There are some players on Survivor—or any reality competition show, really—that you immediately want to root for. And for many fans of Survivor, Carolyn Wiger is one of those players. She came out the gate immediately showing us her authentic personality and never faltering for a second with expressing herself in a way that properly represented her true human nature. It was so refreshing to see that level of genuine personality at the beginning of a new era of Survivor that fans were still hesitant about.
Then we were lucky enough to see her on our screens again, this time on The Traitors as a literal “Traitor.” While we were excited to watch her be a little more devious in her new role, she blended into the “Faithfuls” so effortlessly due to her effervescent sociable nature. In the end, it only made us love her more as she stayed her true, unapologetic self while playing a very strategically deceptive game.
And now, Carolyn is taking on season 4 of Cozy Earth’s Bed Rot Challenge—the biggest season yet premiering on YouTube and TikTok this Thursday, June 11. Ahead of the premiere, she joined us for an exclusive interview where she shared an inside look at her experience on the upcoming competition. She also opened up about how Survivor and The Traitors impacted her and if we’ll ever see her on Big Brother.
You made your debut in reality competition shows on Survivor 44, but since then, you’ve also competed on The Traitors and now you’re about to take on season 4 of Cozy Earth’s Bed Rot Challenge. Tell me a little bit about the evolution of your pre-game preparation—how is it now entering a competition as a veteran versus the first time you landed on that beach in Fiji?
I still don’t consider myself a veteran of anything, truly. And with something like this, it’s like, what did I do to prepare? Take a nap? Like, what the hell do you do? And so I watched the previous seasons of [Cozy Earth’s Bed Rot Challenge] and I’m thinking like, oh ok, maybe this is something I could actually win since I’m so terrible at challenges—which I am fine with.
People will always be like, “Carolyn, you’re not that bad.” Yes, I am. And I’m okay with it. I’m not trying to be this challenge beast. I don’t care. That doesn’t fill my cup. So this was like, ok, what am I going to do? I’m going to watch the previous seasons. And then I got there and, just like any other show, that’s not what it was. There was just so much where nothing can prepare you.
And it’s just like any game. You can do all the pre-gaming you want, you can have it in your head how you want it to go and plan it all out. You don’t know until you get there. And this is totally that type of thing where even I’m like, “this is not what I signed up for. This is crazy.” So what prepared me? Nothing. Because I was not expecting this. It got crazy.
Kind of on that point, you’re a true conqueror of the “outlast” part of Survivor. You’re one of the very few people who has made it all the way to the end, so I feel like that kind of translates now to the Bed Rot Challenge—it’s literally outlast!
And that’s the thing because people would ask me “would you ever do Big Brother?” and I always say, “hell no,” because I don’t like being inside. I don’t like feeling, just, claustrophobic like that. And so I would much rather be suffering, struggling, not eating on an island versus being in a room full of people that I didn’t choose to be there with. And so this, I mean, you can pretty much touch the people right next to you in bed.
I didn’t want to go into this with, like, “I’m going to play a great social [game].” I went into it like, “let’s just see what happens.” And that’s what I did. But I feel like I really didn’t hold back. If I didn’t like you, I said it. There’s people I can’t stand, and I’m very open about that. And it’s fine. Like, we don’t click with everyone. And not everyone clicks with me. But it was way more psychotic than I had ever anticipated.
Survivor is a very physical game—you’re literally depleting your body every single day that you’re out there. And The Traitors is a very psychological, mental game. So are there any lessons that you feel you specifically learned from those two shows that applied at all here?
How real life can imitate these games. And how all of the stuff that I am working on internally, mentally, it always comes out in these games—I feel things very strongly. And as much as I want to say, “this is just a game,” they never are to me. It’s always deeper. But then I’m able to come back, collect my thoughts, and regroup.
But in that moment, you’re betraying me and I hate you. So it’s all of that, and, well, I cry a lot—it is what it is. I have no regrets. It’s like, I am who I am and I think that it’s hard to be recorded and put yourself out there and not really have a freaking filter. Not a lot of people want to do that, but I truly do it with no filter.
I don’t think before I speak, I let my tears out, I let my feelings out. And the result is questionable at times, but I’m still alive. It’s not easy to do that. There’s a reason I don’t read everything online, you know?
But speaking of that authenticity that you do have, I feel like that’s what everyone loves the most about you. And as Survivor 44 was airing, did you know watching it that people saw you as a fan favorite? Or did it take Sia awarding you $100,000 to realize the impact that you’ve had on people?
It took till the end because I wasn’t reading stuff. When the trailer came out, there was some people making fun of me like, “what’s wrong with her?” It’s not like words don’t impact me. It’s not like I have this tough skin and I don’t care what anyone thinks. I know if I were to read it, I know if I were to listen to it, it would hurt my feelings so I just choose not to.
I purposely do not go out and seek what people think of me because what’s the point? The way that I am is the way that I am and the way that I want to be. If I were to go and read all this crap I would subconsciously [think], “I better change this.” So it’s just way easier to go out, live my life, and the people who want to be with me will be with me and the ones who don’t won’t. It’s fine.
So, I did not know. It wasn’t until Cameo. Before I went and did Survivor, I remember doing this video diary and I knew people would make fun of me, this is nothing new for me. So I just did it to a broader audience. So I wasn’t shocked, but I didn’t expect people to actually like me. I thought everyone would not like me, which again, some people don’t and that’s fine.
And now going into your third public reality show, are people still coming up to you on the streets or at stores and telling you how important you are to them? Is that crazy?
No, it is. Because I just feel so regular, you know? It’s like, I’m just some random who applied for a show—that’s how I still see it. So I very much don’t think of myself [like that]. I love myself and I’m proud of myself—mainly because I’m sober and because I’m a good mom—not because of any of this s***. And that’s the truth. I mean that. I’m just a random who applied to a show. That’s how I truly see it.
Having that “authentic, this is me” attitude going into something like this—the biggest season of the Bed Rot Challenge so far, there are so many huge names competing with you—has that helped you a little bit in feeling more at ease in the competition or was it harder?
No—like, I don’t watch Love Island, I don’t watch the Mormon Wives. I obviously know who Natalie [Anderson] is, who Ben [Katzman] is—I’m good friends with Ben—so I looked at this like fun. I thought it would be some silly fun and it’s just so crazy. It’s nothing what I expected. And they always say don’t have expectations—yeah, I really shouldn’t have. It’s nothing what I thought it would be. This is crazy, insane, so it’s going to be good. I know it will be.
There were so many times where I’m like, “Oh my gosh.” Because even on Survivor, there’s so much footage that they’re taking throughout the time you’re there. And obviously you don’t see everything, but there’s so much downtime where we’re just sitting there doing nothing. And I remember being like, “how are they going to edit this? We are boring.” We had no energy because of lack of sleep. I felt like we were just walking around like zombies. This was a whole other [experience]. They did such a good job of picking out such different people. It’s fun. Just the contrasting personalities, it’s very fun.
Kind of what you were saying, the Bed Rot Challenge is just such a different environment. Staying in bed the longest versus being stranded on an island or being locked in a castle are all very different experiences. What has each one of those individually taught you about yourself?
That I’m so much stronger than I think I am. That it’s okay to feel and have emotions whether I’m in a game or not. And there’s times even during this where I’m like, “why am I crying?” Because I didn’t expect any emotion during this. I thought this was going to be so simple—not simple, but I didn’t expect it to bring out the amount of emotions that it did. But it’s okay to feel, regardless of where I am. I’m human. Whether I’m playing a game or not, I’m human. Whether I’m at home, or rotting in a bed, or wherever I am, I’m still the same person who has the same feelings.
I am not a character who can turn it on and off. I don’t go out and play these things as anybody but myself. And so when I go out, I’m still going to have those same emotions because things impact me and it’s okay. So I apply that everywhere and it’s a good feeling. I might be a little embarrassing at the time because, of course, I have those internal battles, but I’m human.
Are there any moments that have previously happened on Survivor or The Traitors where you’ve had that internal, “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I just said that,” or “I can’t believe this is happening,” moment, but then watched back later in the edit and thought, “Oh wow, that was really cool.”
Well, I had started crying when Frannie [Marin] was voted out and I came back to camp and you’re supposed to keep it all in and you’re supposed to just go with the flow, and I couldn’t. I was so hurt on a deep level like, “y’all have been lying to me all day,” and [Carson Garrett and Yam Yam Arocho] are the two people that I trust, so it went deeper than just the game for me. It’s never just the game. Every time I’ve been lied to in my life, it brings up all those memories and those traumas that I thought I had healed from, but I actually hadn’t. It’s like every other situation where I’ve been betrayed, that’s what these games do to me. But then again, even on Survivor, even on The Traitors, it takes me a minute to process this is a game and make sense of it logically. Like, of course they didn’t tell me—I kind of talk it out and then I can go on and it’s good, but I will always react emotionally.
Honestly, I love that. I absolutely love that about you. But there are people at home watching—myself included, admittedly—that are like, “it’s just a game.” So to anyone who’s thinking of applying for Survivor thinking they can separate reality from the lies within the game, what kind of advice, or maybe warning, do you have for them?
There’s certain things where it’s just a game and I can understand this is a game, duh, but then again, when it hits certain emotional wounds that you might have or insecurities, that’s where it doesn’t feel like just a game. It feels personal.
Like in Bed Rot [Challenge], something happens I can’t make sense of—it didn’t need to happen. This isn’t strategic—this person didn’t need to do this at all to better themselves or to move forward in the game. I can’t get over it when it’s stuff like that. But yes, when you’re in it, it’s so much more than just a game. But then even as a fan, I’ll catch myself being like—mainly with the honor and integrity stuff. Ain’t nobody playing like that. You’re not honorable to everyone, you can’t be. This is a game. So, I’m a hypocrite as well.
All I can say is when you’re in it, it’s just so different.
Is there a point in the game—whether it’s Survivor, The Traitors, or the Bed Rot Challenge—that you realize, “oh wait, this is a game,” or does it just feel like real life the whole time? Or do you immediately start going, “this is a game?” What's the mindset?
No, it’s certain instances that will happen or, like, triggering events. Like being ignored or having people talk crap about you, it triggers [things] from real life. That’s, to me, what makes it hard. People get personal. They try to trigger you, like, this is so psychological and even with Bed Rot [Challenge], because you are a human playing a human game, of course things impact you.
I cannot and never will be able to completely separate it because, again, there’s certain things that can be done. Like, you did not need to do that—that’s, like, psycho.
Now, no spoilers, but is there anything in this season of the Bed Rot Challenge that you are very excited for fans to see?
Yeah, because I thought I’m just rotting in bed, hanging out, I was like, “screw this.” And I remember the second day, I got so sick of some people that I was like, “is this a social game?” I’m exhausted laying in this bed right now, I don’t want to pretend to like this person next to me. I can’t stand them. So I just really let it all out and I really didn’t have a filter. I had no problem telling anyone like, “Nope, I don’t want to talk to you.” I wanted to be comfortable in my bed. I wanted my surroundings to be as comfortable as possible. So I didn’t play the game as far as like, “I’m going to befriend this person or make this person like me.” I didn’t care who liked me.
So no pre-game alliance with Ben and Natalie?
No, no. Again, because I looked at this like we’re rotting in a bed. I had talked to Ben, I was like, “you know what would be funny? How do you get people to quit? Like, let’s just be super annoying.” But then I’m like, no we can’t do that because who knows what they’re going to do. What if there’s a vote? There’s always—even on previous seasons—you can be put in the bad bed or like, I don’t want to be in a crib. So what can you really do by teaming up with other people? Like, nothing. It’s very individual, too. But yeah, I couldn’t plan for this.
And speaking of planning—kind of—I do have a question submitted from my mother and she needs to know, are you guys allowed to go to the bathroom?
Oh yeah, everyone asked that. Like, I was honestly prepared—I was like, I’ll bring a diaper. Literally, that sounds so nasty, but that’s where my brain went. But no, you just have to say, “I’m going to the bathroom.” And it’s crazy because you get so programmed to just announce it, but you have to announce it before your feet hit the ground.
It’s so weird after leaving [the game], you’re in bed and it’s just not the same. I find myself like, “I’m going to the—oh…” You just have to announce it, it becomes such a routine it follows you. It took me a while to get out of that routine of, “do I have to announce it to everyone?”
Well thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me. Is there anything else that you want to share to get people excited to tune in for season 4 of Cozy Earth’s Bed Rot Challenge?
Just, like, there’s a lot of stupid s*** I do in life and, I’m not going to lie when I was asked to do this I [thought], “this sounds so weird,” which I love, but I’m like, “what is this crap?” And I genuinely think it’s going to be really good. There’s so much drama, which is good—I like [it] when I’m watching a show. But it’s so real and there’s so many contrasting personalities that I just think they did a really good job of picking different types of people that clearly are not going to get along.
And it’s overall, then, a great result and not that fake BS. There’s some good drama.
Oh good, we’re so excited!
I’m excited, too.
Don't miss season 4 of Cozy Earth’s Bed Rot Challenge when it premieres this Thursday, June 11 on YouTube and TikTok.
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