Well, Tai Trang certainly had an eventful Survivor: Game Changers finale. In the span of two hours we watched Tai tell Brad he had two idols, then backtrack when Brad went into idol bulldozer mode, then play one of his idols for Aubry, then vote Aubry out the very next day, then try to persuade Sarah to force a Troyzan tiebreaker, then get voted out, then finally have to get into it with Brad all over again at the final Tribal Council. Like I said, eventful.
So there was a lot to talk about with Tai, and talk we did when the fourth-place finisher called into EW Morning Live (Entertainment Weekly Radio, SiriusXM, channel 105), and you can now hear the full interview right here on the EW Morning Live podcast. Below are a few highlights from our chat. <iframe width="100%" height="460" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F324446789&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&color=ff5500" class="" allowfullscreen="" resize="0" replace_attributes="1" name=""></iframe>
Listen to the entire interview with Tai — as well as our chats with Sarah, Brad, Aubry, and Cirie — above. Or subscribe on iTunes to listen on the go. Also make sure to check out our full Survivor finale recap as well as intel on next season from Jeff Probst. And for more EW Morning Live podcast news, follow us on Twitter @EWMLPodcast.
On how soon after he regretted telling Brad about his two idols:
"You know, it was just a weird situation. I just feel like, my God, I need to do something, I need to do something. I need to tell someone. There's just things that happened during the game that I feel like I betrayed him. He had a way of making me feel that way. It was a bad move."
RELATED: Tai Trang Reveals Why He Kept His Idols All Season on Survivor
On if he would have voted for Brad to win had Brad not come after him in those last few days:
"If none of that happened, I'm probably still gonna vote for Sarah. I don't know, actually. Because I was working with Sarah from day one, and also talked to Brad from day one, also. But after my alliance betrayed me, I think that was a breaking point for me. I probably would still vote for Sarah, 'cause I really like her, I was working with her from day one."
On his relationship with Brad outside of the game:
"You know, things happen during the game. It's really difficult. I think we're all under stress. Brad's a wonderful guy. We have a lot of things in common. After the game, where everything's done on the plane, we were talking, and things happen in the game, we are under stress — I didn't take anything personally. But watching it was really difficult. It was very difficult to watch with Brad. I was sitting next to him in the Green Room watching. We're fine, you know, it's great. I mean, we're friends. I really like him, and I think we'll be friends for life.
"Really, I didn't take things personally but watching it was difficult. I mean, I think Brad realized that's how he comes across to people. But he has a great heart. Brad's a great guy. I really like him. I don't take it well in the game. But after the game, I'm liking it. Brad's a great guy — I don't think he intends to be like that. He's not mean to me. The issue was bad, I feel terrible about it. It just happened, that terrible moment. I really like Brad, I don't think he intended to be that mean, at all. It was difficult for him to watch. We both were difficult, and I was sitting next to himthe whole time."
On what it was like to hear he would have tied Brad had he made it to the final three:
"It was nice to hear, 'cause I felt like the first time I didn't do well with the jury. The jury had a different perspective of me when I was in Kaoh Rong, but when Jeff told us that, that was a really nice gift. I really appreciated it. I did something, I feel like, well from that, from my first season, I feel I did something right. So thank you, Jeff, [laughs] for giving me a gift. Yeah, it's great and I feel really good."
On if people hold him to a different standard when it comes to lying in the game.
"It's not in my nature to be lying, deceiving at all, and when people have a perspective of me — I'm nice, people like me, I like everybody — it's really difficult. And when I start doing things they don't expect me to do, I think that they feel like I betray them a lot deeper than everybody else there. Other people, like, [are] [expected to do] that, especially in this game, but when I do it, and I'm not fully committed to doing it — to them, I betrayed them a lot deeper, because they don't expect me to [do] that, and that's not in my nature, and I don't know, it's also maybe in my size."
On why he saved Aubry with an immunity idol and then voted her out the very next day:
"Well, at that moment with giving Aubry [an immunity idol], I tried to do something. At that time Sarah was mad at me, Brad and Troyzan was completely mad, and I felt like now to do something. And Aubry is my friend. I played with her two seasons, and I was really weary about working with Aubry the whole time, but she's a great friend. And I wasn't trusting her completely, but in that moment, I did that, and then Sarah and I talked about it after the fact, and then after Cirie went home. Sarah and I talked about going to the final two together from day one. And I think we have a better chance of winning against Troyzan than against Aubry, and, yeah, that's what happened. I wanted be able to go into the game and be flexible, honestly, what works best. But Sarah and I, we both decided Aubry should go home. It seems confusing — yeah."
