Survivor winner Jeremy Collins wanted to stay in Traitor’s Castle a little longer.
The 46-year-old Cambridge firefighter was sadly murdered during the Thursday, January 16th episode after traitors put him in a coffin and left him begging for his life in-game.
“I take full responsibility for my murder,” Collins exclusively told Men’s Journal about his death. “I think I talk too much. I think I talk to the wrong people. I try to trust people I don’t know. But listen, I think I had the right people. But they didn’t want it.”Let’s go together…Let me just say, I don’t talk much, so let other people do it.” I’ll just vent here and there and hopefully what I say will make more sense. That’s all I said, and I wanted the people I spoke to to really stick with it, but it just wasn’t enough. ”
His killing was largely due to accusations against Big Brother alumnus Daniel Reyes, who he correctly suspected was a traitor, which at least “made me feel good,” he says. “I felt really strongly about Daniel because me and Daniel were cool. We were really good. We talked from day one. We talked through everything, the first few days, and we were really good. But she did some things that I thought, ‘No, that’s not true,”’ he says. “And she’s crying. I’m like, I can’t believe that cry at all. And I say to Derrick[Levasseur]’If she demands a shield, she’s a traitor, because she can’t claim a shield. Because I don’t need it. No one is chasing me.” That’s my current girlfriend. ‘So she asked for a shield and I thought, ‘Oh, she’s a traitor.’ ”
Yuan Cherry/Peacock
Collins played the game with three other Survivor alumni, which he thought had an advantage, especially since two of them were actually traitors without his knowledge. “It’s always nice to see people you know. I have such a good reputation on ‘Survivor,’ so I thought, ‘Oh, I need these people to spread that reputation.’ “So it was nice to meet them,” he told MJ. “I know Tony (Vlachos), Tony is crazy. I know how he plays. Me and Tony are good players. So I was very happy to see him on the field. Carolyn (Wiger) ), I was happy. (Boston) Rob (Mariano)” I wasn’t sure how “Winners at War” was going to end, but I still thought, “Oh, this is We Survivor.” If we play together, things will go well. ‘Don’t you understand what I’m saying? That’s why I’m always happy to see familiar faces. ”
Unfortunately, these survivor bonds were not enough for the traitors Mariano and Wiger to convince Reyes not to kill him. “I think they should have both fought,” Collins says. “I was disappointed that they didn’t protect me. At one point in the game, I talked to all three of those traitors, or the other three except for Daniel. I talked to those three and I was like, we’re going to be okay. “If your name comes up, I will support you.” So when I look back on it now, I think, “There’s no way they could have become traitors.” I had their back. And they turned away, and I thought, “Oh.” Not good gameplay for me.
Although his time at the castle was cut short, Collins doesn’t seem to regret appearing on the show. “Listen, I love the Traitors…I had a really good time,” he says. “Let’s play ‘Traitors’ again.”
Regarding other reality shows, he jokingly told MJ: “People call me with different shows and stuff, and I’m like, ‘Come on, I’m at the firehouse. Leave me alone. You know what I’m saying?'” I’m teaching sports, so please leave me alone.”
New episodes of The Traitors air every Thursday at 6pm PT/9pm ET.