Survivor 50's Chrissy Hofbeck Reveals Biggest Lesson Learned Her First Time Out — 'This Time I'm Gonna Win'

The following interview was conducted on location in Fiji before filming began for "Survivor 50."

Chrissy Hofbeck is ready for action. After coming in second place in "Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers" thanks to a highly controversial twist, she's back nine years later for her second shot at glory. The difference this time? The nerves has settled, lessons have been learned, and she's ready to snag the crown that was rightfully hers. (I even told Jeff Probst as much last year before casting was set in stone.)

"I went into my first season with this tremendous amount of fear and now I am coming out here with a tremendous amount of gratitude," Chrissy tells TVLine. "I'm feeling so good." 

Below, the robbed queen Chrissy speaks on the one huge lesson she learned in Season 35, her feelings about the game's pesky fire-making challenge (my words), and who she might want to align with in Season 50.

TVLINE | So, the game's starting soon. How does it feel to be back in the sand?
CHRISSY HOFBECK | I am feeling so good. I went into my first season with this tremendous amount of fear and now I am coming out here with a tremendous amount of gratitude. I am grateful to be here. I am grateful for everything that "Survivor" is and the joy that it's brought to me and my family for so many years. I can't believe I'm here, and I can't believe I'm playing with some of the most iconic people in 49 seasons. This is insane. This whole thing is insane. So now I'm taking a minute and I'm actually looking around and enjoying how... like, look at this, how gorgeous this is! [Gestures to the ocean] Did I see how gorgeous it was last time I played? Probably not. I was probably too busy throwing up. Now, I'm feeling really good. I can't feel too good though, right? Because the moment you get complacent is the moment you get voted out.

TVLINE | Who are you most excited to see out here?
I'm most excited to see me out here, but who I'm excited to see out here with me in the cast? Angelina, for sure, Genevieve. They look like people I'd love to play with.

TVLINE | There are some true OG players and legends out here too. Looking forward to chatting with any of them?
I would love to pick the brains of the old school people and just learn about their experience. I'm very excited for the old school legends, but I don't have celebrity in my brain. I do think that we're all just normal people who play the best game ever. Jenna, I want to sit down with her, honestly, and talk to her for like a bazillion hours about her experience on Borneo. Like, what was it like? What was the filming like? How did you even get on the cast? I think she maybe is one of the people who's had the longest gap since being here. So I'm curious also like, what's different for her when she comes back and sees this? How does she feel about it? So she's the one person from original "Survivor", Season 1, who I think I'm really the most excited about. I actually would love to make a deep run with her. So, can nobody please vote off Jenna until I have time to sit down with her for a million hours?

TVLINE | Who needs to be the first boot?
My boot list would be winners. Now, see that's a little bit of a double-edged sword because the winners seem to be very strong, and in the early days, you need strength on your tribes, so you're not going to Tribal Council. But otherwise, winners, 49, 48, 47, 46, in that order. But, but, but... I would like some survivors, please. I like Kamilla. She looks like a really awesome person to play with. 

TVLINE | Do the new era players have an advantage in Season 50?
I think that anyone who played "35" and beyond, like me, has an advantage over old school because we've played on these beaches before. So that's the first thing. We're very comfortable with the beaches, comfortable where to roam, comfortable where things are hidden. I think that's a huge advantage. Do they have an advantage with the speed of the game? Yes, I think new era has an advantage with the speed of the game. They are probably more used to playing in the cracks, talking quickly in the cracks, whereas we had more downtime, but I think that the new era players will underestimate the endurance of us oldies. We look old, and we are, but we endure. I think we're tough.

TVLINE | You played a very solid game last time out, but is there anything you want to do differently this time?
So when I played my first game, I'm gonna tell you that I started playing... look, I'm an actuary, so I think many steps ahead, all the possibilities of things that could happen, and I was thinking, "What if this happens? What if it's a double Tribal? What if we have to vote two people out?" And Ben [Driebergen] came to me and said, "Chrissy, everybody thinks you're paranoid. Stop doing that." And I did. So, I never anticipated, for example, that there might be some crazy curveball thrown in the game like Final 4 fire-making. I should have probably thought, "What if Ben squeaks through? Maybe we need to get him out sooner." The lesson that I learned is you do not save people to vote out later. If you need them out, you get them out. So that is what I plan to do this season. Also, I plan to win this season.

TVLINE | You know I have to ask you about the fan vote! Did you vote and what did you vote for?
I voted in the fan vote and for fire-making, of course I voted no fire-making, right? But I have no idea what's going to win. And what I love about this game is none of us are going to know until we get to the Final 4, right? So the things that I hope win, honestly I would actually be OK if fire-making wins. The one thing that I really do hope wins is very limited advantages. So these things like the idols and you flip a coin and you draw a box... I don't like games of chance. I like the strategy of this game. That's what drew me to it in the first place, so I hope that all of that gets really minimized. Of course, I also want to have our live finale back. I don't really care about rice/no rice. I can make do [either] way. The colors are fine. The immunity necklace is fine. Whether there are idols, I actually voted "yes" for idols because I do like immunity idols, but again, it's gonna be very interesting. We'll be looking. Are they out there? I don't know. If someone finds something, they could hide it and we could think there's no idol, so it's a brilliant, brilliant idea, I think.

TVLINE | Have you kept up with the new era?
I have seen every season of "Survivor" in real time. Well, there might have been a few that, in the middle, like the 20s maybe, I was taking care of kids or something, but, yes, after my season I continue to watch "Survivor." I have seen every season and every episode of every season, so, yep, I am totally up with the new era and know what's happening.

TVLINE | Any new era hot take you'd like to share?
First of all, the 26 days actually doesn't really bother me. It's a fast game and I get that. It's kind of fun actually, and from a viewer watching TV, you can't tell at all. But I do not care for the journeys at all. I think they're boring to watch and I don't like the luck aspect of them, but overall, still the greatest show on television. So new era, new school, old school, it's all good "Survivor."

TVLINE | What are the hardest parts about living in the elements for you?
Honestly, the food situation doesn't bother me that much, but I'm a small person. I think the lack of food bothers bigger people much more than me, so frankly no rice would probably benefit my game because I don't really care. The hardest part of surviving this game is truly loneliness. It's the lack of ever having a person that you can truly trust. Even if you find your ride-or-die, you still don't know if they're gonna cut you at some point and so there really is a feeling of loneliness.

TVLINE | You're a Survivor in this game, but also a cancer survivor. Did that at all influence your decision to come back?
I always wanted to come back and play "Survivor," and I knew I would do that no matter the cost. So two years ago I was diagnosed with the BRCA gene. Eight weeks after I got my diagnosis, I was laying on the table having my breasts, ovaries, and fallopian tubes removed. That was joyous. But what I learned through that is I'm tough and I'm brave and I can do big things, and it was OK. So I knew that I wanted to be back out here. There was no part of me that said I can't still do it. I can still do it and I just know to trust my gut and I think I just have a little more confidence coming out.

TVLINE | You're all currently on lockdown and you can't speak yet, but what are the pre-game vibes like?
OK, so vibes only — honestly, nobody's talking at all — but I get really good vibes from Coach, for sure. He seems awesome. I know he seems a little insane when he plays the game and maybe he is, I don't know, but awesome vibes from him. Awesome vibes from Emily Flippen, who I was surprised about, but I'm really digging her in this game. Genevieve, Angelina... oh, Rick Devens! He seems like just a really good person.

TVLINE | Who from your original cast do you keep in touch with?
Trading texts now and then: Ben, Ashley [Nolan], Doctor Mike [Zahalsky]. I would say those would be the three. But I probably text with Ashley the most, no, maybe Ben. I don't know. I was trying to get a reunion in Florida. I just moved to Florida and I was trying to get them all to get together in Florida. Hasn't happened yet, but it's going to. I want to go to Ashley's surf school. Shout out for Ashley's surf school!

TVLINE | Was there anyone you thought would be out here but isn't?
Honestly, Devon [Pinto], from my season. I hope, I assume that he was asked. He has a new family. I think he has a new baby, so I'm assuming maybe it just wasn't right for him. But I was fully expecting to see Devon out here and I was a little bummed when I didn't see his beautiful face, but I understand why, if that's the case. He's got a gorgeous family.

TVLINE | About that, you're the only person here representing "Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers." Is that an advantage or a disadvantage, and why?
Interestingly, looking around there are only three of us who have never played with someone else in the game, right? It's me, Genevieve, and Jonathan, and I actually think it's an advantage to us because we don't have old game dynamics or hurts happening, and we also are not put in an automatic alliance with someone. So when you think [about] the three people from "48." Everybody thinks they're automatically gonna be together, right? Are they? I don't know, but if I gotta get rid of a "48" person, maybe they're somewhat interchangeable. Genevieve, Jonathan, and I? We're not interchangeable, so I personally view that as an advantage. So I guess having Devon here would have been a dis... "That is not an advantage," in Devon's words.

TVLINE | Is there any aspect of this game or being in Fiji that you're not looking forward to? Any trepidations you're feeling?
What am I afraid of in this game? That's so interesting because I feel like I've come out this time being so excited about the game. Certainly, the worst part of playing is the nighttime. The nighttime is really long. Honestly, I just don't want to get taken out with a game of chance. That's my biggest fear. I don't know that I would ever agree to go to rocks ever. I hope I'm not taken out by a game of chance. I don't want to get hurt, right? Nobody wants to get hurt. Or medically evacuated.

TVLINE | If this is the last time that you're out here, how do you want your legacy to be remembered?
I think I want my legacy to be someone who just never gave up. I just clawed my way to the end. I don't think that anybody ever has totally smooth sailing. I certainly did not on my first season and I'm not expecting to have that this season at all, because there are 23 other brilliant people out here, but, heck, I'm gonna claw my way to the end. This time I'm gonna win though.