The final three of 'Survivor: Kaoh Rong' were Tai Trang, Aubry Bracco and Michele Fitzgerald, with Cydney Gillon going home in the first hour
Michele Fitzgerald, the 24-year-old bartender from Freehold, came out on top on CBS's "Survivor" Wednesday night, taking home $1 million and becoming the second New Jersey winner in three seasons, after Jersey City cop Tony Vlachos won the title in 2014.
It was a shocker, as Michele flew under the radar for most of the game but managed to avoid making any enemies.
The Survivor: Kaoh Rong" pitted brains against brawn against beauty, and Michele was on Team Beauty, along with fellow finalist Tai Trang, a 51-year-old gardener from San Francisco. The third finalist that faced the jury was the "geek warrior" Aubry Bracco, a 29-year-old marketer from Cambridge, Mass.
But first we said goodbye to 23-year-old bodybuilder Cydney Gillon from Douglasville, Ga., was sent home first. Michele wins the final immunity challenge, and the Tribal Council's vote is split between Aubry and Cydney, with Tai voting for Cydney and Michele voting for Aubry. Aubry ekes out a win in the fire-building challenge.
TV HANGOVER SHOW: Ep. 35: Judging which upcoming TV shows will be hits or flops
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, SoundCloud or Spreaker.Having to compete against Aubry instead of Cydney gave Michele a lot of pause: "I'm trying hard to think up a case against Aubry. She's been in control a lot of this game, and I think Tai just gave her a million dollars."
The final challenge for Michele, Tai and Aubry had a major twist: All three would be heading to the jury, but the winner of the challenge -- stacking balls on stand using a large tong while standing on a wobbly beam -- would get to vote out one jury member. Michele wins. "It's a game-changer," Aubry says.
Michele fairly quickly reasons that she's going to send home either Joe del Campo or Neal Gottlieb, both Aubry supporters She choses Neal and she's right: As he departs, he sneers at her: "You came to this game thinking you're a bad-ass bitch. But you're more like a cute little puppy still suckling at the teat, and I don't think you stand a chance." That didn't sound rehearsed or anything.
Debbie Wanner questions Tai about his flip-flopping, which he denies. Julie Sokolowski says Michele started off as one of the weakest players, but said she was impressed when Michelle voted her out, considering they were so tight. Joe asks Aubry how her play was better than Tai's: "He didn't have his finger on the pulse of the game," she says.
Kyle Jason wants to know why Tai left the alliance with him and Scot Pollard for the women. Tai: "Maybe I got jealous between you two men who take about men stuff, the things the that men talk about is not what I know." Scot comes down hard on Tai and asks Aubry to justify their votes. "I played the game with my strengths, which were personal. I think you can respect that." Scot compliments Michele for getting stronger as the game went on.
And the final vote? Michelle wins with four votes to Aubry's two.
Vicki Hyman may be reached at vhyman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @vickihy or like her on Facebook. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook, and check out TV Hangover, the podcast from Vicki Hyman and co-host Erin Medley on iTunes, Stitcher or listen here.