An East Coast bromance wasn’t enough to save Joaquin Souberbielle, who became the next victim of a tribal council blindside on Survivor: Worlds Apart this week.
The 27-year-old New Yorker had joined forces with Blue Collar Bostonian Rodney Lavoie Jr., and like “Batman and Robin,” the pair were certain they were running the game. Blinded by their egos, however, the duo ignored the warning signs as the Escameca tribe plotted to disintegrate the power couple as quickly as their bond had formed. And when the final vote was read, the White Collar competitor was shocked.
“I don’t remember grabbing my stuff. I don’t even remember seeing anyone’s faces,” Souberbielle told QMI Agency during a phone interview on Friday.
It was the bromance that gave him the confidence and it was the bromance that led to his downfall but looking back, Joaquin says his union with Rodney was inevitable. “I regret getting so close to Rodney so fast; if I maybe would have pulled back 40%. But we knew we were going to be close together no matter what. We’re both East-Coasters, we’re both jokesters and we don’t take life too seriously. So, we were compatible,” he said.
But the two made some game-shattering mistakes.
Confident in their safety, Rodney had planned to throw the immunity challenge this week, in order to get rid of the duo’s main threat – Joe Anglim. But the bold Bostonian left his right-hand man in the dark until it was too late and the plan to throw the challenge was already in motion. “Rodney brought it up to me while it was happening. I had no real say in it, obviously, because I chose that challenge to sit out. If I had known that was happening, I definitely would have played,” Joaquin explained.
Despite the devastating decision, “Roquin” felt comfortable they had the voting numbers, after recruiting Blue Collar outcast Sierra Dawn Thomas to join their side. But when Sierra had been swayed by her former backstabbing alliance, with an offer to rebuild their trust and split up the East Coast couple, she did just that. “I thought I had Sierra. Unfortunately, I got too comfortable and she was not having Rodney. She just didn’t want anything to do with him. He was a wild card for her, so she stayed true to Blue. I can’t fault her for that,” he said.
Yes, the bromance came back to bite him, but Joaquin’s loyalty remains with his outspoken Blue Collar ally, who he believes will take home the $1 million prize. “My man is definitely going all the way. I have full faith in him that he’s going to take this bromance to the end.”
Survivor: Worlds Apart airs Wednesdays at 8pm ET on Global and CBS.