Savannah, Sage, Sophi, Kristina, and Rizo discuss the highs and lows of their journey so far.

The* Survivor 49* final 5 speak in exclusive finale interview

Savannah, Sage, Sophi, Kristina, and Rizo discuss the highs and lows of their journey so far.

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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December 17, 2025 8:15 a.m. ET

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Sage Ahrens-Nichols, Kristina Mills, Savannah Louie, Rizo Velovic, Sophi Balerdi on 'Survivor 49'. Credit:

Robert Voets/CBS (5)

Kristina Mills. Rizo Velovic. Sage Ahrens-Nichols. Savannah Louie. Sophi Balerdi… or Soph… or Blue Sophi… or Real Sophi. Honestly, I’m not sure what she’s going by today. The point is, these are the five players who outwitted, outplayed, and outlasted the others to get to finale night on *Survivor 49* (airing tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS).

To do so, they had to ride the reality TV roller coaster — experiencing epic game highs and dramatic personal lows along the way. Some of those moments were plastered across our TV screens. Others were not. Now, with the *Survivor 49* finale just hours away, the final five reveal all in an exclusive interview that sheds lots of light on dynamics between players in the game.

As an aside, we here at ** have been doing these pre-finale interviews for a quite a while now, and I’m not sure we have ever received a stronger collection of answers that showcase unseen strategy while also delving into the topsy-turvy emotional aspects of the game. Plus, see who from the jury the finalists saw as the biggest threat to win. Hold on to your hat (or sombrero if on a *Survivor* taco reward!) as the final five provides insight and intel. (Also make sure to check out our exclusive interview with the *Survivor 49* jury!)

Rizo Velovic, Sage Ahrens-Nichols, Kristina Mills, Sophi Balerdi, and Savannah Louie on 'Survivor 49'.

What is the move you were most proud of in the first 23 days?

**KRISTINA MILLS:** I** **know it was shown as the "safe" move, but Nate was a trifecta threat (social, physical, strategic). He was the cool dad who no one would ever look at, but behind the scenes, he was the architect drawing up all the plans! He did not trust Alex and me and had NO desire to work with us. Nate would say what he needed to during game talk, but I picked up on a lot of his social connections during casual talk.

He was die-hard, all-in on working with the trio, and he wanted to bring in one of my closest allies, MC. During our time on Uli (last tribe swap), I told Alex that we have to get Nate out. Sophie, coincidentally, came up to me afterwards with the same thought. I knew I could get the rest of the group on board, especially if I painted it as a sure vote. To everyone (but myself and Alex), it was the safe plan. For me, it was the *only* plan!

Nate Moore and Kristina Mills on 'Survivor 49'.

**RIZO VELOVIC:** This might be a cop out, but I am proud of a string of moves. I think the way I, along with my alliance of Savannah and Soph, had the ability to bounce back from the Nate blindside to now heading to the final five in the majority is no easy feat.

I entered the merge with a public idol, and not only did I continuously hold this public idol, but also brought power back to the idol. In the last few seasons of the new era, we see players either get voted out with idols in their pocket or just play it defensively to take the target off their back. However, I played with house money. I used the idol as a mechanism to threaten the players by making their choice on who to vote for and I turned a public idol into a *Survivor* "God" Idol.

Starting at the merge vote all the way up until the final five, I was able to persuade the rest of the players on why each individual was advantageous for their game, when, in reality, it was advantageous for my alliance and I. I was in a 4-1 minority in the final 10 where instead of playing the idol defensively, I leveraged my idol and was able to convince the people who just blindsided me the vote before to target the person that was best for my game, while pocketing my idol *and* having my number 1 ally pocket her extra vote.

That then lead to the Alex vote, where instead of properly splitting the vote, I just threw Alex under the bus with false information and was able to eliminate my target while pocketing my idol. And I continuously followed this trend all the way to the final five by then getting out Sophie and Steven.

Rizo Velovic on 'Survivor 49'.

**SAGE AHRENS-NICHOLS: **Out of the moves I tried to pull off that were successful, probably the Shannon blindside. Despite my frustrations with her in the game, my vote wasn’t strictly personal. Shannon had a phenomenal social game, and I didn’t want her and Savannah both making the merge because of how socially captivating they were (especially since socializing isn’t my strong suit). I also saw a chance to further build trust with the Hina side by keeping Steven, and to solidify a working relationship with Jawan moving forward.

On her last day in the game, Shannon revealed the four-person alliance on original Uli, which only confirmed my decision. I knew she’d likely link back up with Nate, Rizo, and Savannah, and together they could’ve run the game. Every one of them is great at talking and making their pitch sound so good that no one questions it. They’re like a group of car salesmen who can convince you to overpay for a car that doesn’t even run, and you walk away thinking you got a deal. If she stayed in the game, I likely wouldn’t have made it as far.

Sage Ahrens-Nichols and Shannon Fairweather on 'Survivor 49'.

**SAVANNAH LOUIE: **My very first immunity win was my proudest moment of my first 23 days! This was truly a do-or-die moment for me. I knew I would be going home if I didn't win!** **Endurance comps aren't necessarily about who's the strongest, smartest, or fastest. They're about who's the most determined. I displayed some serious mental willpower to pull out a win, and I'm proud that I was able to give myself new life in the game by pushing through the pain.

Savannah Louie and Jeff Probst on 'Survivor 49'.

**SOPHI BALERDI: **Going to Tribal Council with only three people and one of them having an idol is not an easy situation to survive (episode 3). Alex didn’t trust me, and he and Jeremiah were very close. I thought I was gone that night, but I worked my ass off all day to make sure they voted for each other, and it worked. That’s the same way I’ve managed to get myself to the final five. People really underestimate a strong social game.

I also had a lot to do with why Alex and Jawan were voted out. Jawan gave me a key piece of information that helped Rizo and me throw Alex under the bus, ensuring he went home over anyone in our three-person alliance. And with the Jawan vote, we were going to vote Steven out until I found Kristina’s idol in her bag, and then we switched the vote to Jawan instead.

Sophi Balerdi on 'Survivor 49'.

What was your favorite non-game related interaction you had with someone over your first 23 days?

**KRISTINA:** MC and I were both raised in Texas. One day, we were reminiscing about the experience that is Buc-ee's! Most of the cast had never heard of it and we were SHOCKED! We enthusiastically spent too much time telling them all about this magical place where you can buy art, get gas, use the restroom in complete privacy, and buy BBQ and Kolaches (which is also something most of the cast knew nothing about...bless their hearts!). Someone asked if you could get married there... and of course the answer is DUH! All good things happen at Buc-ee's!

Kristina Mills on 'Survivor 49'.

**RIZO:** Celebrating the letters from home with my two closest allies was special. While I had good relationships with everyone out there, my relationship with Savannah and Soph was something I never anticipated. We HAD been working day and night to get to the final five — and getting to take a break from the game and get letters from home while spending it with my two closest allies and friends on the island was special.

Getting to read the encouraging words that my girlfriend and family wrote for me at that moment was nothing I have ever experienced. I am an emotional guy, but I legitimately cried for hours just reading the letters — thinking about the letters, but, most importantly, realizing that I am not only living my dream of playing *Survivor*, but I am making an impact on the game that has made such an impact on me.

One of my highlights of the letters came from some important news from my girlfriend. Going to *Survivor* meant that I was going to miss my idol John Cena competing for a title match at Wrestlemania and I wouldn't have the chance to witness if he would win his record breaking 17th title, so I told my girlfriend that if she writes me a letter, please incorporate the words “SEE YOU SOON” so I know if he won at Wrestlemania. Low and behold, the last 3 words of the letter were “SEE YOU SOON,” and I lost my marbles because I heard from my girlfriend and found out John Cena broke the record in real time.

Rizo Velovic and Savannah Louie on 'Survivor 49'.

**SAGE: **So many moments with Jawan. One of my biggest hopes going into the game was finding someone I could have fun with. When Jawan came back from the fried chicken reward, he ran up to me with the biggest smile and whispered, “I have socks in my fries.” I looked down and saw this massive lump near his ankle. Later that night, Jawan, Steven, and I were lying on the beach when Jawan snuck me a fry. I dropped it in the sand, found it, and ate it. It was disgusting. I tried to whisper to Steven what had happened, but I couldn’t stop laughing. The three of us just lay there crying from laughter.

Jawan Pitts and Sage Ahrens-Nichols on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

**SAVANNAH: **I had so many small, special moments with Rizo and Soph throughout the game. I always refer to this particular moment as "Sharing Secrets" in my head. There was one night, I believe after the Sophie S. vote, where the three of us were so giddy after Tribal Council. The rest of our tribe went down to the beach to sleep for the night, so it was just us three left at camp.

That night, I told both of them that I used to work as a journalist (Soph already knew this). In that same conversation, Soph and Rizo also shared personal anecdotes about things they had previously decided not to share with anyone else going into the game.

I remember the three of us giggling over our sharing of secrets. None of the secrets were bombshells per se, but they were meaningful pieces of our lives that we had meant to conceal from others in the game. It seemed so funny that while we truly felt like we knew each other so well at this point, we were still learning about these big things that had happened in our lives.****With it being so late at night, before bed, and us three feeling a little delirious from the exhaustion and a blindside, the silliness reminded me of a sleepover I may have had with my girlfriends when I was younger. It was such a sweet, innocent little moment that takes you out of the intense gameplay. I truly felt like I could take a breath and just laugh with my people.

Rizo Velovic, Savannah Louie, and Sophi Balerdi on 'Survivor 49'.

**SOPHI: **The family letters reward was the best one yet. It felt like having a sleepover with my two best friends. We had full bellies, the letters took our minds out of the game for a bit, and we bonded more than ever. That’s when I realized they were going to be some of my best friends for life. It truly felt like it was the three of us against the world. We cried together and survived together, and I wouldn’t trade those two relationships for anything.

Fun fact: I tried to create a “Tres Leches” alliance with Jake and Alex at the beginning, but they couldn’t pronounce it, so we never officially named our alliance. So when Sav and Rizo were receptive, I thought: *I knew we made sense.*

Sophi Balerdi on 'Survivor 49'.

What was your lowest moment over the first 23 days?

**KRISTINA:** You all saw it! I'm blessed to have the best village, and I've literally never been in a situation where no one has my back. I know it's *Survivor*, but in some aspects, you have to have at least one person you can trust fully. Alex and MC were my closest out of game relationships, and them being voted out back-to-back — at the hands of people I'm supposed to trust and be working with — broke me! I felt all alone and truly just wanted to vent to my mom.

Kristina Mills and Jawan Pitts on 'Survivor 49'.

**RIZO:** I am lucky in that I took the experience in full stride and didn't have many, if any, low moments. But we saw it in a recent episode, after a reward challenge loss, I came back to camp breaking down because I have not eaten for eight days at that point. In reality, I had not had a real meal since the grilled cheese reward at the final 12. I did win the merge feast, but the reward was a charcuterie board, and as a Muslim, I do not eat pork, so the only thing I could eat at that reward was bread and cheese.

At that point, after I lost that final eight reward challenge, I went eight days without consuming any food, and that challenge loss felt like my doing so I came back to camp and had a moment. Everyone envisions coming to *Survivor* and being a comp beast, and at that point physically, I was letting myself down, so in that moment I felt like I was not only letting myself down, but I was letting everyone down at home.

Rizo Velovic on 'Survivor 49'.

2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc.

**SAGE: **Obviously, the Jawan blindside. I didn’t just lose Jawan that vote — I lost Sophie S., because I knew I’d never be able to trust her again. I also felt like I lost Steven. We’d been working really closely, but since he was blindsided too, we both had to go into damage control, and with only seven of us left, there wasn’t much space to protect each other anymore.

On top of that, a few things happened the next day with Savannah and Sophie S. that indicated they may have still intended on working together, and I knew the odds of Soph B. flipping were very slim. A big part of my strategy was acting insecure and aloof to fly under the radar, but Jawan and Steven were the only people who really got to know the real me. Losing them, plus Sophie S. (who I completely overlooked as someone who would flip on me) was devastating. I felt incredibly alone — in the game and personally.

Sage Ahrens-Nichols on 'Survivor 49'.

**SAVANNAH: **Oh boy. You saw it. The Nate blindside was so rough. On the surface, I had just lost someone who I considered a dear friend and a source of comfort and confidence in the game. But, as you saw, my emotions in that moment were so elevated because of unresolved trauma I had experienced OFF the island years prior. At that point in the game, I truly felt no one wanted anything to do with me other than Rizo and Soph — and I didn't want to tank their games by association. I felt so alone, misunderstood, and exiled.

What made this moment particularly tough was a subconscious parallel I had made to a toxic work environment I experienced in my twenties. I was not prepared to face my "real world" demons that I thought I had buried. My sadness and frustration following the Nate vote didn't just stem from what happened on the island. They represented two very difficult years of my life where I truly felt like unwanted, worthless trash — and it came on so suddenly! I was not prepared to experience that.

Savannah Louie on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

**SOPHI: **At the beginning of the game, I had some low moments being on the disaster tribe, but it was still early days, and I had signed up to play a hard game. But on day 23, after I played the Knowledge Is Power, I had a rough night where I cried myself to sleep. I was devastated because, in that moment, I felt like I had no shot at winning. I had timed that move perfectly. I was going to make a big play, and the fact that Steven had to use his advantage before Tribal screwed me.

In the game and to the jury, he was perceived as the biggest threat. If his advantage had been stealable, it would’ve been seen as a big move to that jury specifically. I still stand by voting him out over Rizo, but my sadness came from looking a little dumb for thinking I could steal it, and realizing that my big move was tainted.

Sophi Balerdi on 'Survivor 49'.

Of the six people already on the jury heading into the finale, who was the biggest threat to win the game and why?

**KRISTINA:** My original answer was Steven. He easily beats everyone left in the game and arguably everyone in the jury due to his social and physical game. However, if MC makes it to FTC, that means she has one heck of a journey and obviously a few immunity wins. So I can see a scenario where she's actually the biggest threat to win the game!

**RIZO:** Steven. While he did not have a ton of agency in the post-merge and lacked some strategic moves in his résumé, Steven had the right narrative to win: Somebody continuously left out the vote who had an underdog story and kept clawing his way through. Steven was able to convince Kristina to play an idol on him, win two individual immunities, complete a Journey, and obtain a Block-a-Vote advantage.

But, most importantly, Steven was very likeable and had a ton of his allies on the jury. Steven was a person you wanted to win because of his infectious personality and big smile. The space facts lured people in, and Steven really had an aura on that island. If Steven was able to claw his way to the end as an opposing force to our Tres Leches side, I believe Steven would have won *Survivor 49.*

Nate Moore, Michelle "MC" Chukwujekwu, Alex Moore, Jawan Pitts, Sophie Segreti, and Stephen Ramm on 'Survivor 49'.

**SAGE: **Steven! His game was criminally under-edited. He was the only true triple threat out there (socially, physically, and strategically). Despite how it appears on TV, he and I were incredibly tight. At the Alex vote, we had to pivot from our original Rizo/Savannah split plan once all our past and present plans started getting back to Rizo. Someone was blowing up our spot (turned out to be Kristina). When we eased off the gas to throw Rizo and Savannah off our scent, I advised Steven to vote Soph B. so it looked like he was on the outs, which made him seem less threatening and helped him maintain access to Kristina and her idol.

From then on, Steven leaned into that “outsider” image so well that if I didn’t know he wasn’t actually on the outs, I would’ve believed it. His acting was incredible, he had the least blood on his hands, everyone genuinely liked him, and his strategic game flew flawlessly under the radar. It’s probably hard to see all of that as a viewer, but from inside the game, I strongly believe he would’ve been unbeatable at the end.

Jeff Probst previews jury 'agendas' and 'unfinished business' in 'Survivor 49' finale

The 'Survivor 49' jury speaks in exclusive finale interview

**SAVANNAH: **Obviously, it depends how things would have played out, but I think MC and Steven both would have been big threats to win. Both of them had so many solid social connections that I don't think were obvious to the rest of us in real time. Both players were big comp threats. I'm so curious how MC would have fared in some of the individual immunity challenges, because she was a true force in the earlier tribe challenges. I think both MC and Steven also have a solid grasp of strategy — including smaller, but intentional, moves throughout the game. If either of them sat at final Tribal, they would have had a great argument for winning the game.

Rizo Velovic, Steven Ramm, and Sage Ahrens-Nichols on 'Survivor 49'.

2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc.

**SOPHI: **Based on optics alone in the game… Steven. Steven would’ve had MC’s, Alex’s, Jawan’s, and even Sophie’s vote. He had already won two immunities and could’ve won two more if we hadn’t gotten him out at six. There are people left in the game who would’ve voted for him as well. I was going to take Rizo’s idol to vote Savannah out, but after Savannah won immunity, I knew Steven was the only logical option. Nobody else left could’ve beaten Steven. MC got out early in the merge, but she would’ve been a force as well. She was physically dominant and also had a strong social game. Everybody loved MC.

*These interviews have been edited for length and clarity. *

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Source: “EW Survivor”