05:38 PM CST on Monday, December 1, 2003

Reporter: Anne Steffens, News 4

Discuss "Survivor: Pearl Islands" on our forum.

(KMOV) -- Tijuana Bradley lasted 30 days on the Pearl Islands before the Tribal Council voted her off. She grew up in Webster Groves, and is currently living in Creve Coeur working as a pharmaceutical sales representative.

She spoke with Anne Steffens about her experience.

WHY DID YOU APPLY FOR "SURVIVOR"?

KMOV Tijuana Bradley

"First of all, I am a big adventure-seeker. I love anything outdoors. That's just my passion. On top of....my mother passing away. That was truly, mentally, one of the toughest things I've ever done. And I've always said to myself, since going through that, if there's anything that I want to do in my life, and put my mind to it, I know I can do it, because that truly was the testament for will power and wanting to move on, despite losing my biggest fan."

HOW WERE THE CONDITIONS?

"It was truly tough. First of all, our tribe...we just were not being able to catch like, fish. We're eating oysters periodically, and mussels periodically, and beans and rice, like a cup or two of beans and rice a day. So we were definitely suffering when it comes to food."

"As far as the shelter, oh! The weather at night was so horrendous. It would rain at night and it would be so cold, and when you only have the clothes on your back, and you're trying to sleep on these wooden slats, it was horrible!"

"Coupled with the fact that you have all of the different things, dynamics to the game. Is this person talking about me? Are they going to vote me out next? What's the challenge for the next day? There's just so many different things that go on that I don't think people realize."

CBS Tijuana Bradley, 27, is from St. Louis and a SLU graduate.

"Psychologically -- all of the different stresses, from different strangers that you're living with on a day-to-day basis, to figuring out whether they're going to vote you out. Then you think about people at home, your friends and family."

"On top of.. there's no toilet paper out there. I had to use leaves instead of toilet paper and that can definitely do something to you body. There's no showers. There's no soap. There's no toothbrush. We'd actually brush our teeth with sticks, so it was pretty intense."

HOW MUCH WEIGHT DID YOU LOSE?

"I lost about ten pounds, ten pounds."

YOUR TRIBEMATE, JON, LIED TO EVERYONE ABOUT HIS GRANDMOTHER DYING TO GAIN SYMPATHY FROM THE TRIBE AND COERCE A VISIT FROM A LOVED ONE. WHEN DID YOU FIND OUT HE WAS LYING?

9:56:40

"Jon. (laughs) Jon, Jon, Jon. I found out once I came home, and I heard some of the things Jeff Probst (the host) was saying about a big lie coming up in the season. And I kind of thought it could potentially be John, but I definitely got confirmation when it came time for Wednesday's show."

"Prior to the challenge, Jon had prepped us and I remember it specifically because I remember him saying 'You know, I want nothing more to at least see my grandma. And if she's not there and it's my friend, I know that she died'. So I'm thinking this in the back of my mind. We're all thinking, oh my gosh. Will we see his grandmother or his friend? When we saw his friend, we thought, oh no! His grandma died."

"I had my doubts just because he never said during the challenge, 'My grandmother died'. He said, 'She's no longer with us'. And I actually asked him after the challenge, 'Did your grandmother actually die?' I don't think I used those words because I wanted to be kind of sympathetic. But he did tell me yes. So I had a little doubt, but it went away."

WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT HE DID?

"I was blown away, because I personally had sympathy for him and I wanted him to be able to talk to his friend and actually support him. I was just really upset."

"I put my own family member, someone that's very close to me, aside for his benefit. And it's very frustrating that it was a big lie."

"It would have been interesting to see if he had told the lie and we would have found out while we were still on the island. He would not be alive today."

ARE YOU REALLY ANGRY, OR DO YOU GIVE HIM CREDIT FOR "OUTWITTING, OUTLASTING, AND OUTPLAYING"?

"No, I'm really ticked off just because it kind of borders the line between morals and ethics. But I think in the beginning of the game, he even said that doesn't matter to him. If he played the game to the way he said that he would, then I have to respect that. I mean, he's still there and I'm not, so what can I say?"

WHAT ABOUT SANDRA DUMPING OUT ALL THE FISH?

"I was so mad at that! We were truly starving throughout the course of the day. We had had some different things going on, like our challenge. It was a very stressful day, so to come back and to have our fish gone, we were all pissed off."

"I didn't know if it was Christa or Sandra. I couldn't figure it out. I found out truly on television that it was Sandra."

DO YOU THINK THE SHOW ACCURATELY PORTRAYED YOU?

"I think so. Obviously, what you see out there is what I did. There are obviously things that are missing. There are 72 hours cut down in an hour. There are certain things about my personality that wasn't shown, but they can only fit in so much, and their goal isn't to just make it the Tijuana Bradley show."

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY?

"Yes. I told myself at the beginning of the game that I would have open lines of communication and really get to understand each person's goal out there and align with whatever's going on. And I should not have had open lines of communication with Jon. That's it. That's the moral of the story. It totally nipped me in the bud."

"He went and told Christa and Sandra some lies. And if anything, I should have stuck with my goal in the game -- open lines of communication -- by at least talking to Sandra and Christa and saying 'Hey, what did Jon say to you? What did he say?' And then, from there, we would have understood it was a big lie."

"I did it in the beginning of the game with Nicole. When she tried to get me out the first time around, I put out the open lines of communication and made it a broadcast for the whole tribe."

KMOV Tijuana Bradley

WHO DID YOU LIKE ON THE ISLAND?

"I adored Savage, Andrew Savage. He's like a big brother to me. I adore him with all my heart."

"Rupert's an awesome guy, inside and out. Not only that, but he played the game well. I was sad to see him go, when I was watching the show myself. Although I knew, it was still frustrating. Of course, I voted for him (to leave the island). The reason I voted for him is out of respect. It's because if it were me and him in a challenge, he's kick my butt in a heartbeat. So he had to go. Rupert's a great guy and he's the ultimate survivor."

WHO DIDN'T YOU LIKE ON THE ISLAND?

"Initially, I wasn't fond of Jon or Sandra, but the more I got to know them...Jon's not as bad as he seems. Sandra, I respect her for the game. She's really playing the game very hard and I respect that."

DID YOU HAVE AN EYE FOR OSTEN?

"No, I did not have an eye for Osten. He's a good guy. We have a lot of differences. We have a lot of similarities. All in all, he's a good friend."

"PLAYBOY" HAS OFFERED OTHER FEMALE "SURVIVORS" MONEY TO POSE NUDE. HAVE YOU HEARD FROM THEM?

"No, nothing from 'Playboy' yet. (laughs) I wouldn't say yes or no at this time. Any opportunities that were to present itself, I would look through it thoroughly and see if it's something I'm interested in or not."

WHAT'S NEXT FOR YOU?

"Right now, I'm in pharmaceutical sales. I would love to pursue a career, which I was doing before in college. My major was broadcast journalism. Something in television, either entertainment reporting and/or even acting. We'll see. But as a result right now, I'm back in pharmaceutical sales and I enjoy that."