Jericho Isn't Going to Splurge With His Half a Million: "The Most Expensive Thing I've Ever Bought Is a GoPro"

On Tuesday night, Jericho Malabonga was crowned the winner of Survivor 2017, and also walked away with a cool half a million dollars in the process. The 25-year-old outlasted Peter and Tara in the final immunity challenge, and chose to take Tara with him to the deciding Tribal Council. There, he made an incredibly convincing case to the jury about his game, where many came to learn they were but pawns in his game. Ahead, his thoughts on the gruelling final challenge, conquering the open water and decisions about the prize money.

POPSUGAR Australia: Congratulations! How are you feeling?

Jericho: I can finally breathe! It's been amazing, it's a huge chapter that's come to an end, but it was an experience of a lifetime.

PS: Has it sunk in?

Jericho: It hasn't! I'm going, "Am I still going to lie to people?" [Laughs] It's taken some time to process it, you know?

PS: You seemed pretty chill during that immunity challenge. Did you find it hard at all?

Jericho: Yeah, I think all three of us found it really hard. It looked like I had a massive poker face, but that's because at the end of the day, you can't show that you're struggling in front of Peter and Tara, because that would allow them to exploit it and think, he's only got a couple of minutes in him. It was hard!

PS: You must be so good at faking it now . . .

Jericho: [Laughs] No joke, sometimes now when I'm actually telling the truth, people are like, wait a minute . . . I'm like, yes, I am!

PS: What happens when you need to go to the bathroom in that challenge?

Jericho: So, I wanted the producers to show this, but they said it's a PG show. I actually wet my pants and ended up peeing for 30 seconds like a horse. Tara was so disgusted, she was like, "You're throwing me off Jericho!" What was I supposed to do? I was peeing for quite a while.

S: At the final Tribal Council, did you think you had a real chance against Tara?

Jericho: You know what, I knew I was really bad at speaking. I'm not like Michelle, who can just talk out of her butthole and make it sound good. I would stutter — and I still do in some of these interviews — so I knew that my worst enemy was myself, and if I screwed it up, she could've taken home the title. She's very social, everyone likes her, especially Locky . . .

PS: What went through your mind when Jonathan read out those votes?

Jericho: Oh, there was a point where it was 2-3 to Tara and I was like, man, what the heck is going on? But no, I genuinely was going to be happy regardless of the outcome, and I told her I was genuinely going to be happy for her, like genuinely.

PS: You've shared that you're a Christian on the show and have some pretty strong values. Did you ever struggle with putting those aside and manipulating people?

Jericho: I've always said that I would play that manipulative person and try to lie and deceive other people. And it may sound great on paper, but your natural instincts always kick in and come into play, and it does become really hard. It wasn't as easy as it looked on TV.

PS: Did you worry at all when Luke left the game?

Jericho: Blooming heck, when I lost Luke, I thought to myself, he was my only human shield at that point. But that's when I felt I actually shone the most, because I could show I was more capable of doing things without having him taking credit for our moves.

PS: What did you find the easiest and the hardest?

Jericho: The easiest was socialising with people, I found it easy to connect because that's just in my nature. The hardest was probably seeing two people fight, and you don't want to intervene, because if you do, there'll be a repercussion and you may get voted out. To see two people fight and let them continue was really hard for me, because usually I'm like, "hey guys, cut it out." I'm like the peacemaker. There was one time when Sarah and Luke were fighting and I was like, "You guys can still make this work!" [Laughs]

PS: Have you conquered your fear of the water?

Jericho: Yeah, I actually went surfing during the beginning of the show with people, but it was in the most shallow part of the water. The fact that I said to myself that I wanted to start doing that and when Locky took me out, it was just another big step. Now, I don't really like the open water, but I'll go give it a crack if there's people around me.

PS: You were blasted pretty hard for sportsmanship by some people in the jury. Were you just being cheeky?

Jericho: I pulled a face to Peter, that was me being cheeky, but obviously it didn't come across like that. You have to be careful of the smallest details, even that underline thing, Jarrad remembered it! I thought that the smallest thing, but people pay attention in this game.

PS: So did Jarrad actually vote for you?

Jericho: Yeah, and he underlined my name, so he got the final say, how funny, right?

PS: Yeah, I thought it was a ploy to throw you off!

Jericho: He honestly did! [Laughs] I went back thinking, "what the heck did I do?" I screwed up my game! But he was playing with me, yes.

PS: What are you going to do with the money?

Jericho: I still am absorbing everything, so I don't know. I'm not going to splurge on anything, the most expensive material thing I've ever bought is a GoPro. I'm not someone who goes and randomly buys a $1,000 top.

PS: Are you still going to keep flight attending?

Jericho: Yeah, I've worked really hard for it, so I wouldn't want to throw something like that away. The money shouldn't change me!