Survivor's Alabama Man Slammed

Another week, another Ulong tribe member voted off Survivor: Palau. Last Thursday it was Bobby Jon Drinkard's turn. That leaves only Stephenie, for those of you keeping track. After the not-so-dynamic duo lost their most recent tribal immunity challenge, they competed in an individual firemaking task, in which Steph smoked Bobby Jon. Here, TVGuide.com sits down with the 27-year-old Alabama native to learn what exactly went wrong for the cursed Ulong tribe.

TVGuide.com: No matter what happened, you were so optimistic. Did you ever want to give up?
Bobby Jon Drinkard: Many times out there, losing time after time, you tell yourself, "Gosh, there is just no way I can keep doing this. I wish somebody would just come and sweep me up right now and take me away." Then I would always think that a lot of people would like to change positions [with me, and] that I sacrificed a lot to get there, along with all the other contestants.

TVG: You seemed almost at home in the wilderness.
Bobby Jon: I did. I didn't feel like I was walking around my den floor, picking up the crackers or the remote control, but I did know where the fishing holes were and where the coconuts were.

TVG: So if you had gone back to the beach alone instead of Stephenie, how would you have fared?
Bobby Jon: I hate to toot my own horn and say that I would have been fine, but I would have.

TVG: Were you surprised they sent Stephenie back to camp by herself?
Bobby Jon: No, I really wasn't. [Host] Jeff [Probst] told us on Day 1 never to assume anything in this game. We [wrongly] assumed as a tribe that we were going to merge on Day 12 or Day 15 because we had watched past seasons.

TVG: What was the toughest loss for you?
Bobby Jon: Honestly, [that was] when I got beaten by Tom on the sumo challenge. I got beat and my pride got beat. I lost a physical challenge, and being physical is something I had always prided myself on, and I lost to somebody who is a few years older than me. I felt like I was in better shape. I tried out-muscling him and it didn't work.

TVG: Losing to him on the egg challenge must have been tough.
Bobby Jon: That made me mad. I was really hyped about that. I was trying to eat those eggs as fast as I could. But hey, I got beat. I win like a man, I lose like a man; that's just the way it is.

TVG: Stephenie said you smelled bad. Does that bother you?
Bobby Jon: You know what? I'm a man. You turn me loose in the woods and I'm going to act like a man acts. That's the way that was. Nobody had any provisions to clean themselves with. It wasn't like she just got out of a photo shoot. It was pretty nasty. I understand [that] she thought I was gross.

TVG: You had to vote off your friend Ibrehem to keep Steph around. Think you made the best decision?
Bobby Jon: Yeah. Going back and seeing the tape, I wasn't worried about the time she voted for me when Angie had to leave. That didn't bother me. She did swear to God that she didn't; there was that little flaw. But whatever, that's her style.

TVG: Are you still friends with Ibrehem?
Bobby Jon: Yeah, we've talked. We're OK with each other. He doesn't wear his feelings on his sleeve and I don't, either.

TVG: In 2003, Cosmopolitan named you Alabama's Bachelor of the Year. How'd that happen?
Bobby Jon: [Smiles] A lady I was cutting grass for back home sent some pictures in and then they called and said, "We are doing an issue where the guys are chosen to be the representatives for each state." They tapped me as the guy from Alabama. I was glad to do it. I'd done some modeling when I was younger, but had to shut it down because of school.

TVG: So are you modeling now?
Bobby Jon: If I was smart, I'd probably be doing something with my degree [a B.A. in public relations/print journalism] and paying my bills and stuff. Now I'm just living week to week, waiting tables and stuff. Hopefully, I can pick up modeling where I left off.