Read on for my interview with Drea, and make sure to check in with Parade.com every day for interviews with this season’s contestants and other tidbits. Survivor 42 premieres on March 9 with a special two-hour premiere on CBS.
Interview with Drea from Survivor 42
Tell us about yourself. I am Drea Wheeler. I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. But I live in Montreal now. I am a fitness instructor, trainer, personal trainer, and fitness business owner. And I love all things to do a charity. So I’m a very charitable person. So I get to do what I love for a living. Why are you here on Survivor? I am here for the ultimate challenge. I know that sounds cliche. But not physically, more so for a breakthrough. I find that in my life, there’s been a lot of things that have happened to where I crawl myself back up, be it challenges in my personal life, my business, or anything like that. I don’t know if you know this, but in Canada, Survivor’s a religion. Canadians love Survivor. If anyone’s ever in some kind of rut or something, they’ll say, “It’s like I’m on Survivor.” And at that point in my life, I truly felt like, “I’m just going to take a chance. I’m going to apply for Survivor.” And I’m going to hope that this will be the ultimate breakthrough to recreate a new Drea again, and this was what I believe would give me that opportunity. What’s your history with watching Survivor? I watched Survivor as a kid when it was the biggest thing. I felt that it was difficult for me to feel like there would ever be someone like me on the show. I just never saw someone like me, a Black woman who was curious and really into different cultures and stuff like that. I found that, unfortunately, Black characters are always one-dimensional and not so much what I could relate to. But as an adult, I started seeing little bits of what I could represent from different people from different cultures that were starting to come onto Survivor. And ultimately, I took the risk. I was like, “Maybe I can be the first Drea. Maybe there’s a kid out there who’s like me!” (Laughs.) Who can relate and will think differently than I did as a kid. And will say, “I’m going to keep on watching Survivor. And I’m going to be on Survivor when I’m 18.” Give me one Survivor winner and one non-winner who you identify with the most. I identify with Kim Spradlin, not just because she’s from San Antonio. (Laughs.) I just liked her gameplay. I liked that it wasn’t so much in your face. I found her to be a very good people person. She was athletic. She listened to people. She didn’t really backstab people; she would make game decisions. And when the players that were sent away because of her asked her about it, she gave game reasons why it wasn’t personal. And they respected her for that in the end. And I think that’s why she won. So I really like Kim’s gameplay. I think that I see a lot of myself in her. A non-winner would be Cirie. I found that she was extremely empathetic. No one really wanted to write her name, although they knew that she was strategic, because they loved her. And I find that a little bit of me in that too, hopefully. What’s one life experience you feel has prepared you most for the game? I think the one life experience that has prepared me for everything that I’ve ever done in my life was losing my father at 17. He was my pops, my dad. He was my stepdad, but he raised me as if I was his own. And as I’m older, I have a husband, I realized how special that was. I never felt that like I was not his blood. But when you lose someone in your life young, especially at 17, for me, I just knew that I would take all the risks that I had to do because tomorrow’s not guaranteed. People say that I’m very much a high-risk taker, but I find it’s just that I’m just living my life. Because I know tomorrow’s my guarantee. So that for sure has prepared me for this. I’m going to play this game like it’s my second chance for sure. What do you think people will perceive you as? I hope people will perceive me as athletic and strategic, but someone who still supported the underdog. I don’t want to come out as a mean person. (Laughs.) I want to play this game. But I want to play it like I run my life, and that’s very strategic, but in a morally safe and good way. The other players will see me as an advantage in terms of the challengers. I also believe that they’ll see me as someone who really helped out at camp. I’m a contributor; I always have been. I’m a leader; I gather people. So I will be the number one person to try to ensure that our camp has no drama. (Laughs.) I do it in my job. I had over 80 employees at a point, and it felt like a family. So I try to ensure that although we’re competing with each other, we still feel support for one another. What do you desire in an alliance partner? I think the Wendell and Dom partnership was the best. They knew that they were eventually going to have to cut each other’s necks. But there was some sort of just loyalty there. They still competed with each other. They didn’t let one person win because they felt pity for them or something like that. But there was just the competitive yet loyal nature to the two of them. And then the way that they were able to have a number three, number four, number five, and number six always feel like they were at the top. A Wendell and Dom alliance would be pretty ideal for me. What celebrity or fictional character would you want to come out for a Loved Ones visit? It would be Gwyneth Paltrow. I find her awesome. This past year she has supported my business like that other, and I adore her. Goop sells my booty bands, and they support Drea Wheeler. I call myself a Goop Girl. Ever since I went out on my own to branch off after I sold my business, I’ve been featured on Goop. I’ve been recently at their group summit. I did my class there. It’s been unbelievable how much Goop has supported me. I [expletive] adore Gwyneth Paltrow. Next, check out our interview with Survivor 42 contestant Omar Zaheer.
