Matt Blankinship reveals current status of Survivor romance with Frannie

Matt Blankinship went to Fiji to win Survivor 44 — little did he know that he'd win someone's heart instead.

A showmance between Matt and fellow Soka tribemate Frannie Marin blossomed from pretty much the pair's first moments on the beach, which made it both awkward and emotional when Frannie ended up inadvertently sealing his fate and sending him out of the game.

A new endurance challenge twist separated the tribe into two teams. The person who lasted the longest in each group would win immunity, while the person who lasted the longest out of everyone would win immunity for their entire team. After Frannie emerged as the last person standing on the orange team, all she had to do was voluntarily step down and she could have ensured immunity for both herself and Matt. When she went for the big win and defeated Brandon Cottom, Matt was left vulnerable.

To make matters even worse, Matt decided to not bring his bag of possessions to the challenge. So when the losers were sent to another island and then straight to Tribal Council, Matt didn't have his Shot in the Dark to play, which could have potentially kept him safe.

Why didn't Matt bring his bag with him? Was he surprised Frannie didn't throw the challenge? Did the showmance ultimately do him in? And what exactly is the status of the island couple now? We asked the 27-year-old security software engineer all that and more, including what he would have done in Frannie's position. (You can watch the interview above, or read it below.)

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: This is Survivor. Weird things can happen at any point. So, knowing that, as I know you do, why didn't you bring your freakin' bag to the challenge?

MATT BLANKINSHIP: I know, I know. I'm such a fool for that one. And I say it in my confessional, too. I'm like, "I'm an idiot! This is the worst play ever! This is a rookie Survivor mistake!" And it just shows the moment that you get comfortable and start to sort of slip, they're going to come up with something and they're going to get you.

I think Jeff said it in the challenge as well: "Don't get comfortable 'cause you'll let that ball drop." In that moment I was just like, "We're merged. No matter what, we're coming back to this beach. I'll [be] okay." And, for the record, I was not the only one who left their bag. I was the only one for whom it mattered, but I was not the only one who was slipping up in that way. I'm kicking myself for that one. I don't know that it would've made a difference, but at least I would've tried.

Well, if you had the bag, what would you have taken out of it?

At this point, I'm pretty sure my idol is fake. I would've played it anyway. [Laughs] I'm throwing everything at the wall. I'm pretty sure it's me, so I'm just literally, like, any straw I will cling onto. I would've played the idol, and I would've played the Shot in the Dark as well.

To be honest, and this this sounds sort of crazy, but I had it in my head that it would be kind of legendary to go down without ever having voted. [Laughs] Like, make it all the way to the merge and then go through my final Tribal literally never having written anyone's name down. I thought that was funny somehow, and so I was fixated on making that happen. I also saw the Shot in the Dark as pretty much my only shot here. At least until the whole advantage situation.

So let's get into the challenge a bit. The second I saw you and Frannie on separate teams I said to myself, "Okay, if one of them is the last one standing on their team, they clearly should step off the beam and throw it, so that way both of them get immunity." Had that scenario run through your mind at all?

Definitely. Especially once it was only Frannie on the other side. The thought definitely crossed my mind: What's the best way to play this strategically? And I think it crossed her mind as well.

But, at the same time, this is Survivor. Anything can happen, and you want to put your best foot forward. I'm genuinely so proud of her for winning the immunity and setting the tone in this way. I don't fault her at all for wanting to compete and wanting to win. We're all there because we're competitors and we want that moment of Jeff putting the freaking necklace on you. We all dream about that all the time.

I think that from a strategy perspective, yes, we want to keep the pair and if one of us wins immunity, you should probably step off and keep the other one safe. But, at the same time, I can't hold it against Frannie for wanting to compete. Come on, she beat Brandon! The freaking NFL player! A little girl from Minnesota outlasting this big guy who played on the Seahawks. Like, how cool is that? What a story.

I think she has a future as a boom mic operator. Okay, I'm sure you had a lot of different emotions, but I need you to be 100 percent honest with me right now. When it got down to Frannie versus Brandon, were you hoping she would drop the ball?

Um, yeah. [Laughs] I mean, okay, I was hoping that I would be safe in that moment. It was a complicated feeling for me as well, because actually — and I don't think they showed this in the episode — but when Brandon dropped the ball, I had a moment of joy, actually. I was so excited for Frannie. I was putting myself in her shoes, being like, "I've won the challenge!" And I jumped up and I was like, "Woo!"

And then I had a turnaround of like, Oh s---. Now I'm screwed. The emotional response came before the logical response. It reminded me of Josh when Jeff came over and announced that Matthew was leaving the game. He was like, "I'm safe! Oh, but that's really sad." You can't help but feel that competing thing, but the opposite for me. Like, I'm so stoked for Frannie! Oh s---! It's me. I obviously wanted to continue and it would've been much better for me, but again, I don't hold it against her. I'm very proud for her.

What would you have done had it been, say, you vs. Carolyn at the end? Do you think you would've thought it through and stepped off? Or do you think you would've gone for the win?

Oh gosh, it's one of those situations where you don't know until you're there. Honestly, I think I would've thought about it and probably knocked it off. If I know I'm safe, I probably would've dropped the ball, because it just made sense. But it is hard. We're all competitive. They didn't show this as well, but that challenge, it was like 50 minutes, almost an hour. You have a lot of time to think about it. I think I probably would've ended up there.

I know you know this question is coming, but what is the status of you and Frannie now? Go ahead, spill the beans.

Yeah, we're still dating. We're still going strong. Obviously, there is so much chemistry there. We're two dorky magnets. We couldn't stay away from each other. And we knew the whole time. I think of myself as a very logical, smart guy. The one thing you come into Survivor and not do is get into a showmance 'cause it's a terrible strategy, but we literally couldn't help it. So, yeah, we're still going strong. We did get Ethiopian food. We're planning that road trip. We're making it happen.

Is she on the other side of that wall right now?

Yeah, she's over there. [Laughs]

I love it. I figured as much. You didn't do a great job of hiding your showmance. How difficult was it trying to manage those two desires of playing the game but also making this really powerful, unexpected connection?

Like you said, it's the last thing I expected. You prepare for this game, but you could never prepare for that, right? One of the things I told myself going out there was to just sort of embrace whatever the experience had for me. Go out there with an open mind and just let myself feel the things I was feeling and express them and let myself be whatever, whoever I am in that moment.

I think I really did that. For me, that connection is so strong. That relationship with me and Frannie is so beautiful and so pure. It would be a disservice to me and a disservice to her to not allow that to flourish, regardless of game, you know? I'm the real winner of Survivor 44.

Absolutely! If it works out, it's better than a million dollars, no question. It will last longer, too. Do you think the showmance did you in, in terms of the threat level you all put on yourselves?

Honestly, no. Me and Fran were not that subtle on Soka beach. It was very clear. But we did actually kind of turn it down and come to our senses, right? Our heads were in the clouds for a bit. We tightened it up. I don't think that the bond between me and Fran was so obvious to everyone else. Jaime came to our beach, she's like, "I don't know what Matt's doing, he seems off in space." She didn't really pick up on it, as deep as it was. So I don't think it was ultimately the showmance. I do think people thought we were an alliance and close, and that may have played a factor. I also think that the idol thing was a big factor as well.

Honestly, with all the connections that I had made, I was actually feeling really, really good about my social game at the merge. With those 11 people, I felt like I had made good bonds with seven of them. And it just so happened that they were all on the other tribe for the way that the rocks came out.

I was genuinely feeling really good. I think that they probably picked up on that and saw it more as like, Matt is playing a good social game and this is an opportunity where he's powerless. We have to take this opportunity to take him out. I'm pretty sure that was how it went down.

How much time have you spent over the past year dwelling over the twist that put you in that group of five and how things might have been different had they just had a regular challenge and Tribal Council?

Yeah, there are so many different permutations of how the teams could have gone. There are so many different ways that the twists could have gone. There are so many ways that the idol or the advantage could have gone. The whole thing. I mean, the stars aligned, but [in a] negative [way] for me. All of that had to be true for me to go home. Any other group of five, I think I would've been okay.

But it is what it is. Honestly, having seen the episode, it was like a Matt swan song and a beautiful episode. I think I came out as good as I possibly could have. Like, I was freaking out on Soka beach, I was unhinged going to Tribal. I was losing my mind, and I think it was a very kind edit. So I'm happy with the whole thing.

Um, how did Frannie handle watching the episode?

Oh, we were both in tears. [Laughs] She was weeping. I was weeping. It was a really intense experience reliving that. I think you can see it at Tribal. I'm a smiley dude, I'm smiling all the time, but I knew I was going home and that was the darkest place for me the whole time. I felt like I was processing my elimination sitting at Tribal before it had happened. That was a rough place. I think you can see it in my face as well. We were weeping.

Finally, what's something that happened out there that we didn't see that you wish had made it onto TV?

Back on Soka, riding the good times, we were winning challenges, everything was good. We were talking about what's the wackest analogy you could make at Tribal Council. Like, what's a really silly thing you could throw in there. What we landed on was a bidet. There's something just so funny about bringing a bidet into Tribal Council. So on my way out — again, I was so sure it was me — I was like, "I gotta throw my homies at Soka this bone." So I tried to make up a bidet analogy just for them. I knew it wouldn't make air. I knew it wasn't for anyone except for those people sitting on the bench. I just had to do it for them. So, yeah, talking about bidets with Jeff at Tribal.

What was the analogy?

Jeff was like, "This is a family friendly show. We can't be talking about poop." [Laughs] But yeah, I was literally like, "You know, up until this point in the game, I may have been throwing s--- everywhere and I was a messy, messy guy, but today I'm washing that all clean. I want to come clean and be totally honest."

Honestly, the analogy worked because that genuinely was my play at that point. I was trying to convince Brandon that I did not have a real idol. I was trying to convince all the Ratu people, like, "I don't have this." I was telling them the whole story. So, the analogy worked, but it was mostly for the people sitting on the bench there.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

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