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SURVIVOR Host: There are lots of great questions, so let's get to as many as we can! If you're just joining us, we're chatting live with SURVIVOR Helen Glover. Hi Helen! Thanks for spending some time to chat with us today. Are you ready for some questions? Survivor Helen: Yes, I am! Visitor: Helen. I'm sorry you lost. I wanted you to win! My questions is, what was it like to watch the show from home after it was all over? Survivor Helen: An eye-opener, because quite frankly, I really knew a different Brian in Thailand, and it was quite astonishing. The first time I heard a few of Brian's one-liners it was really, well, at first I excused him. I said, I think he's joking; I think he meant that tongue-in-cheek, and then of course the more his true personality began to show itself, I realized I'd been duped all along. I was really thinking that that had been a one- or two-day evolution, where Brian had thought I'd conspired against him and not checked with me on that, but then I realized that this was a long time in the works. Visitor: Helen, I was sad when you were voted off. I think you played the game very well. Now that time has gone by, have your feelings toward Clay and Brian changed? Survivor Helen: Very much so. I've been able to accept the fact that I'm not going home with the million. I've congratulated Brian. I DO think that he played a good game. I just wish I'd been in the chair next to him rather than fourth. And I've now had an opportunity to get to know Clay outside of the game and he's a very, very nice person. I think my biggest regret, although I don't know how I could change it, is that I really wish that Clay and I had gotten along better. Visitor: Other than yourself, who would you have liked to see in the Final Two? Survivor Helen: Gosh, a number of people, starting right off with Ted and Jan, but I really liked Penny and Erin. I would have loved to have seen Shii Ann and Jake. I mean, there are an awful lot of combinations there if you take me out of it and you take Brian out of it. Quite frankly, I really liked John Raymond, and he was the first one off. Both John and Tanya were wonderful and genuine people, and I really would have liked to have seen them get a lot further. And certainly I would have loved to see them in the first and second chair if it couldn't be me. Visitor: Hi Helen. Can you clear up the confusion on the Clay-saying-racist-comment Ted said at the final Tribal Council? Thanks. Survivor Helen: Yes. First of all, I'd like everybody to understand that we did not discuss that in the game. I think there was an allusion to the fact that I might have used that to knock Clay's chances in the game, and that did not come up when I was in the game. After I'd gotten voted off, Ted and Ken came to me, asked if I'd ever heard Clay ever make racist remarks. Now I had three choices: I could have said no, but I would have been lying. I could have brushed it aside and not committed, but Ted and Ken would have known that that was a yes, so I answered with a straightforward yes, and that is all I ever said. The comment was derogatory. It might have been a joke. To me, it had racial overtones for sure, but for me the game was over at that point, and I didn't want it to be an issue in the game at that point because I didn't feel that anyone had treated anyone unfairly. Visitor: Helen, Did you EVER entertain the idea of voting Brian off? Survivor Helen: No and I never would have with the knowledge I had at the time. Visitor: Helen, being a swim instructor, why did you sit out on the underwater Challenge? Survivor Helen: [laughs] Oh, I've been answering that since that show aired. First of all, that has nothing to do with swimming; that's a question of long you can hold your breath! But I do deal with people who, if they're not confident swimmers, they tend to get very nervous in the water and under the water. So, my first suggestion was that either Ted or Clay sit that one out. Both of them refused. So, I checked again, you know, are you sure? And they were getting angry. Now, one thing you have to understand about the game of SURVIVOR is that you have to tread very cautiously; you cannot make somebody angry by suggesting they can't do it. I've got three men standing there insisting that they can. I knew Brian could. I knew I could. Jan said she had no problem with a snorkel, although Jan, honestly, didn't do much better. Jeff was pressing us for which one of us was going to sit out. I was getting nowhere trying to get Ted or Clay to sit down. So, finally I turned to Jeff and said "I'LL sit down," honestly thinking at that moment someone would say "oooh, we can't have that," that someone would say that we had to get Ted or Clay or possibly Jan to sit out, but that's not how it happened. I ended up sitting out. We ultimately won, and I decided early in the game that I wasn't going to stick my neck out too much. I really thought that had been a bad decision, but it's a decision you make on the spur of the moment. But honestly, that Challenge had nothing to do with swimming; it was a breath control issue. Visitor: Helen, you and your husband seemed very close. How did this experience affect your relationship? Survivor Helen: We were extremely close before, and we are even closer now. I mean, we are a team in every sense of the word, and we have been since the day we started dating. I mean, we're a strong couple together, and if there were a couples SURVIVOR I wouldn't want to go against Helen and Jim Glover! Everything we do together, we enjoy each other's company very much. And I think if he would have walked away at that point, I don't know what I would have done. Visitor: Helen, what did you hubby have to say about eating those bugs, and did ya kiss him after he did? Survivor Helen: [laughs] You know, I was more embarrassed about him kissing me. I mean, we hadn't brushed our teeth in thirty days! You know even when I saw what the Challenge was I thought "Oh, no! I can't imagine it!" And the bugs got more and more disgusting! And there were a lot they didn't show! They cut it down for TV, and there were about four things they didn't show. I felt terrible that he had to do that for me, and I was nervous that he might not win, but every time I looked over at him he would give me that thumbs up and that confident look that I've grown over the years to really be confident in and trust. Visitor: Did you ever apply for another SURVIVOR season? Survivor Helen: No. Visitor: If you could pick a spot for the next SURVIVOR, where would it be? Survivor Helen: As a contestant, I think I would pick the Greek island of Mykonos, and if I were Mark Burnett, I think I'd pick Death Valley, California. Visitor: Helen, was there any hanky-panky going on in Thailand? Survivor Helen: Well, not that I knew of, because all of our tribe were married and, I mean, you see how fast you find out about that with Ted and Ghandia. Meaning, I think if anything had been going on, it would have been hard to keep it quiet. Visitor: Helen, what was your most embarrassing moment? Survivor Helen: I lived in fear of seeing a snake out there. That was really the only thing I was deathly afraid of. I don't even like seeing them at the zoo or on TV, and I saw other things, lizards, rats, etc. Snakes just make me shake, they make me nervous and they make me scared. That said, I was sitting down, being quiet and something had slipped down and brushed against my foot without my knowing it. and it wasn't even something alive, but that's how nervous I was about snakes, but when that touched me...I must have catapulted 18 feet in the air and screamed and just about had a heart attack! And that's very out of character for me. I'm very cool and reserved. Visitor: Helen, have you seen "The Lord of the Rings"? I saw it last night and recommend it. Survivor Helen: [laughs] No, I haven't and thank you. I'll put that under advisement! Visitor: A lot has been made of the puzzles this season. What was your favorite puzzle, and the one you struggled with the most? Survivor Helen: [laughs] Okay, first of all, anyone who knows me knows that I am NOT a puzzle person! So, imagine my delight when 90% of it to me seemed to be puzzles! I am not one that thinks outside the box and the worst, the absolute worst was the one where you had to build the stairway! I mean, frankly if I'd have had a hammer I would have hammered every single one in place. I would have made it fit! That's the frustration of it. Visitor: What did you think of Penny's question in the final Tribal Council? Survivor Helen: I could understand Penny feeling that way, because she came over as a member of the other tribe and they were meeting Brian pretty much for the first time. It was the first chance they'd had to interact with him, and interestingly enough, most of them saw right off the bat how cold and calculating he was. Penny is a sweet girl who enjoys people and getting to know people, and I know she felt that she was just a pawn in the game at that point. I think she felt, rightly so, that Brian was out to use everyone until it was time to get rid of them. My biggest regret with that is that they didn't share. Well, maybe we wouldn't have listened. I wish we could have gotten together with them and understood how they were seeing Brian, but you become so distrustful of someone from the other side that I'm afraid at that point we would have thought it was strategy on their part and probably not believed them. Visitor: Helen, if Clay could have come up with three things he did to help you survive, would you REALLY have voted for him? Survivor Helen: [laughs] I don't think he could've come up with three things! But he could have bs'd his way through it. The only way I would have voted for him that night--because remember you're in the context of that night, those feelings and no other knowledge--the only way he would have gotten my vote is if Brian had blown his answer. I was waiting for an apology from Brian, and I almost didn't get it. I gave him one last chance, and I think he clued in at that point and, sincere or not, I got my apology on national TV. If there was ever a swing vote in the Jury, it was me. I think everybody else had their minds made up. Visitor: Helen, what would have been your argument for winning had you been in the Final Two? Survivor Helen: I think first of all I would have explained that I was THE hardest worker out there. Brian came close. I was the cook. I not only prepared the food but I went and got the food, and I continually got that water. I don't think anyone went on as many water runs as I did; I know they didn't. I was the entertainment. Every night they acted like I was some stereo set that you could turn on and turn off, and I would sing so much that my voice would get hoarse! That would go on sometimes for hours! I mean, I felt like a nightclub act getting requests from the floor, and I've never sung in front of people before. I really enjoyed it, but I was embarrassed because I'd never sung in front of anyone before. But they seemed to really like it! I mean, after a while, you think that they're goading into something to show other people how annoying you are! But I mean, that wasn't the case. You just second guess everything you do out there. You get paranoid! But I actually realized that they enjoyed it, and it was Penny that said it was such a comfort, that it helped her unwind at night and get to sleep. That was really nice, I mean, really nice to hear that. And just about every single member of the Jury said that if it had been me up there, they would have voted for me, and you almost don't want to hear that when you're not actually sitting up in that chair! Visitor: If you had a pistol, is Jan the only one you would have shot? Survivor Helen: [laughs] Seriously, there's a reason I don't carry a gun. I've got a bad temper and everybody saw it. Now, Clay would have been shot before Jan, but I mean, that's the way I release tension. I don't actually go around killing people! Visitor: Helen, when you gonna pose for Playboy? Survivor Helen: [laughs] Trust me, Playboy won't be beating my door down! Visitor: After the second to last Immunity Challenge, did you feel like you were a goner? Survivor Helen: That has nothing to do with anything for me, because I never thought I was in danger. I thought I had a strong pact with Clay and Brian, and I honestly never saw that coming. That's why I was so angry. Visitor: Have you considered putting together a SURVIVOR recipe book? Survivor Helen: [laughs] Yeah, you know only five million people have suggested that one to me! I don't even have the foggiest idea of where to begin. I think it's a good idea; I'm a walking recipe cabinet, that's for sure. I'd love to do it if I could figure out where to begin. Visitor: Helen, when you saw your family video you were the most excited to see your cat. What's your cat's name, and why did you miss her more than the family? Survivor Helen: [laughs] That is SO not true! His name is Oscar, and I mean, I love cats! I've always had a cat. But the thing was, I thought that there was another video, one that I was aware of, and when I realized that this was a different video that I had no knowledge of, I was getting more and more excited. It wasn't at seeing Oscar (although I don't want to tell him that and hurt his feelings), it was that the more I saw of the video, the more I realized it was a NEW video and I got so excited at seeing something that I didn't know they had done! If they had continued showing the video, I would have continued spinning out of control! It just so happens that they ended it with Oscar. Visitor: Did you ever imagine you had cooked Magilla for dinner? Survivor Helen: [laughs] Well, you do know that we were told we could not kill anything on the island. It's a nature preserve. And I would never harm an animal; you noticed I was nowhere around when the chicken got killed. But I didn't like the monkey, and I made every attempt to scare him out of the area. All the other people thought he was cute and tried to coax him in! You know, that's not a cartoon out there! That a real animal out in the wild! I respected his territory, so I didn't coax him in. I certainly didn't want to cook him, but he was getting closer and closer every day and he had a bit of cat burglar in there. He was pilfering our supplies and when you have little to no food out there, you don't want a monkey stealing what you have! Visitor: The cameramen noticed your first canoe drifting off and got plenty of footage as it sailed away. Why didn't the tribe notice? Survivor Helen: I don't know why they didn't notice, but that was the first time the guys hadn't tied it up properly. And from the way the show aired, I don't know if anyone noticed. They were nervous about telling me, because I had told them about that before. As far as I was concerned, that only solidified my position a little more because I had no problem doing that four-mile swim. I could do that daily and still compete in Challenges. Brian went with me, but he worked to keep up with me too. He was a fair swimmer. Jan could make the swim, but she couldn't carry the water. So I wasn't going to go look for that 4,000-pound canoe, because to me it was a liability, not an asset, but still I was annoyed that they didn't take care of our equipment out there. Visitor: Helen, of the 15 other Survivors, who do you think most deserved to win? Survivor Helen: Jan. Visitor: How did you like being on Letterman? Survivor Helen: You know, I have been a huge fan of David Letterman since he was first on the air. My son's 21st birthday present was tickets to David Letterman. After SURVIVOR, I knew Letterman was something that a lot of them ended up doing, and I was so excited! But it didn't end up going the way I thought. We ended up doing it via tape from L.A. I think he's hilarious, and I would have loved the opportunity to do the show, but it just didn't happen that way. SURVIVOR Host: Well everyone, our time with Helen is up. Helen, thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us today. Any final comments for the SURVIVOR fans? Survivor Helen: It was such an incredible opportunity to be able to experience that in my life, and I'm thankful for every minute out there, all the people I got to know (whether I like them or not). My life has been truly blessed with the education that I picked up, having suffered through something so intense. I have a new appreciation for my family and a new appreciation for people who live in a third world environment every day and not just as part of a game show. CBS.com |
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