Today we had the pleasure to interview Nina Acosta, the 51 year old retired LAPD officer from Clovis California. Nina considers herself tenacious, competitive and confident but unfortunately her time on Survivor was cut too short when she was voted out on Wednesday’s second episode of Survivor One World.
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The Yak: How stupid was your tribe to get rid of you Nina?
Nina: (Laughs) well in my opinion very stupid of course! Yeah, I wasn’t totally surprised obviously but I thought it was a bad move.
The Yak: Why do you think they kept Cat in the game?
Nina: That’s a good question and I think a few of them struggled with that but ultimately it came down to that they were afraid to back off their alliance because they felt comfortable with it and I think also possibly that she wasn’t much of a threat, obviously mentally or physical.
The Yak: How tough was it to play the game when it wasn’t about being the strongest or the smartest?
Nina: You know that was very tough for me I admit. I went into the game thinking that was going to be more of a physical challenge and a battle of the wits. Um, so I think once the tribes were aligned men vs. women that kind of went out the window and then it turned into a social game. Being the oldest by far in a tribe of young women it clearly put a target on my back.
The Yak: What is your take on Colton?
Nina: Colton, I have no idea what his strategy is. He was a complete distraction for the Salani tribe, as if we didn’t have enough distraction already. I think he has a little bit of a mean streak in him too. I guess we’ll see what happens with him.
The Yak: How frustrating was it that your tribe formed an alliance of 5 on the way to camp and you didn’t have much of a chance?
Nina: Well you know I was very surprised how quickly that alliance came together in a blink of an eye. Because, there was no rhyme or reason to it other than I think a group of girls got together and said “I like the way you look” or “your laugh is cute.” I don’t know what the criteria was but it was frustrating because it would have been important to take a step back and have some conversations with everybody before making that decision. It’s easy to say from my end because I was on the outside looking in.
The Yak: What did you think about the challenge?
Nina: I spoke up because I couldn’t hold it in any longer. That challenge was so embarrassing. At that moment I was so embarrassed to be a woman, we just couldn’t get it together. that challenge was about trust not about balance. We didn’t have the trust and the men did. Cat was the reason we lost that challenge, I’m convinced of it. So, I felt she was a liability to the tribe and I had to speak out, I felt I had nothing to lose.
The Yak: Nina, I was sorry to see you go last night.
Nina: Thank you, I’ve been hearing that a lot and it’s really nice to hear!
The Yak: We realize that we only see a small portion of tribal council but during tribal council when Jeff asked Chelsea and Sabrina if they would have formed different alliances if they knew then what they know now, and with no hesitation they both replied “Yes”; At that point did you feel you had a shot a staying?
Nina: Yeah, that was a big surprise to me to hear that! I had hope, because I thought it was a done deal going into tribal council and when I heard that I thought, hmm, I may actually be staying for a while, so yeah ultimately it didn’t happen but it was great to hear that. I think there just wasn’t enough time to work that angle and if I had had another couple of hours I could have worked on Sabrina a little more and maybe had Cat sent home.
The Yak: With you and Monica and Christina being the only ones left who were out of the five, how active were you three in trying to get one more member over to your side?
Nina: Well we talked about that certainly because it seemed really bleak but to be honest with you with Christina I wasn’t really confident in her allegiance to Monica and I. She felt that she had a target on her back because of Alicia’s complete dislike of her. I think she was scrambling to stay in the game and save herself and I don’t blame her for that. We really couldn’t collectively think of anybody. I was more interested in trying to stay alive as a team and get to know each other a little better. My alliance was with Monica and I wasn’t going to compromise that for anyone else in the game. I can say that without hesitation.
The Yak: Were you bothered by the fact that Monica voted for Christina instead of Cat?
Nina: No, Monica realized that I was going home. She didn’t vote for me which I respect and give her credit for, I appreciate that. I think she felt that if she voted for Cat it would anger the 5 and I think she was still trying to work an angle to get in with them. I think it was a smart move on her part.
The Yak: What was your fondest memory of camp in your 5 days out there?
Nina: (Laughing) hesitation, (more laughing)
The Yak: Or was their one? (laughing)
Nina: Let me see… fondest memory??? I’m going to have to really dig deep for that!
Really It was my friendship with Monica. I never, when I first met her, I never would have guessed that she and I would have formed a friendship or a bond but I have a lot of respect for her. She’s a mom like me, she loves her family. Just kind of getting to know somebody from the other side of the country it was nice. That was my fondest memory honestly. But the rest of it was a nightmare!
The Yak: Was Alicia as wicked/evil as she comes off?
Nina: Oh yes she is! I think there’s a difference between what i would call a villain. I think a villain has some strategy and has some redeeming qualities. Alicia is not that. From what I can tell she has no redeeming qualities. To say that if Christina was drowning she wouldn’t save her, I think that’s just mean and goes way beyond Survivor. I think it was horrible.
The Yak: How divided were the two tribes and are there any people on the men’s tribe that you got to know pretty well?
Nina: I didn’t get to know the men very well but a few of them stand out. Troy I think has a chance to go far in the game. He’s very interesting to talk to and he’s fit so I think he will do well. Jay’s a nice guy. I know he’s a big pretty boy but he’s very nice, down to earth. Suprisingly he’s almost too good looking, but a nice guy. Matt, very nice, super intelligent. I know he kind of gets a bad rap but he’s a good guy. Tarzan seemed kind of weird to me, but I would have liked to get to know them all more.
The Yak: How did you come to be on Survivor?
Nina: It was something I always wanted to do. When the show came out 12 years ago I was a new mom and I had 3 very young stepchildren so it really wasn’t in the cards. There was too much going on here and there was no way I could get that time away, nor did I want to. I wanted to focus on my family. So it seemed like the time was right. I keep myself in pretty good shape and just went through the process and kept moving forward through it. I kept getting calls back. I was as surprised as anybody. I thought wow, all these people that applied for Survivor and “Im going!”
The Yak: Would you do it again Nina?
Nina: You know, I would do it again. I would NOT do it again if it was men vs. women!
The Yak: That’s what Kourtney said!
Nina: If they said do you want to do Survivor again, men vs. women, I’d say No thank you! It’s just, maybe if it was 9 women 40 years or older I’d say let’s go for it! (laughs), but yes in a normal Survivor setting I’d do it again Heck yeah!!
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So what do you think? Disappointed that Nina was voted off the Island? Leave us a comment below!