Aubry Bracco Details Stepping Away From the 'Survivor' Community Before Her Season 50 Return: 'I Want to Love the Game Again' (Exclusive)
For a three-year stretch between 2015 and 2018, Aubry Bracco was a fixture in the world of Survivor. Appearing in three seasons in rapid succession—Kaôh Rōng, Game Changers, and Edge of Extinction—she became a fan favorite. But playing that much Survivor in such a short window came with a cost.
"I took myself out of the community," Bracco admitted while sitting down with Men’s Journal on set in Fiji. "The Survivor community can be very toxic, and I stepped away. I played three times in three calendar years… it can be confusing what’s real and what’s not."
Now, seven years after she last stepped off the beach, the New Hampshire native, 39, is back for the milestone Survivor 50 with a perspective defined by both time and newfound motherhood. Returning as one of the few representatives from that 30s era, she finds herself in a unique position: she isn't quite old school, nor is she a product of the 26-day new era.
"I am receptive. I want to be someone’s pleasant surprise," she said of her free-agent strategy this season. "I feel the closest I’ve felt to myself since I played the first time, and that’s special for me."
Despite her hiatus, Bracco comes back with a newfound fearlessness and a desire to "celebrate failure" for her young son, Odin. She's not just looking for the million-dollar check—she’s looking to fall back in love with the game that changed the course of her life.
Below, Bracco opens up more about her prep for the game, her "deep stalk" of the Dragon Slayer, and why the new era isn’t as different from her original season as people think.
Men’s Journal: It's so fun to see you out here!
Aubry Bracco: Thanks. I'm excited. I didn't think I'd be here again.
Men’s Journal: Really, why? Did you want to do this or did it take a minute to consider?
Aubry Bracco: I mean, it was absolutely a yes. I'm coming here. It's Season 50. I've had seven years since Edge of Extinction. Sometimes I feel like I never left, because I kind of took myself out of the community. The Survivor community can be very toxic, and I stepped away. But I was able to kind of return to myself and how I felt about it, instead of letting all of the noise—I mean, I played three times from 2015 to 2018. Three times in three calendar years. That's a lot of Survivor. It can be confusing what's real and what's not.
Men’s Journal: Have you stayed caught up with the show?
Aubry Bracco: Oh yeah, I've been watching.
Men’s Journal: So, for example, Q Burdette...
Aubry Bracco: Oh yes, I know. I know who Q is. He took out Moriah [Gaynor], but he does have my wanted poster plastered on his kitchen wall, I'm sure.
Men’s Journal: Would you consider working with him?
Aubry Bracco: I mean, I think everything here is proceed with caution, right? But interesting for Q, specifically—danger, danger, of course. But I'm coming into the season really receptive. I know there are multiple groups that have played together before. In the New Era, anything can happen. So I'm not shutting any doors, but I'm going to make sure that I'm ready to be careful, because I definitely don't trust him. I mean, could anybody though? He's a fascinating player. It's interesting, his mindset. He definitely is like a specific kind of entrepreneur or something. I've been listening to some of his interviews. He has a really interesting way he approaches life. So I'm actually very fascinated to learn more about him if he will be receptive back. But I'm not going to push anything.
Men’s Journal: Are you familiar with all the preexisting relationships on the cast?
Aubry Bracco: I've been catching up over the past year. I'd say I am very aware of the relationships. I think it's so interesting—I'm sure everyone's been saying there are three 48 players out here. Something interesting about that is that I have been in that seat of having just watched Kaôh Rōng air and then left for Game Changers seven to 10 days later. So I'm so curious to get to know all of them. In particular, Joe [Hunter]—like, how's he doing with the whole "I just watched myself lose"? That's a really specific experience to have. I relate to him in that he clearly wears his heart on his sleeve. He's an emotional person who has his own anxieties and deeply cares for people. How is he reconciling that in his head as he watches it, versus what he experienced, versus the little bit he saw people say?
Men’s Journal: Right! He didn't even have a week to process.
Aubry Bracco: I mean, that's like no time at all. It's so fresh. People think, "Oh, you played a year ago, you must be over it." You're not. I mean, watching Survivor is a whole other experience. It rips the wounds right open and it makes you question everything. I always say Survivor is like a house of mirrors. You don't know which angle you're going to give.
Men’s Journal: Do you feel like you have unfinished business?
Aubry Bracco: Oh yeah. I mean, I always want to win. I'm so close, like I did in 32. First of all, I've always loved Survivor since Season 1. I remember Jenna [Lewis-Dougherty]. I remember Colby [Donaldson]. It's really cool to see them. I consider myself a fan of the show. For me, it's really about reconciling how I feel about Survivor—like, I had a hard time the last time I played—and I want to love it again.
Men’s Journal: I think you will. I think when you come out here with all these returning players, it unequalizes it a bit.
Aubry Bracco: Yes. I mean, the fans always have an opinion, don't we know that? It's the internet, whatever. But you can tell a lot of care is going into including a really interesting cross-section—like a tapestry of people who play this game. People who have relationships with people that they care about, who have beefs with people that they've said openly and that they haven't said openly. This group is really fascinating. I always think back, like, every season you can go and you're like, "If only I've done this." I always think to 34. My last interaction with Ozzy [Lusth] was him the night he went home, dragging a piece of bamboo along the beach. And he goes, "Hey, we should talk game sometime." I go, "Same, like, you're super cool." That was my only gameplay with Ozzy.
My point is that anything is possible here. Those what-ifs that you're going to have in a month are going to be determined in the jungle now. I'm ready to go. I have obviously very deep feelings about things I've been through, but they've made me stronger. I took myself out of Survivor land so that I could really return to who I am, and I feel the closest I felt to myself since I played the first time. That's special for me.
Men’s Journal: You come into the game from the 30s era–not necessarily old school but not new era either. Do you think that lets you kind of go where you want?
Aubry Bracco: It could go either way. I once said that about Julia [Sokolowski]—the guy in the middle of the road gets run over. That's absolutely true. But we don't know how these tribes are going to break down. I am receptive. I want to be someone's pleasant surprise. I want to be someone's friend. I'm a mom now. I've been out of the Survivor game, I've been working on other things. It can be a bad thing, but also, if you manage being that floater person, that can be really good. My gaming in Kaôh Rōng was about making one-on-one relationships with a ragtag bunch of people. I've never had an energetic relationship on Survivor like I did with Tai [Trang] with anyone else. I'm open. I hope somebody like that's here. I just know that you do have to pick a side when it comes down to things.
I have no clue what's going to happen. I mean, the new era forces it to be like "you better have your options open," but for the people that you are with to believe you and not see you going around to everybody. I don't have any allegiances here. I always have to watch out for Cirie [Fields]. I have a very soft spot for Cirie.
Men’s Journal: Do you plan on working with her?
Aubry Bracco: We work together, but I don't trust her. She's an amazing game player. Cirie voted against me in 34 and I was like, "Thank you so much. I love you." So yeah, I think the one thing I have to watch out for is like, I do genuinely love people and deep connections. I better watch out. I know that when Cirie is lying to me, I won't be able to tell.
Men’s Journal: Most people couldn't.
Aubry Bracco: She's amazing. What did she say? She's like a gangster in an Oprah suit or something like that? She'll stab you in the back and you're like, "Twist harder, please." So watch out. I mean, she's a big target coming into this game, but I'm already like, she's going to gain strength like a hurricane.
Men’s Journal: Do you have a strategy going into the game? Did you think about how you're going to play at least in the beginning?
Aubry Bracco: It is finding those one-on-one people. It's not committing to anybody in particular. I am that free agent person. I'm not going to stick out and do anything wild at the beginning. I'm not going to be raising my hand for any journeys or looking around for anything in the jungle right now. I want other people to show that they've got the ego, they're ready to cause chaos. I want to be that pleasant surprise who's a stable person for somebody.
Men’s Journal: Speaking of these journeys and these new things that have popped up over the last 10 seasons, does that stuff make you nervous?
Aubry Bracco: I mean, the new era is different. There's a lot more thrown at you. But I always say Kaôh Rōng was like the new era in that I had Neal [Gottlieb] go home, I had this horrible infection in my leg, Caleb [Reynolds] got medevacked—all this crazy s--t happened. And I had a panic attack on day one. It's a lot. So yeah, it's a little bit freaky. There's a lot more luck elements, but luck is really your mindset. You have to believe that good things can happen.
Men’s Journal: Anyone out here that you don't see yourself aligning with?
Aubry Bracco: Q, I definitely have my eye on. It could be funny. Half of me thinks we might really respect each other. I mean, I would have made the move he actually did in that situation too. I get why he wasn't feeling it with her. Dee [Valladares], I think she's an incredible player. You can just feel the bubbly charisma coming off of her. She's someone I'd love to play with. I don't know if she'd want to play with me, but she's someone a little bit scary. Genevieve [Mushaluk] also has a vibe. Very like Gone Girl, where I'm like, "You're going to kill someone," but I really like her too. She's someone I'm like, "I'd love to be mischievous with you." So there's no one that I'm not open to. And I know these people are amazing players, but Dee, Cirie, Q, they're all human beings. I've never been intimidated in that way.
Men’s Journal: What vibes are you picking up at Ponderosa?
Aubry Bracco: Dee and Cirie.
Men’s Journal: Together?
Aubry Bracco: Yes. I'm feeling that vibe.
Men’s Journal: Interesting. Speaking of Dee, what do you think about Dee and Kyle Fraser coming in as winners? Is it going to be a factor?
Aubry Bracco: It's really interesting. Dee and Kyle have a big target on their back, but targets need each other in this game. Sometimes they can gain strength. I remember in Game Changers, Sandra [Diaz-Twine] went out early, Tony [Vlachos] did. I love Tony. Tony was being completely—he was staring at people when they were sleeping. I was on a tribe with both of them, and there was this interesting magnetic force around both of them where people were totally gravitating toward them. So I could see people gravitating toward them or it being a big point of contention. It's so hard to tell what's really going to happen.
Men’s Journal: OK, so Cirie and Dee...interesting.
Aubry Bracco: I'm picking up on that. I don't know if it's true, but Charlie [Davis] and Genevieve have been, like, vibing out. That's clear to me. I don't know if people are sitting next to people because they want to sit in the same seat and be consistent, or because they feel something.
Men’s Journal: Did you do any prep to come out here?
Aubry Bracco: Watch Survivor. Listen to everybody's exit interviews, all of that. I did practice puzzles. I can do that Fitz Tower now. Finally, took me seven years. Puzzles like ball mazes, that kind of thing. I've been practicing, and I've been keeping consistent working out.
Men’s Journal: Do you keep an eye on who's friends with who?
Aubry Bracco: I have a little bit of an idea. I know Charlie and the Dragon Slayer [Benjamin "Coach" Wade] have done, like, musical collabs. I definitely do my little deep stalk. I don't know if I know the depths of all of them. Some of them are tight, some of them are allegedly tight, right? Some of them are, "I'm hanging out with you because I'm supposed to."
Men’s Journal: Who else on this cast are you looking at? What do you think about Jenna and Colby?
Aubry Bracco: I feel like I could work with any of them. I want to see how quickly they're going to get up to speed. Colby is like a very calm presence. He reminds me a little bit of Joe [Del Campo] from my first season. You cannot be in concrete. You have to move fluidly. You have to move like water, but not be wishy-washy in this game, or you're gonna get run over real fast.
Men’s Journal: Especially in a faster game. Do the 26 days make a difference to you?
Aubry Bracco: I think they're probably going to be two vote-outs. Like, it's going to be 2-2-2. I would never tell the new era this, but back in my day—no, I still think it's legitimate. It's really fast, it's still Survivor. It's a new Survivor. Evolve or die. 26 days is less days away from my baby. Odie, I call him. He's gonna be 2 in August. He just goes, "Amazing!" That's his thing. And I just want him to know you can mess up, but you should celebrate failure and go and pivot and come back more fearless and have more fun than I did.
Men’s Journal: Is that what you’re trying to take out of this game?
Aubry Bracco: Fun, fearless, and listen to my gut.
The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.