Angelina Keeley Calls Out Christian After 'Survivor 50' Exit: 'It Felt Premeditated' (Exclusive)

Just one Tribal Council after losing her closest ally in Mike White on Survivor 50, Angelina Keeley found herself on the outside of the numbers with little room to recover. She made a last-ditch push to shift the target onto fellow Season 37 alum Christian Hubicki after feeling betrayed—but the damage had already been done. (And in true full-circle fashion, she didn’t leave without giving away her jacket.)

While the episode played out as a relatively straightforward vote, the David vs. Goliath fan favorite says there was far more happening behind the scenes. From the emotional fallout of Mike’s blindside to conversations that never made it to air, she believes key parts of her story–and other female players–were left out of the edit.

In her exit interview with Men’s Journal, Angelina opens up about her attempt to turn the game around, why she felt targeted even before the game began, and her complicated dynamic with Christian, whom she believes came in with a plan against her. She also reflects on how the experience compared to her first time playing—and what frustrated her most watching it back.

Scroll down to read the full interview with Angelina.

Men's Journal: How are you feeling after watching the episode? Anything surprise you?

Angelina Keeley: Let's talk about the episode. Let's talk about what was there and what was not there. I mean, I'll be so honest with you, like it's not even just this episode, this whole season. I just, I'm very underwhelmed with the lack of female voices happening. And it's not just me. I think fans are really taking note too, and it's, it's very confusing. I approach it with a lens of curiosity, of just like, why? But I think that question is yet to be answered. I would love your perspective, if you had kind of some reactions to that piece.

Men's Journal: Right! We didn't even see the fallout from the last Tribal. What happened on the beach with you and Christian?

Angelina Keeley: We missed so much. Let me catch you up. Okay, so Ozzy had his, you know, his situation, his feelings. He released his feelings. And Christian tried to talk to me that night, I was shut down. I rarely get like this. I didn't want to talk to anyone. I didn't I said, Christian, I need the night. I'll talk to you tomorrow, like I'm this is really hard. I was devastated. I mean, Mike is not he was not only like an ally in the game, like he's a close friend in real life, he's someone that I have real memories with, that really matters to me and and I thought to Christian as well, independently. And so I was really sad, and I also knew that Mike's biggest fear was getting out early, and, yeah, Ponderosa. And so I was like, in the back of my mind, I'm like, Is he okay? Like, you know, I was just worried about him, but I it took the wind out of my sails for sure. So I didn't want to talk to anyone. I cried a lot. I cried a lot that night. I cried a lot the next day. It was really me to pick myself up after that, I was, I was really, really sad.

Men's Journal: Did you push at all to get people to target Christian?

Angelina Keeley: That was my first plan. That's what I tried to execute first. Yeah. So I went to Ozzy, and I knew he and Stephenie were working together, and even though they had both voted for me, I was like, bygones, big bygones, whatever. It's, Survivor 50. We're good. Today's a new day, right? So I my first, my first plan of attack was to get Ozzy and Stephenie to get Christian out with me. And I thought maybe there could be some legs to it, especially given how mad Ozzie was, and I was like, yeah, the writing is on the wall. Like, let's, let's do this. You know what I mean. But Ozzy, for whatever reason, was just very wrapped up in—

Men's Journal: Did you and Ozzy just not vibe?

Angelina Keeley: We did vibe. We were like, really, fine. I was like, why does he want Angelina out so bad ? One time, I was like, "Oh, my mom's a big fan." He's like, "Oh, she must be beautiful, like you." I'm like, "Okay, Ozzy, thanks. Yeah, my mom's beautiful, okay." No, we were fine. Sharon, I get along with everyone. Don't let this edit fool you. I get along with everyone. I'm not lazy. I was just trying to tow the line. I was damned if I do, damned if I don't. Had I been getting firewood constantly moving around? Then I'm too busy body, she's not trustworthy. She's looking for idols all the time. Angelina's up to something, but I sit at camp where you can see me. I'm checking in for class. I'm present. I'm here, okay? I'm not I'm not ditching school. I'm not causing any trouble. But then I'm lazy. Okay, even though I was making little papayas for us every day with the machete, okay? Q [Burdette], I guess you don't value that kind of work. So anyway, what a wild experience, right? The whole thing, top to bottom.

But yeah, Ozzy, I tried to get him to go with me. But I think a lot of people talked about me before the game started. I was not pregaming, more or less than anyone. I was pregaming the normal amount. I have heard that Christian started a rumor that I was, like, targeting old school players and things like that. So he had a plan of attack. And, I mean, all is fair, I guess, but a lot of people were soured on me before we even flew out to Fiji. And that's too bad, because I mean, to me, I always give everyone a chance. Like, it's a new day, it's a new season. We we've all played how we played. We all have history with someone. We're all connected. Like, I mean, Ozzy and Cirie [Fields] having played together for over 50 days on the same tribe. Like, that's a that's more than Mike and I have played together on the same tribe. So, you know, and that bond was tight, as we saw. And so I felt like I was a bit overly targeted, kind of maybe a low hanging fruit. Then someone's got to go right, like anyone but me kind of thing. And so I think, unfortunately, I think I had a really bad starting tribe for me personally, and a bad swap given Christian's agenda.

Men's Journal: What do you make of Christian going after you so early? Had you and Mike planned on targeting him at some point?

Angelina Keeley: I mean, no, no, there was no premeditated plan to get Christian out at X, Y or Z time. I think the general sentiment amongst the three of us was like, hey, let's help each other out as long as we can. Like, let's just be cool, tell each other when we can, where we can. And I thought that was the plan again. Christian doesn't owe me any favors. I targeted Christian at the at the merge of David vs. Goliath seven, now, eight years ago, and so I was wary of that. I don't think we've ever seen eye to eye, and it's a friendly banter, at least from my side. But I do feel like he was really out for a vengeance this time. I think he had a hit list. I mean, the fact that he was talking so bad about me in the pregame press and everything, it was just like he was really, really focused on writing this narrative. And even all his confessionals are so overly negative about me. I'm like, Christian! I don't know. I think he just takes the game a lot more seriously than some of us do. It's very important to him. I think he had a lot riding on this personally, but to me, did the move need to happen eventually? Yeah, eventually we needed to self-destruct. But I don't think that it's going to serve any of us well to have made this move. If Christian wins, okay, I can see it all. Right. Cool. Good for you. But if he doesn't go much further, bro, what was it all for?

Men's Journal: Have you and Christian had a conversation since the game?

Angelina Keeley: I saw him at the premiere. I saw him and his wife. I was able to congratulate them on their baby, and yeah, I mean, I try to be a good sport. Again, I'm not upset that any of them voted me out. I talked to Ozzy, I talked to Stephenie, I talked to all of them. Christian, I sat next to Emily at the premiere. And it's a game. It's what we signed up for. My beef with Christian, if there is beef, is I do feel like what he did to Mike was was wrong in the sense that they had a real friendship of many years, traveled to each other, talked constantly. They weren't just acquaintances. They weren't just people who played, you know? I would kind of maybe put me and Christian more in the acquaintance category, right? Cordial. We played this game together. We'd maybe talk like once every few years, or if we had a wedding of a Survivor person, like, that kind of vibe. But Christian would go out of his way to reach out to Mike constantly. And I think the real kicker, even the bigger betrayal than him voting him out so early in the way he did–because I think he felt like he took him out like an enemy, rather than have a friend out. And it seems so preconceived, right? For him not to tell Mike who he had been talking to more than weekly for months and months and months leading up to the game, for him to withhold the information about having a child, which is the biggest life change. Like, yes, I know he didn't tell anyone else, and yeah, I didn't know, and I shouldn't have known. But to talk to Mike constantly like that, and then to not tell him that information to me, displays that it was all premeditated. This was all part of his plan to, like, have his secret baby card to whip out and to pull one over on Mike. And so, you know, it's between them, but from my perspective, obviously, I'm Team Mike all the way.

Men's Journal: What is your take on what Mike said about Christian hamming it up for the cameras? You were accused of that as well.

Angelina Keeley: So first of all, watch the season. I was not doing anything for the camera, okay? I was being a sane, normal person, and that does not translate well to reality TV. And I think the editors wanted to continue the story for a lot of people. I mean, Charlie [Davis], it's like they wanted to continue this story of him being upset about Maria [Shrime Gonzalez]. I think they wanted to continue a story of like this, you know, in the way they depicted me the first time–lack of self awareness, someone who's really bold, someone who overestimates things and whatever. And I wasn't doing that, and so I think it was incongruent with the plan that they had for me. And that's fine. I did not play the game again to be shown on TV. I played the game again to play the game again, and have the experience. In regards to Christian, I would say, let people make up their minds on how they are perceiving him. I mean, we're getting a lot of content and so, you know, I think I will say, from my perspective, he definitely changed a lot from the first time we played versus the second time. And I think some of us played lighter and more joyfully, and some of us played like really seriously and and really cutthroat. And there's no wrong or right way, right it's that's the makes Survivor interesting. We're all playing both different priorities. And my priority was not to scorch the earth and win Survivor at all costs. You know, I was like, let me try my hand at this again and see how I could do differently and be a little bit better in challenges, and come stronger and, you know, and and, play and just play more like a human being, you know? And I did, yeah, and it obviously didn't work out, but I'm glad I did it.

Men's Journal: Would you play Survivor again?

Angelina Keeley: I think I'm still processing this season right now. This is a little bit of a cop-out, but I started my own business. I am a mom. I have such a beautiful, full life at home that the TV stuff is fun for me. It's a hobby for me, right? It's not a goal. I have no ambition to play Survivor again, necessarily, or another show. But like, to me, it's all about if it's the right thing at the right time, and it would be fun. I'm open. I enjoy this stuff. I genuinely enjoy this experience. And even talking to you, playing the game, being on, all of that is easy for me in the sense that like, it feels natural. I love it, and I hope that translates well to to the game. But, yeah, I mean, that's just to say, I don't know. I think I need to think about it a little bit more. I think I need to reflect on this was a rough go for me. I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty upset after everything last night. It's hard to feel a little bit like a pawn in someone else's game. And I think for me, I have such a strong sense of self and a strong voice that, like, I don't prefer to have someone else control my narrative and to control the depiction of me especially.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Related: Q Burdette Explains His Risky 'Survivor 50' Move That Backfired (Exclusive)