With nine votes in his favor, his victory was not declared at the end of an unbearable suspense. This Tuesday, December 3, Thibault inscribed his name in the pantheon of winners of Koh Lanta. Finalist of The cursed tribe against Charlotte, the Corsican won hands down. In addition to a gesture to his honor towards Charlotte, this passionate farmer and father of two daughters explains in particular to Tele-Leisure what he will do with his 100,000 euros. Beyond the conclusion of his story with his ex-partner, he also looks back on his exceptional journey, marked by his ability to feed his tribe. Between family emotion and future plans, Thibault shares the highlights of his experience.
“We went to a nightclub“: Thibaut, the winner of Koh-Lanta, The cursed tribetells what he did after his victory
Tele-Leisure : We imagine that the night was short. Tell us about your evening!
Thibault : We first celebrate on set for a long time. I wanted to share this moment with my family, I joined them in the stands. I couldn't really capture the moment because we didn't have our phone. I had my 88-year-old grandmother who was there in all her form. I will see them this evening or tomorrow to take a nice family photo. I enjoyed the moment with them. Then, we were treated to a small cocktail, accompanied by my sister and my two daughters. Then we went to a nightclub with a few adventurers and a few family members. We finished early in the morning and an hour and a half later, I had to leave for media day.
But you still hold on!
I'm holding on with adrenaline. Even after the adventure, Ilyesse, Charlotte and I were super excited, we barely slept during the two nights before leaving for the mainland.
How did you experience the moment of your victory?
It was an immense joy of course, a great pride. I'm still a little in the clouds, I don't really realize. It's hard to realize it. I see my phone going crazy, all my loved ones calling me. I'm not in this industry so they don't understand that I'm not very available. I have 58 missed calls, 300 Instagram messages. That's a lot! I will respond as a group.
What was the reaction of your 7-year-old and 5-year-old daughters who were on set?
They were very stressed last night, they didn't know the outcome at all. It wasn't easy for them. I think the emotion was too strong for them to speak on set. But by the look in their eyes, I knew they were proud of their dad and that's all I needed.
Why were there so many spelling mistakes on the ballots for Thibaut in the final of Koh-Lanta, The cursed tribe ? We have the answer!
Did you suspect that you would win against Charlotte? We imagine that some candidates told you that they had voted for you…
I had a little doubt, I wasn't sure of everyone's votes, not everyone came to tell me. My close allies told me but for some, I was less sure. I knew Charlotte had potential, she's a great adventurer. I thought the score would be closer than that. It is a great honor to win hands down. It's a form of recognition from adventurers.
Was there a particular vote that surprised you?
I was pleasantly surprised by Maud and Sarah. I had the impression that the girls were a little ganged up against us and that they had the impression that we were ganged up against them. I had a little hesitation about them. But I think thatUgo et Frédéric had the arguments to convince them to vote for me. They clearly told me that I was the adventurer they wanted to see win, it's a great honor to hear that from adventurers like them. It is partly thanks to them that I won this victory.
What is very strange, especially with the adventurers' votes, is that a majority did not know how to write your first name!
I don't know if you realized this, but Koh Lantawe do it very often. Ilyesse often laughed when he put Ugo's first name with an H even though we kept telling him that it was without an H. Basically, it starts from Ilyesse's first name, which no one knew how to write. All season long, we had a lot of fun with everyone's first names. My first name was never written down on a piece of paper. The only time he came out was for the final. It’s a matter of great pride. So, they had fun writing in lots of ways. I had heard that there had been this little game and so, a little worry on my part, I told myself that the votes were going to be canceled because they were so poorly written. [Il rit.] It was very funny, it lightened the atmosphere.
“We search intensely for food” : Thibault (Koh-Lanta, The cursed tribe) talks about the hunger he suffered on set
How did you deal with hunger and harsh conditions on the island?
It's very, very hard from the start, it breaks our heads. On the networks, someone asked me after how many days I suffered from hunger, and I replied that it was after an hour! When we know we don't have anything to eat, we're hungry, it's mechanical. We search intensely for foodfrom morning to evening. As soon as I had slots to go fishing, I went there. Same for research in the forest, no waste of time on that.
We imagine that it is in particular because you fed your tribes that you were declared the winner!
Exactly. This Koh Lanta was very special for this reason. This is one of the rare times where we see an adventurer rewarded for his merit in the camp, for life in survival. I tried to play on my qualities as a hunter-fisherman-gatherer, it worked.
How did you experience your return to Corsica? Was it difficult to get back to the daily routine?
The return to normal life was very complicated. I have a pretty tough job as a farmer, even though it's my passion. When I returned to Corsica, it was starting to get hot in June. At the peak of summer, we are not far from the Philippines. I'm extremely hungry, I eat a lot, I've gained weight. It was very complicated to find a sustained pace of work. I had a quiet summer, I worked the bare minimum for my olive oil and my citrus fruits.
Thibault: the winner of Koh-Lanta, The cursed tribe reveals what he will do with his winnings of 100,000 euros
What are you going to do with your 100,000 euros?
The first thing is to go on a family trip. For symbolism, we are going to Koh-Lanta, Thailand. We would leave with my brother and his two little girls who are the same age as mine, his big son, my mother, my sister. We are two single dads, we both went through the same ordeal so we stick together and try to have beautiful moments with our children. Professionally, I am in pure agricultural production and I want to move towards the valorization of my products. I would perhaps like to create a table on the farm with guest rooms, a welcoming place to earn a better living. In Corsica, we are moving towards quality tourism, oriented towards agricultural diversity. We can do beautiful things. I love welcoming people and telling them about my region. It’s a logical progression.
The adventure Koh Lanta Has it changed your outlook on life?
I'm basically an impulsive person. I managed to brush that side aside. I lived my Koh Lanta apart from malice. I based everything on the opposite and it only brought me positives. Being like this in life brings much more than being in perpetual conflict and vice.
The season has just ended but if you were ever called to participate again in an All-stars, would you leave?
I'm already on the plane! [Il rit.]
