“Koh-Lanta”: eliminated after her poker move, this candidate “falls from a great height on a human level”

She believed in it very strongly and so did we. After saving her skin by playing her immunity necklace last week, Mélissa tried an incredible poker move during episode 6 of “Koh-Lanta: The Cursed Tribe” by trying to convince several of her new yellow teammates to vote against Frédéric, their leader and former winner of the show. A strategy that ultimately backfired on her during the most “tense” council since the beginning of the season. Several months after this disappointment, the young woman confided in TF1info.

It’s rare to see an adventurer so angry after her elimination. Did it take you a long time to recover?

In fact, I had to accept the elimination and above all I had to accept that it was just a game. At the time, I didn’t have the capacity to understand it. Once I got back into my life, I was able to take a step back from all that, I was able to tell myself that this was the risk in coming to “Koh-Lanta”. We can find ourselves caught up in strategies, in betrayals, in promises that are not kept. I ended up admitting it, even if there is a bitterness. By finding myself on the island of the banished, my “Koh-Lanta” started very late and ended much too soon with this elimination.

In front of the TV, we have the impression that you are going to succeed in eliminating Frédéric…

But me too! (Laughs) When I arrive at the council, I am quite divided, quite mixed. I tell myself that my strategy has a 60% chance of passing. I have seen Fabrice and Sophia so won over by my proposal that I am convinced that they will vote for Frédéric. I doubt Fabrice a little bit in reality, but I feel him proud to know that everything depends almost on him. And then finally, I am very disappointed to see that the only vote against Frédéric is mine.

Everyone who said they would vote for Frederick lied to me.

Melissa

Looking back, do you think it was a lost cause?

No, I think they themselves thought they were voting for Frédéric for a moment. Sophie seemed won over, she confirmed to me that Frédéric was a strategist and that he had not hesitated to break his alliance with the girls for their own benefit. Fabrice did the same, reminding me that he had been sidelined… They both confirmed to me that my strategy was good, that it was time to get him out. We all even seemed a little excited to do so. And then there was a turnaround. Did Charlotte feel in danger? She had to convince them to vote against me to be sure of staying.

Even if you ended up admitting it, we feel that for you, “Koh-Lanta” was more than a game…

Yes, at the beginning it was a bit more than that for me. I came to test myself mentally even if I knew I had the resources. The option of giving up didn’t cross my mind for a quarter of a second, for example. On the other hand, when you embark on a journey like that, the minimum is to go all the way to reunification. That’s why I held on to each passing day. And I fell from a great height. First on the human level. Even if in my life, I am very lucid, I realize that I couldn’t trust my teammates. I feel like I was blinded by the excitement of my strategy.

Were you expecting something else on a human level?

In any case, I expected a lot. My job is to be a manager, to know how to adapt my speech to the person in front of me. I also believe that this was my strength with the yellows since I managed to integrate. Humanly, in any case, it was quite smooth. But I found myself in a great understanding because I was stroked in the right direction by being told that my strategy was great. But I am incapable of saying these things if I don’t think them. And what upsets me is to see unanimity against me. All those who said they would vote for Frédéric lied to me. I feel humiliated, betrayed on an emotional level.

Several months later, have you digested it? Have you discussed it again with others? Are you less on edge?

Yes, I am less on edge, of course. I have found my life again, I have found my daily life again. I have no emotional deficiency. I have detached myself and I tell myself that I may have lived my “Koh-Lanta” a little too seriously.

Melissa, the island of the banished, was it really a nightmare?

It was truly a nightmare. We were starving, we were dying of boredom. We felt like we were useless in this “Koh-Lanta”. Losing the very first game was a humiliation for me. I told myself that I was going to be seen as the zero on duty. So I had my little “remontada” by winning the game ahead of Emmanuelle, Nathanaël and Vanessa. Then, I had my revenge by joining the yellows. And even if my journey was short, it was intense.

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You left your family very early before finding your mother again shortly before her death. Is that where you draw your strength of character from?

Of course. As I said in one episode, my mother made me a little soldier and today, I have strong kidneys! I also find that “Koh-Lanta” is quite representative of what we can experience in life. Sometimes, you are confronted with very complicated situations and if mentally, you are not armed, you lose. That’s why I know that I was armed to go far in this show. And unfortunately, the rug was pulled out from under me.

>> Find episode 6 and all the previous ones are available streaming on TF1+