We saw how close you and Sarah became in Survivor: Winners at War. But you did not see eye-to-eye by the end of the season, especially when it came to alliances. In my interview with Sarah, she said that if you weren’t there, she would have played a very different game. What do you make of that?Ben: The thing is, is you go in there with these past connections. And we saw how much these past connections actually hinders people’s movement in the game. From Big Brother strong to Love Island strong. With Cinco and Cash, and then Kyra and Cashel. All these different backgrounds actually ended up hurting you in the game. And Sarah and I, whether we admit it or not, identified that at some point that we weren’t going to be able to continue in this game if we kept being with each other. So that’s where the distance started to come from. We had to play our own game. We couldn’t play a partner game, because that’s just too much of a threat and you’re relying on someone else, and you can only rely on yourself in the end. You have a chance to go down there into elimination and prove yourself, and Enzo did it three different times. So under the pressure, it just became an individual game separate from the alliances you build throughout the game.By comparison, Enzo, we didn’t see a lot of the Big Brother dynamics. We know that you and David became close on the season. And you certainly weren’t happy with Angela sending David in against you. What was your relationship like with all of them?Enzo: I was really close with Alyssa right from the bat, because I know she was a fan of mine from what I’ve seen on Big Brother. So I was like, “Alright, I think I have her.” But I did worry a little because I was like, “Yo, they all played together on season 23. Are they going to stick together? What’s going on with that there?” So I’m on the outs of that. With Dave I was a little bit on the outs too, because I voted him out on BB All-Stars. And then we built a really great relationship. With Angela, I could tell she’s an ice queen. I could tell the vibe wasn’t there. Plus, I played on All-Stars with her boyfriend in Tyler. I love Tyler, but it became me and Cody against Tyle. So I think she probably remembered that too. So whenever she had a chance, I think she was going to take it, and she did at the end. I just hated it. I would’ve went up against anyone else. I didn’t care. I just didn’t want it to be Dave. But I understand the move. It is what it is, and if Dave would have won, I would have shook. But yeah, I was tight with a lot of BB people. I liked Xavier a lot too; he went too soon. But like I said, they had their thing, and they were going after each other but cannibalizing each other. So I was like, “I’m staying out of this one.“Ben, you always seem to go on a journey in every season that you participate on. What was your journey this season?Ben: I absolutely loved it! It was a great experience. I got to knock Argentina off the old bucket list, anging off the side of a truck like Spider-Man. I got to meet some pretty cool people and get to know them. It was a great experience.We saw a number of times other contestants regard you as a lesser competitor. But time and time again, you were able to prove them wrong in eliminations. How do you look back on what you were able to show about yourself?Enzo: In these type of shows, you can’t show weakness. I showed weakness on the rope challenge there when I didn’t do the jump. So right then and there, the girls don’t want to be partenered me because I just showed weakness. They’re seeing, “He’s scared to do this. He’s scared of the water stuff.” So that was a burden for me as I went on. But my scrappiness helped me when I went into eliminations. I did what I had to do. Like I said, I felt more comfortable in the eliminations. It’s kind of weird and twisted but it felt awesome to be there. I used every ounce of my ability, and it got me to the finals, and I’m proud of that. I hate the way it ended. But I’m a human being; I’ve got flaws and I’ve got to work on some things. But I’ve apologized to Desi. I’ve apologized to people out there who thought I had a chance. And I thought so too. But just at the end, I fell flat, man.Next, read our interview with Desi Williams and Alyssa Lopez, who were also eliminated in the finale of The Challenge: USA.
