In the last episode of Koh-Lanta, The Cursed Tribe broadcast Tuesday September 17, 2024 on TF1, four adventurers left the game. Nathanaël and Vanessa lost the test of the cursed island, Michel was eliminated at the council and Alexander made the decision to give up. Near Purepeoplethe physiotherapist from Paris talks about the reasons for his choice. He also talks about his behavior in the adventure and the label of strategist that sticks to him despite himself.
Why this choice to give up?
Difficult choice… I wasn’t enjoying myself enough compared to the beginning. I was missing my daughters and my wife. Also, you don’t necessarily realize it on TV, but time is long. When I’m bored, I think. And when I think, it’s not good.
It has been a while since it seemed difficult for you… What role did living conditions play?
It was really on a mental level that I couldn’t hold out. Hunger didn’t affect me that much. I’m not a big eater. The hygiene and nutrition conditions weren’t necessarily complicated for me. It was a well-considered decision, I didn’t make it on a whim. There were ups and downs in a cyclical way so I asked myself what I was going to do. What weighed in the balance was that the percentage of pleasure I was taking there wasn’t high enough compared to the percentage of lack of my daughters and my wife.
You say you underestimated Koh-Lantawhat aspect are you talking about?
I was thinking about the distance with my loved ones. Now, did I underestimate Koh-Lanta or did I overestimate myself? I don’t know. I didn’t expect to realize that my wife and daughters were my arms and legs. It was complex. It’s a game but it’s a long game. I think that psychologically or mentally, I wasn’t ready enough to take on the entire adventure. I had never been separated from my wife and daughters.
Your comrades didn’t understand your decision, especially Ugo who seemed bothered… What do you think?
They’re right! I’ve always been the kind of guy who moaned on his couch when he saw someone quit. And then I did the same thing. It factored into my decision. But only idiots don’t change their minds!
In your portrait, we see you close to your daughters. How did they react when you returned?
They are young, they don’t know Koh-Lanta. I warned them as I went through the casting stages that it was very possible that I would be away for a long time, seven weeks. The eldest, who is 6, more or less understood it. She had looked at the posts with her cousins once, she had an idea of the thing. On the other hand, the youngest is 2. Go and make her understand that I’m leaving and that I’m not going to call her or anything… We can explain it to her, but she doesn’t understand. Like any good father who respects himself, they have only seen the good sides of the episodes. They have seen the ordeal of the coconuts, they have also seen the episode where I chose to vote against Ari. I didn’t want to show her the moment where I crack and get angry on the rafts.
It’s hard to convey this image to your child…
It’s not even about image. I talk a lot with my daughters. And I always tell my eldest not to give up. And then, when I came home from Koh-LantaI had to explain… Again, only fools don’t change their minds. So I explained to her that I was wrong and that sometimes it’s the best solution. If it costs us personally and psychologically, we have to know how to make this decision even if it’s not easy. So I stop telling my daughter that we’re not giving up.
You played a role in the group’s strategy, particularly by eliminating Ari. Why did you make this choice?
I think Ari was less efficient than Marie. It wasn’t even a strategy, I was just objective. I played it as if I was on my couch: the one I think is the weakest must go. We have Marie who has done triathlons, ultra trails and so on. It’s because she had it under her feet. Ari seemed less efficient to me and in any case gave the impression of having less drive. There was no need to be a strategist in the early days of Koh-Lantait makes sense after reunification.
After a test, you even indicated that you wanted to eliminate Lola from the opposing team. Why is that?
At this point, I am upset about the defeat. We had just lost the catapult event, which I really liked because it requires precision and I like that. There I underperformed. The last pin to knock down, the one that is relatively far away, is the one I was aiming for from the start and that I didn’t touch at all. If we lose, I’m not going to say it’s my fault… but in any case if we don’t win, it’s because I don’t touch it. So I’m upset. I don’t like people who put themselves forward a little too much and I found that that’s what Lola was doing. I spoke to my teammates at the start and Denis Brogniart, having a keen ear, heard me and asked me what’s wrong with me. Being relatively unfiltered as Ugo would say, I say what’s on my mind at that moment.
What do you think of the controversies surrounding her?
Life in society is not easy. You have to know how to discover each other, knowing that you are in an adventure where we are all on an ejection seat. We all adopt a form of mask, we try to be homogeneous in relation to the group. I think that Lola did not wear a mask and that may have displeased.
On social media, some people get annoyed by your attitude and judge you.too strategic“. What do you have to say to that?
I don’t think I was a strategist during my adventure. I was just frank about each of my interventions. Indeed, I exude strategy because I was categorized as such from the start. But when you’re facing guys who are meters or who are built like crazy, we can well imagine that I have other assets. And since I’m also quite observant, we can say that it’s strategy. I assumed it in the portrait, but deep down in the game I wasn’t really. I just needed to follow my ideas, hence my vote for Ari. I didn’t want to be a sheep, it’s not in my temperament.
Your behavior in the raft event also caused a lot of talk…
I negotiated for a long time so that we put the float on the side that I think is the right one. And then for the second raft, we change. What bothers me is that all my arguments are forgotten. And what annoys me most is that in the end, we don’t follow through on our ideas. When I made it known, I feel that it’s a bit annoying. So rather than losing my cool and getting into a useless conflict, I preferred to take a step back. The anger that I have at the moment turns into a lot of emotion and I end up shedding a few tears because I’m angry and frustrated. But actually, when you see the scene on TV, you get the impression that I’m a 15-year-old kid who’s going to sulk. I understand that. I think that my attitude is simply considered. I didn’t want to get into a fight, I got along well with everyone. I just tell myself that we’ll see during the test.
What was your first move?
I debriefed the whole adventure to my wife. I won’t hide from you that she was delighted to see me come back early. She knows me, she knows that I’m not easy to wake up in the morning. So the rafts made her laugh a lot because I was coming out of my nap. And indeed at these times I am a little more irritable. She said to our friends with irony despite everything: “I have this every morning!“But she was not unhappy to see me stick to my guns and follow through on my ideas.
What has changed in your life since then? Koh-Lanta ?
I have resumed my life as before. I take my daughters to school in the morning, I pick them up in the evening and I go back to work afterwards. I do not take on fewer patients than before, I already took care of my daughters before and I continue to do so. I have not changed anything in particular. I am perhaps trying to be a little more pleasant in the morning.
Do some patients in the office recognize you?
Very little. There are patients I’ve been following for some time who have seen me on TV, but that’s it.
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