Survivor, Big Brother stars spill Snake in the Grass secrets | EW.com

2022-09-10 06:04:50 By : Mr. Dean Lin

Warning: This article and video contains spoilers on the most recent episode of Snake in the Grass.

Contestants of Survivor and Big Brother are constantly trying to figure out who is lying and who is telling the truth. And the deceit was ratcheted up to a whole other level when Cirie Fields and Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick of Survivor fame as well as Big Brother legends Rachel Reilly, and Janelle Pierzina were dropped off in the jungles of Costa Rica for USA's Snake in the Grass, with $100,000 at stake.

The twist was that one of them was the Snake — secretly sabotaging the others so they did not receive clues as to her identity. If the three non-Snakes could identify the culprit, they would split $100,000. If the Snake could pull of the ruse, she would walk away with the entire loot.

While some early suspicion focused on Rachel, Stephenie may have actually inadvertently self-sabotaged when she attempted to bury a clue she found back at camp… and was semi-caught by Rachel, who stumbled upon the aftermath of Stephenie's actions. That, coupled with Rachel's strong performance in the next challenge (one in which Stephenie literally flipped the boat to throw all the women in the water), put all eyes on the former Survivor runner-up. Indeed, all three women were unanimous with their pick of Stephenie as the Snake, and shared in the prize money as a result.

We reunited all four women to relive all the madness and spill secrets on what we did not see. When and how did Stephenie learn she was the Snake? Why was Cirie on to her immediately? How long did Rachel actually spend scouring the swamp for the buried clue? Who got sick? Who got injured? And how will Stephenie's kids feel about her promising she was not the Snake "on my children"? Watch the entire reunion in the video above, or read some of the highlights of the conversation below.

STEPHENIE LaGROSSA KENDRICK: I think it was probably 24 hours before filming began. They called my room at the hotel and they're like, "Hey, can we meet? We have a car, we want to have a meeting with you." They drive me for an hour at eight o'clock at night to this remote hotel by some airport somewhere. So, I'm sitting in this cleaning closet with cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, toilet paper. And these three guys come in and they sit down and they're like, "We're going to tell you the game right now."

CIRIE FIELDS: Sounds like a mafia hit

STEPHENIE LaGROSSA KENDRICK: I was blindfolded for a little bit of it and I'm like, "What do you mean you're going to tell me the game," because I think I'm there for a scavenger hunt. And they're like, "So, it's called Snake in the Grass, and four of you are going to compete in challenges but one of you is the Snake. One of you is going to try to blow the challenges and you're against the team and we want you to be the Snake." I'm like, "Okay. What if I don't want to be the Snake?" They're like, "You have to be the Snake, we just told you the game." I'm like, "No, no, no, I don't want to be the Snake, I don't want to be the Snake."

And they're like, "Well, you have to be and we chose you." I'm like, "I'm a terrible liar. I can't be the Snake, this is not going to work out." So, from that moment on, I was a disaster. A complete and total disaster. I couldn't even get comfortable in my own skin. I was doing all this weird s---. I had 24 hours to get my act together and really try to be cool and be like, "No, I'm not the snake." I couldn't handle it.

JANELLE PIERZINA: I know Rachel. She and I were not on the same team when we played Amazing Race but I spent a lot of time with Rachel living in sequester houses or being quarantined together. I know her really well, and she was acting so weird. She was asking me where I lived and asking me questions that she already knew about me. I was like, "Oh, she's playing too hard because something's not right here. Why would she ask that?" I was probably overthinking it.

RACHEL REILLY: I was asking that question because I thought that we didn't want them to think that Janelle and I had a thing together and it was Big Brother versus Survivor. We had no idea what we were getting into. We're still trying to figure out the game as we're playing. And I was like, "I don't want them to think Janelle and I have this thing going on, so I want them to know that we know each other but we are not best friends." So, I was like, "Where are you from? What do you do?" Janelle was like, "You are being so weird."

JANELLE PIERZINA: I was like, "You know exactly where I live."

CIRIE FIELDS: I was locked on Stephenie from the second Bobby told us what the game was because I looked over and it was almost like a bait and switch. I'm like "Oh, a familiar face." And he is like, "One of them is the Snake." I'm like, "Damn!" And I look over at Stephenie and she had the weirdest look on her face. And I'm like, "Oh, shucks, it's Stephenie." Instantly.

STEPHENIE LaGROSSA KENDRICK: And I knew Cirie was onto me the whole time, so then I was trying not to be too obvious.

RACHEL REILLY: I thought it was so weird because I see her running backwards. She looked so happy, so proud of her herself. It's like the look that [your kids] have when they are so proud of themselves and they think they've covered something up. It was that look, and I was like, "She did something." And I swear I had heard a splash or something, but then you're in your head, you're like, "Well, maybe I didn't hear a splash, maybe I did."

So, I wasn't 100% sure on the splash, but I knew that look and I knew the look because I have two kids. And once I saw the look, I told the girls that. I was like, "Something happened. Stephenie found something or did something."

RACHEL REILLY: The whole time, I was convinced Stephenie buried the clue or threw it in there. I didn't know what I was looking for, I didn't know there was a box. I would literally have slept in the swamp looking all night long. I was not going to leave the swamp.

STEPHENIE LaGROSSA KENDRICK: I mean, Rachel was onto it. And everybody else had given up. And I was so afraid that the clue I found and ripped up and box I threw was going to come floating up. I'm like, "How much more time until the next challenge?"

RACHEL REILLY: I think I was in there until the sun had set almost completely because Cirie and Janelle were like, "You're going to get attacked by a snake. What are you doing?"

JANELLE PIERZINA: She's freaking out, and I'm like, "Is she going to come out? I don't think so." Stuff was getting in her boots and in her pants and it was a mess.

RACHEL REILLY: Literally, I had those snake boots on, so I thought I was unstoppable. I was going to camp in the water.

CIRIE FIELDS: Oh, my God. We were in the lap of luxury. Are you kidding me? We had nets, we had a little kitchen area.We had a sleeping bag. What? I could have stayed out there for a month, Dalton.

JANELLE PIERZINA: After doing this show with Cirie and Stephenie, I realized that I will never have any days doing Survivor because they basically told me, "You can't make it. You're so bad at this." And I was like, "This is so hard." They're like, "No, this is wonderful actually."

CIRIE FIELDS: Dalton, she had lip gloss.

STEPHENIE LaGROSSA KENDRICK: They look beautiful! These two come out, they look gorgeous. Rachel's got the eyelashes, Janelle looks beautiful, her lips are on. Me and Cirie come like we're ready for Survivor. We don't have lip stuff on, my hair's curly. We're like, "Who are these two?"

RACHEL REILLY: I remember Janelle was freaking out over that green caterpillar. Do you remember that? That was one of my favorite moments.

JANELLE PIERZINA: Any bug. They were gross and they're crawling on me at night. I didn't even sleep maybe more than 40 minutes.

STEPHENIE LaGROSSA KENDRICK: I didn't sleep at all. I was like, "That clue's going to float up in the morning. It's going to be sitting right next to our bed. I'm going to die."

CIRIE FIELDS: I think the most important thing though, is Rachel's nightwear. She came with a whole mosquito net bodysuit. We were like, "Wait a minute, what?" And completely covered. I'd never even seen anything like that, but Rachel is the bodysuit queen. Why would I not expect her to have one made of mosquito net? She's a genius.

JANELLE PIERZINA: I have an injury that I can't get rid of. I have a huge scar on my arm from that giant slingshot. I'm sure you guys remember it. My skin came right off my body. Now I have this brown huge scar. It looks terrible. So, I have a battle wound.

STEPHENIE LaGROSSA KENDRICK: I was so stressed out. I actually dehydrated myself and got a migraine and lost vision. So, I literally couldn't see and I was like, "Do I say anything, do I not say anything?" And I wanted to buy a little time too, but it was real. So they took my blood pressure, it was through the roof. Medical came out and they legit were like, "We're not starting this challenge until your blood pressure goes down. Everybody's going to drink something, everybody's going to hydrate." Actually, I told Cirie at first because she's a nurse and I'm like, "Cirie, I can't see. I think I'm having a migraine."

JANELLE PIERZINA: At that point, we were like, "She's just lying."

CIRIE FIELDS: Exactly, exactly! She's the Snake! I know she's the Snake and now she's telling me!

JANELLE PIERZINA: She didn't want us to do the challenge because she didn't want us to get a clue.

CIRIE FIELDS: I felt like a horrible, horrible nurse friend. Stephenie, I'm sorry.

JANELLE PIERZINA: No, I didn't.

CIRIE FIELDS: I did, because I tried to hold onto her. Me and Stephenie were having our own separate situation while those two were trying to get the key and all of that. Because I knew Stephenie was the Snake and Stephenie kept saying, "Well, let me get..." And I was like, "No, no, no, sit down, sit down!"

JANELLE PIERZINA: Cirie was babysitting her.

CIRIE FIELDS: I think at one point I grabbed her and said, "No, no, stay right here."

STEPHENIE LaGROSSA KENDRICK: Okay but I put your life vest on you. That was all me. I'm like, "Cirie, you've got to get your life vest on. Let me help you with your life vest."

JANELLE PIERZINA: I had no idea because I was focused on getting Rachel back in the boat. So, I was like, "You guys lean forward because I'm going to pull back. You guys lean forward while I pull her in." And everyone's like, "Okay. Janelle." And so, I was grabbing onto Rachel for dear life, and I go, "One, two, three," and I pulled her up and the whole boat was on top of us.

CIRIE FIELDS: Yeah. Thanks, Steph.

STEPHENIE LaGROSSA KENDRICK: Cirie, you were under the boat, I pulled you out.

JANELLE PIERZINA: She was literally under the boat. Cirie was under the boat. We were screaming, "Cirie!" because we know that she can't swim.

CIRIE FIELDS: I don't remember any of that. All I remember is the boat flipping and then being on top of the water.

JANELLE PIERZINA: I remember Cirie's face, her eyes, and she's like, "Give me the key!" And she was almost drowning. So, then we were fighting over the key and Steph was like, "No, give me the key," and it was just a big freaking mess.

STEPHENIE LaGROSSA KENDRICK: They would not give me the key. I was so mad, and then I was going to wrestle Rachel for the key, but I'm like, "That's going to be really obvious."

RACHEL REILLY: I was not giving up that key. I don't know what I would've done, but I would've never given up that key. I knew at that point. And I thought they were all still thinking I was the Snake, so this was also my big redemption moment. I was like, "If I don't make it to the beach, then they're going to think I'm the Snake."

RACHEL REILLY: I was literally like, "Oh, my God, I am literally wearing a life vest but I'm not a floater this time."

STEPHENIE LaGROSSA KENDRICK: I was like, "Don't give her a life vest. Why are you giving her a life vest?" I was so mad. I was yelling at the camera people. I was like, "Who gives them a life vest?" In Survivor, we don't get a life vest.

RACHEL REILLY: The current was really intense. The current was really strong and there were jellyfish. We all got stung by jellyfish. We didn't have an anchor for our boat. So by the time I got the key, when I was swimming back to the boat, the boat had drifted off so it was further away from the beach. It was just a mess. The whole thing.

STEPHENIE LaGROSSA KENDRICK: I was like, "There's no way it's going to make it back in time. No way."

JANELLE PIERZINA: Once Rachel went for the key and dove down and got it, then I trusted her because I was like, "She has the key." If she was the Snake, she would've thrown the key away and said, "Oh, I dropped it, guys." So, then I was like, "Okay, Rachel's not the Snake, obviously." So, I was focused on Stephenie. I was like, "Stephenie's the snake."

RACHEL REILLY: 100%. I knew I wasn't the Snake. And by that time, I had dropped all suspicions of Cirie. After the whole boat thing, I was like, "It's 100% Stephenie," because I had suspicions that we didn't tip the boat because when Janelle pulled me in, I didn't feel like I would've tipped it. So, if Janelle and I didn't tip the boat, it had to be Stephenie or Cirie. And I was like, "I know Cirie's not going to tip the boat," so I started thinking, "There's foul play going on."

STEPHENIE LaGROSSA KENDRICK: I had my fingers crossed on that one. Listen, I told my kids, I said, "I don't know what's going to happen. Mommy might have to lie, but I'm going to say a prayer. I'm going to cross my fingers and do everything I can." I mean, I was dead in the water. I'm not a good liar. I've never been.

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