The North Carolina native reveals she didn't even think about going after her idol in the fire.
Fans weren't the only ones shaking their heads at Lauren Rimmer for being eliminated on Wednesday's episode of Survivor with (half) an idol and an advantage in her pocket.
"[My sister has] cussed me out two or three times," Lauren told ET over the phone on Thursday. "She's called me a dummy and a few other things."
The North Carolina native's sister, Sunny, had been her No. 1 supporter throughout the game, and even dragged her to the open casting call that led to her joining the game. While Sunny didn't make the cut, Lauren promised that she would "share every minute that I could with her, and that I would do my best to get her to the family visit." Lauren made good on that promise, and Sunny was flown out to Fiji to reunite with her sister just in time for her torch to be snuffed.
In a chaotic tribal council, Mike threw half of the idol that Lauren had given him in good faith into the fire -- leaving her vulnerable against her former ally, Ben, who whipped out an idol to save himself.
"I was really just lost for words," she explained. "I would have never guessed in a million years that Mike would have done that. And I've asked him, like, 'Why did you do that?' He's like, 'I don't know. I just wanted to. I always wanted to.'"
"When I gave it to him, I was trying to keep him close. I wanted him to feel like he was included, and I was trying to secure that vote, along with Ashley and Devon, and obviously he had better plans for it," she continued, adding that it "never crossed my mind" to try to salvage the idol in the fire. "But who's to say if Jeff would have even let me play it?... But it would have been worth a try if it had crossed my mind."
Her extra vote advantage, however, was safely in her pocket, but after telling the entire tribe that she left it back at camp, Lauren thought it would be best not to use it. "Nobody knew that Ben had an idol. I was trying really hard not to use it until I had to... and I was almost trying to reassure Chrissy, like, 'Stop, we can pull this together,'" she said.
So, Lauren and her advantages were sent packing -- though she doesn't blame them for putting a target on her back.
"I think I went too soon gunning for Ben. We had a lot of trust between us, but at the same time, I knew in my mind, Ben's not someone that I can sit beside in the 1, 2, 3 seat, and I'm assuming he thought the same," she shared. "I think I would have been fine if it wasn't for Ben. I think I at least would have made it another night, because Devon, myself and Ashley, we were working really well together."
Lauren, who is still rooting for Ben to win alongside her tried and true allies, Devon and Ashley, is already planning her trip back to the island, with her sister, Sunny, of course.
"It would be quite comical," she said of her and Sunny returning for a season of Blood vs. Water. "You know, as soon as we get off the plane, she'll probably be like, 'OK, bye b**ch. I'm gone.' I can see her doing that, you know? I'd be like, 'Hey, we're supposed to play together for just a little while.'"
Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
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