Survivor: Island of the Idols has arrived! Every week, Parade.com’s Mike Bloom will bring you interviews with the castaway most recently voted off of the island.

“I can’t allow my heart to lead me all the time,” Lauren Beck told me in the preseason. And though the nanny has lived a life positively and opportunistically, she wanted to treat the game she idolized seriously, even modeling herself off of someone she would meet later on. “I learned from watching Sandra. You have to stir the pot, get in there and slit that person’s throat. At the end, they’re going to look for that resume. And if you just sat on the sidelines, got carried through the game, and didn’t find idols, you’re not going to get that money.” This mentality, along with tight social connections, made Lauren the biggest threat to win by the Final Four. But it was all snuffed out when she was put to the test making fire, and her chances of winning snapped like a piece of twine.

Lauren cemented what she told me from the get-go in her first Tribal Council. Facing an easy vote in Noura Salman, she instead helped lead the charge against Molly Byman, toppling the so-called “Vokai queen.” Simultaneously, her bubbly personality allowed for tight connections, most pertinently with Tommy Sheehan. That relationship building continued into the swap, when her pregame desire to work with Missy Byrd came to fruition. Her momentum nearly stopped, though, when a “Block of Vote” from Elaine Stott put her in the hotseat of Vokai Russian Roulette. Her emotions suddenly bubbled to the surface in that moment, realizing her decades-long dream could come to an end in that moment. And though she was able to survive the night, it would not be the last time she had to reconcile that thought.

When Lauren eventually visited the Island of the Idols, she outlined, “I’m the least athletic, but the most social. I didn’t realize how strategic I’d be.” She underestimated herself in the first point, winning individual immunity soon after. To the second point, the merge allowed her to continue her bonding as the game turned individual. And to the final point, she and Tommy continued to be the most powerful twosome in the game, though she was none the wiser that the teacher was considering a new set of staff for his Final Three. Though Elaine made the pitch to her to take out Noura, Lauren elected to stick with the plan. It was a decision that would come back to haunt her, as Noura won the final Immunity Challenge and the power to determine who would go to fire. Despite being her number one, Noura sent Lauren into the challenge as the biggest threat, sending her reeling. After an emotional afternoon, she dried her tears, but they were not kindling enough to keep Dean Kowalski from making her the final jury member.

Minutes after the season’s reunion, Lauren talks with Parade about the origin of her relationship with Tommy, becoming “surprisingly strategic,” and how she felt when she heard she was the one to beat.

You ended up voting for Tommy, even though it came out in the final Tribal Council that he had given Dean more coaching for the firemaking challenge. What was the reasoning behind your vote?

There was never a doubt in my mind that I was voting for Tommy. I know Tommy’s heart; I know he’s a good person. I know he did what he had to do to win. Tommy and I were very similar. We give and give and put others before ourselves. I’m proud of him for finally putting himself first and doing what he needed to do for himself.

Talk to me about that relationship. You described Tommy as a brother and a wingman at points during the game. In a game full of connections, what made that the most lasting one for you?

That maintained because we’re so opposite. The first day I spoke with Tommy, he asked me, “How’d you get your hair like that?” We had this whole discussion about weaves and braids. I thought he was so funny. We connected about our loved ones. One night, it was absolutely freezing and raining. We were always on the outside of the shelter. I just pulled him in and said, “Listen, we’re going to play this game together. Nobody cares about us right now. We have to have each other.”

You spoke to Rob and Sandra about how surprised you were with how strategic your game was. Can you elaborate on that?

After watching Survivor for 18 years, it becomes engrained in you. You think about these things. I thought, “I’m going to go out here, be a social butterfly, and make a bunch of friends.” That’s exactly what I did. But I was also able to look at each person and say, “How are they going to move in this game?” And I impressed myself! I will say Jason was a major factor in giving me a wake-up call to what I needed to do to kick the game into fourth gear. I know everyone made fun of me for that; I clearly don’t drive a stick! (Laughs.)

You also said at one point that you had no problem separating the game from real life. Was it surprising how easily you were able to do that?

It was. I am such an emotional person. When I get in an argument with someone, I’ll be the first to apologize. It hurts me. It’s hard when you have real world things come into the game. A lot of us were unaware of the things that were happening. So when I said, “I’m able to separate game from real life,” it wasn’t about what was happening, because I had no idea. It was a nod to me, who is always emotional and crying, being able to take emotions out of it and play.

Another quote of yours was, “Bonding is 95% of this game.” Can you elaborate on that?

I was able to make real, pure connections with every single person on my cast. Those connections have trickled into real life, and they’ll be with me for a lifetime.

We heard a lot of talk by the end about how much of a threat you were. Did you get a sense out there that you were one of the people to beat?

I realized I was the only person who didn’t have votes against them. It became clear that people would start realizing that nobody has voted for me, and that leads to friendships that would give me the million dollars. It’s cool to think that little old me, Barbie girl who doesn’t go outside and loves her makeup and her shower, can be a threat in this game. I was the one to beat! That’s crazy.