began that you would go to a straight bar if you were voted out first. Have you made that pilgrimage yet?**

Yes! We had the watch party in a straight sports bar in the middle of Philadelphia. It was a quintessential straight bar, but it was awesome.

**You said you wanted soak up the aura of the straight bar. Did you soak it up?**

I soaked it up. I was screaming, I had a draft IPA, I had a backwards cap on. It was happening.

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