The first jury member reveals more intel on what we did not see on TV.

Shell-shocked Survivor 49 star Nate Moore told Rizo not to play his idol on him

The first jury member reveals more intel on what we did not see on TV.

By Dalton Ross

Dalton Ross is a writer and editor with over 25 years experience covering TV and the entertainment industry. *Survivor* is kind of his thing.

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November 6, 2025 11:40 a.m. ET

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Nate Moore on 'Survivor 49'.

- *Survivor 49* star Nate Moore says he was 'shell-shocked' by the 'gut punch' of being voted out of the game.

- Nate explains his endgame plan had he stayed, which included possibly flipping on Rizo and Savannah.

- The ousted player also reveals the original Hina tribe member he tried to work with, leading right up to his exit vote.

Nate Moore knows all about superheroes from his years as a Marvel movie producer, yet no special powers could save him from elimination on this week’s episode of *Survivor*.

After Sage Ahrens-Nichols and Jawan Pitts flipped away from original Uli, Nate was vulnerable once the new coalition believed there was no way Rizo Velovic would ever play his immunity idol for the Rad Dad, so they decided to load all of their votes on the unsuspecting victim. It was a quick and brutal blindside on a guy who seemed destined for a much deeper run.

How does Nate feel about his untimely demise? Did he ever suspect Sage and Jawan had flipped? And what was his endgame plan had he stayed? We spoke to the eighth person out — who was my pre-season pick to win the game — about all that and more, including what we didn’t see on TV.

Nate Moore on 'Survivor 49'.

**NATE MOORE:** Thanks for jinxing me.

**: Yeah, that’s my bad. But I think the question on everybody’s mind right now is: Would you say your blindside qualifies as cinema?**

I think that was cinema. I'm not sure it was as much of a blindside as it seemed, because we knew it was the leverage point in the game where either old Uli would stick together or not, but I do think that was cinema.

**Did you ever get any sense on your part that Sage and Jawan had flipped?**

Essentially, the Shannon story kind of held together, but not a hundred percent. Because I had talked to Sage, and Shannon had sort of told Sage that she might have been on the bottom of our alliance. So we knew we had some repair to do.

In our conversations, though, our pitch to Jawan and Sage was, “Let's stay together as a strong six, because you're guaranteed top six. If you go to the other side, then you're in a seven alliance of three different tribes and you don't really know where you're sitting. And we knew that Alex was always going to play the middle. We didn't think we had Alex, but we thought Sage and Jawan would be smart to stick with us, because from a numbers perspective, they do have a better shot.

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And my relationship with Jawan wasn't tight, but my relationship with Sage was actually pretty good. And I would have worked with her. When we reunited, what I told her, which I think is true, is I knew that Savannah, Rizo, and Sophi were starting to get closer. And I was like, “Look, Sage, there's a chance we're going to have to team up and maybe we flip it, but let's stick together for now.”

So, going into that Tribal, I remember Rizo, Savannah, and I having a conversation where it's like, “Either we're going to get through this and go final six, or something bad's about to happen and then we're going to have to figure out how to pick up the pieces.”

Nate Moore on 'Survivor 49'.

**So if you knew there was a chance you all were in trouble, was there ever any discussion about Rizo playing his idol for someone?**

Yes. And Rizo offered to play it for me. He was like, “Look, if I feel it….” [Laughs] And I, very dumbly, was like, “Don't do that, man. You got to save it for yourself!” And I remember Savannah asking Rizo if he would play it for her, and he said, “Maybe.”

So there was a little bit of like, will Rizo play it for either of us? And Rizo also knew he was at risk. And so the last conversation I had with Savannah before we left for Tribal, it was me and her on the beach. Everybody was going to get their torches. And I said, “Savannah, I think it's you or me, we're going to catch votes.”

Did I think I was going home? Not necessarily, but I knew one of us was going to catch the votes because we both knew that whatever alliance was there was not going to vote for Rizo because they were so scared of that idol. So like the Matt vote, I was like, “Look, I'll see my name on the parchment.” And I think you can see it in the episode. I see my name, I'm like, “Okay, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.” I was pretty sure whoever was going to get five, because again, I knew Alex wasn't with us. At six, I was like, “Oh, boy. That's not good.”

Sophie Segreti, Alex Moore, Nate Moore, and Kristina Mills on 'Survivor 49'.

**It’s a lot to take in being voted out of *Survivor*, so how did you handle that in the hours and days after your torch snuffing?**

It's a gut punch. I truly didn't think it was going to happen then. I didn't want to be super salty about it. You're angry, and in the moment, Savannah and Sophi were very shocked., I think Rizo was a little bit of ahead of it and was like, “F---!” And I truly felt that was my core alliance. I felt bad because I was like, “Oh f---, this is the tip of the iceberg of something very bad potentially happening.”

And it does feel surreal because you're so intense in that game, even for 14 days to go like, “Oh, you're done.” It's like getting off of a roller coaster immediately. I was shell-shocked. I was also so tired. Part of me was like, “Well, this could be worse.” [Laughs] Um, I didn't want to leave, but since I was leaving, I didn't want to do it in a way that wasn't dignified, because I was like, “My wife's watching, my kids are watching. I don't want to be salty about it.”

Nate Moore of 'Survivor 49'.

**We saw you in the big four alliance with Savannah, Shannon, and Rizo. What was your endgame plan? Was it to go to the end with Savannah and Rizo?**

I thought it was going to be hard to beat Rizo. Rizo is incredibly charming. He has a great story and I was not sure I could beat him. I thought Savannah would've been interesting, and again, those were sort of my core two. Sophi, I loved, but I think at that point in the game, because she sort of came from a Kele tribe that was decimated, there wasn't a big focus on her.

The other people I wanted to play with were Sage and MC, actually. I had a conversation with MC where I said, “Look, if you trust me, don't play your idol. I think you're safe, and I think we can go far in the game.” But she asked me who I was voting for, and I couldn't tell her the truth because if I told her Steven, I didn't want her to play her idol for Steven. So I told her Kristina, because I didn't know that she knew we were voting for Steven. So she didn't trust anything I said when really, I was truthful that I wanted to play with MC.

She's great, and I think we would've been good shields for each other because we were also the two most physically fit people out there. So my plan was: Let's get to seven with old Uli, Sophi, and MC, and then maybe I would have to pick a path. Do I think I can get to the finals with Rizo and Savannah? I wouldn't mind it. If I felt like Rizo, Savannah, and Sophi were too tight, then at least I would have numbers if I had to flip the game with MC, Jawan, and Sage, was what I was thinking in my head. But obviously, life had different plans.

Nate Moore on 'Survivor 49'.

**Original Uli never had to go to Tribal Council. What would have happened if you all had gone?**

Jawan would've gone first. I don't think Sage would've liked it, but he would've gone. I think it probably would've been unanimous. So it was a core four, and Sage and I had a good thing, I thought. And I would've wanted to loop her in because I did like her and wanted to protect her. If we got down to the next vote, that's when it would've gotten sticky, because Sage was a little bit on the outs, which she felt. And l ultimately found out that Shannon had told her, which did not help anybody, [Laughs]

For me, I was closest with Rizo and Savannah, but I really liked Shannon. I know some of the talk back of Shannon as a character on the show was not positive, but Shannon and I had a really good relationship. She's a lovely kid and we really bonded. So it would've been hard at five. At six, it was obvious it was Jawan.

Nate Moore and Jawan Pitts on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

**You play *Survivor* and see it through your eyes, but your eyes only. What has been the biggest surprise for you watching it all play back on TV?**

I thought I was edited pretty accurately. For me, the blind spot was Shannon and Sage's relationship deteriorating so quickly on Hina. And I will say the other thing I didn't realize is we assumed Hina was a tighter group than I think they were. Those were the two elements that was hard to suss.

The second tribe swap for me was super scary, because I ended up with Kristina, Alex, and Sophie, and I assumed that Kristina and Sophie would be tight, and that maybe I could wedge myself between Alex and them. I'm not sure that was true. And you saw it a little bit when they wanted to use Sophie as maybe the burn vote, where I was like, “Oh, maybe Sophie and Kristina weren't as tight as I assumed they were because Hina, like us, just kept winning too.” So they didn't really ever have to test those bonds.

Nate Moore on 'Survivor 49'.

Robert Voets/CBS

**So  what do you think would've happened had you guys after that second tribe swap gone to Tribal?**

I think I would've been out of there. I would have been outta there so fast. [Laughs] I had no alibi. And it's interesting, because I was watching the episode going like, “Well, MC played that really well. Why did I play that so poorly?” But I realized because MC had no voting record to defend, she could've come and just been like, “Hey, I want to play with you guys.” I had to justify why two Hina members went out to two Hina members, so my lie was not great.

And Sophie, in the episode, was completely right. I wasn't going to turn on Uli and I didn't think I had any footing to wedge myself. I tried with Kristina a little bit. I tried with Sophie a little bit. I tried with Alex a little bit. Alex is great and he says it, that he's sort of hard to read because of his job. And so I never really felt like, “Oh, this guy and I are connecting.” I did feel like I had moments of that with Sophie and Kristina, but I just never assumed I could get between them. So I think if we would not have come back in that maze, I would've been out of there certainly sooner than I was.

Nate Moore and Kristina Mills on 'Survivor 49'.

**Okay, a question about the socks. Were the Rad Dad socks just a goofy, fun thing from your wife, or was that part of your strategy like, “Hey, I've never hung out with Black Panther and Captain America. I'm just a happy-go-lucky stay-at-home dad!” Was there any strategy in the socks?**

No strategy. It was my wife saying, “I got these for you. Will you wear them?” And me saying “Sure.” And not thinking there were going to be a point of anything. I don't buy my own clothes. My wife is lovely and dresses me. But I was surprised at how quickly I was the dad of Uli. I don't feel like I'm old, but I am old in the world of *Survivor*.

So when we landed on the beach and I was like, “Oh, I'm 16 years older than the next oldest person on my tribe. Oh, baby, I'm in trouble.” Because it's a social game and the more you are different — and that difference can be age, ethnicity, gender — but as soon as you are an other,  you're climbing a hill. And no one else had kids and no one else was married. I was just in such a specific spot. And I either had to embrace that role and be like, “I'm the dad. That's what I'm going to do.” Or reject it, and rejecting it wasn't going to work. So I just embraced it.

Nate Moore and Sophi Balerdi on 'Survivor 49'.

**Finally, what’s something that happened out there that didn’t make it to TV that you wish we had seen?**

There are a couple things that come to mind. One was a Matt thing. When I landed in the first tribe swap with Matt, the first person I went to talk to was Matt. Because I was dying to talk to somebody from my generation and figure out if I could work with this guy. And so the first minutes of that new Hina, we went off looking for crabs and talking, because I was like, “Well, maybe this is somebody that I could work with because we certainly, at least on paper, would seem to have a lot in common.”

And then immediately after he and Jawan go fishing, Jawan’s like, “You know, he is throwing your name out in the boat.” And I was like, “Bro!” That's why I was so salty at it, because I'm like: Man, I wanted to play with that guy from as soon as I saw him and immediately was like, "Oh, I can't trust this man." So that was a bummer.

And then the MC Journey challenge…. I mean, that challenge, Dalton, was literally one of the physically hardest things I did, because you're just walking through sand in the open sun, and by the time we got to the twist, I was so tired. I was like, “I'm not about to go run in the jungle looking for something against someone who again, physically was so superior.”

And as silly as it seemed, there wasn't even a conversation. There was no debate. It was just like, “Yeah, let's just get out of here. What are we doing?” As Journeys go, I would argue that was physically the toughest. And it kicked my ass for like three or four days afterwards. I was toast.

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Original Article on Source

Source: “EW TV”