Survivor 51's Ori Jean-charles Reveals Where He And Jelly Stand Now (exclusive)

Ori Jean-Charles went into Tribal Council with one move left, and it didn’t land. After Savu lost its third straight immunity challenge on Wednesday’s episode of Survivor 51, the 27-year-old personal trainer was stuck on a tribe of three with Devin Way and Angelica “Jelly” Loblack, his partners in the “Helicopter Alliance.” He rolled his Shot in the Dark, it came up “not safe,” and Devin and Jelly sent him home 2-0.

Ori opened up the following morning about his boot episode and where he stands with Jelly today. “Me and Jelly are cool,” he exclusively told Men’s Journal. “We have hung out. She has come to New York. I spent time in the Midwest.”

He also explains why he thinks Survivor is “about 80, 85 percent luck,” the challenge move he regrets, why voting out Alexis Levine was “cut and dry” even though she’s now his best friend from the show, how his mom took Wednesday’s episode and more.

Scroll down to read our full interview with Ori.

Men’s Journal: Hey Ori! How are you doing this morning?

Ori Jean-Charles: Sharon, that was brutal. Oh my god, that was — oh my god. And it’s one of those things. Like I said, you’ve lived it, you’ve done it, but, oh my god, just watching it… That was emotional. That was brutal, Sharon. If I’m being completely honest, that was brutal.

Men’s Journal: For a second, was like, “This Shot in the Dark is gonna hit.” I was with you. I was like, “It’s gonna hit.” You seemed like you had a lot of faith that it would.

Ori Jean-Charles: Oh, for sure, for sure. I thought it would. I definitely thought it was gonna hit, man. I thought it was destiny. I thought there’s no way that I’m leaving here tonight.

Men’s Journal: Was there any concern going into that challenge with only three of you left? Did you guys talk about, “Oh, what if there’s a puzzle? Who’s going to do it?” Any concerns going into the challenge that you might lose?

Ori Jean-Charles: Oh yeah. There wasn’t any talk about it, but that was probably my biggest regret out there, going into that final challenge. Because, like I said, Survivor is such a game where it’s so unpredictable. I seen the first challenge, the bucket challenge. I tried to put myself in the money position, but Dev [Devin Way] couldn’t quite get the hang of tossing me the water. Just couldn’t quite get the hang of getting the water to Jenna [Doore]. So I thought me being in that position — ah, okay, we couldn’t figure that out. The next challenge, I’m like, “All right, I’m gonna shoot the balls. I’m gonna put myself in the money position.” I didn’t even get a chance to get a shot up.

So it was like the third. That last challenge — like I said, in Survivor, you can be physically smart, you can be strategic, you can be stoic, but at the end of the day, there’s times where you need to win. Immunity is paramount. And that last challenge, setting it up, I made sure I was the one to anchor us. I thought the money position was knocking down the blocks, but I should have been the one to do the puzzle. I should’ve did everything. I should’ve moved. Because if I would have went home knowing that it was because of me, it was in my hands, it would have felt a lot better. So yeah, just not having a plan of really taking action going into that immunity. Because, just knowing the dynamics, knowing what’s going on, I knew if we don’t win this, I’m out of here.

Men’s Journal: Have you thought — had Jelly not had the idol, would it have gone the same way, or no?

Ori Jean-Charles: Had Jelly not had the idol, it would have still been tough, because it would have been — definitely with an extra vote, that’s two, plus Jelly’s vote, that’s three, still against my singular vote. So it would’ve been one of those things where, what can you do besides fight tooth and nail, trying to get them to see that? “Yeah, you’re best friends, but you guys might not be the best for each other. Come with me. Give me a shot, please. Please don’t kill me. Please don’t pull the trigger.” So I was definitely the definition of being between a hard rock and a hard place. It was one of those things where it’s so unlucky. And that’s the thing about Survivor. It’s not a game based on who’s the best. It’s about 80, 85% luck. You know, it’s not merit-based. The best player, or the player that plays the best, isn’t usually the one that wins. It’s who’s lucky, who finds himself in the best positions, who gets the roll of the dice, per se. So yeah, sucked.

Men’s Journal: I want to talk about you and Jelly. You had a great connection out there. Where do you guys stand today? Did it get romantic at all after the show, or are you guys keeping it platonic?

Ori Jean-Charles: Listen, me and Jelly are cool, man. Well, I will say that me and Jelly are cool. We have hung out. She has come to New York. I spent time in the Midwest. We have hung out. Like I said, I’ll leave it at that. Me and Jelly are cool. I’ll be able to say that.

Men’s Journal: Okay. Speaking of the Helicopter Alliance, had you guys gotten through this, were you planning to go all the way to the end with them? Or were you gonna see how it played out and then maybe have to make a tough call?

Ori Jean-Charles: Absolutely, because at the end of the day, only one of us could win. It’s so rare that you find people that see the same vision as you, are trustworthy, want to play for you as much as you want to play for them. That’s what made us so special, I feel like — just having that. But yeah, that would have definitely been a tough call, because we would’ve definitely rode it out. But at the end of the day, I want to win. So if I seen someone was playing a better game than me, or someone that I couldn’t stack up against at that final Tribal, “I love you, but you gotta go,” just like they did me. Like, “Yo, I love you, but you gotta go. It’s a game.” It was one of those things where, for sure, I’d have to see how it played out, but for sure, tough decisions would have had to been made.

Men’s Journal: You talked a lot about your mom and wanting to retire her, and her being a lot of the reason that you were out there. What has her reaction been to the show and you being on it?

Ori Jean-Charles: My mom knew nothing about Survivor. Like, nothing about Survivor. She never watched. But her mindset — I told her I was gonna go in there, I told her I was gonna win it. She was like, “Oh, listen, I don’t know, but my baby said he’s gonna go out there and win it. I know you gonna go out there and win it.” She’s loved it, man. She’s loved it. And it’s meant so much to me that I’ve been able to tell the world about my mom, even if it’s just a little bit, you know, because that’s my everything. It’s so funny. Every good quality I have as a man, I learned from a 5’5″ little Caribbean Haitian woman. So it’s one of those things. She’s loved it. It’s been a blast. Last night was tough, because she fell for the editing. She’s mad at Jelly right now. She was like, “Wait, hold on. Whoa, you did what?” Oh, yeah!

Men’s Journal: Oh, man! That’s fair. Anything from the summit that we didn’t get to see? You were in with Sharonda, but how did you feel about Kristin? Did you have any inkling there was a catch to that idol?

Ori Jean-Charles: Kristin’s awesome. Kristin’s awesome. I was so well intertwined with so many people in the south. We were such a good, close-knit team and camp. Kristin’s awesome. Huge threat. I can’t wait to see what she does. Huge, huge threat. She’s awesome. But going out to that summit, knowing how urgent things were, I was like, “Okay, this might be my saving grace. I might get something here.” Reading it, it was just like, “Oh, man. So you’re telling me this idol, I can’t use on myself, I have to use it on these other two, and I have to spend a night at Exile to get it?” So that was concerning. The other thing about going to Exile — you don’t know what’s gonna happen. It might be good, it might be bad. The one thing I did know was, for me to see another night, for me to see another day in Fiji on Survivor, we had to win immunity. And I felt like the best way to do that was to bring back food, you know? Get some calories in us, get us energized, get our morale up, and hopefully that little advantage would be what it took to get us that win and get us that next step. That was my mindset. The only thing I knew for certain, the only guarantee I had, was winning. And having good spirits, fueling us, giving us some calories, giving us some food, was our best chance at doing that. So that’s what helped really guide that decision.

Men’s Journal: Any regrets about getting rid of Alexis last week? Or do you feel like it would have been the same outcome?

Ori Jean-Charles: Oh, man. The funny thing about the regrets with Alexis is it’s real, because Alexis — to this day, Alexis is my best friend from the show. Literally. I spent time with her husband — shout-out Erin — her little lady. She has a beautiful, beautiful daughter that looks just like her, huge blue eyes. Shout-out Lila. But yeah, I got my choppers, my alliance — that’s family. But that’s literally my best friend from the show. And the thing about the Alexis decision, it was so, so hard, because if I went with my heart, I would have went with Alexis. But strategically, I couldn’t do that. So let’s talk game plan. I’ve gotten so many messages. I’ve seen so much about that. But I’m like, do you guys know what game you’re playing? Do you guys watch Survivor? I know you guys like Alexis. You might not like our alliance, but that was a pretty cut-and-dry decision. Because say I go with Alexis and we get Jelly out. Say we lose next round. Devin has two votes. He’s not going to send us to rocks. And why would Alexis go to rocks when she can guarantee she goes to merge? And I’m the one that broke the alliance. I’m the one that pissed him off and pissed us off. So guess what’s going on? Me.

Say, again — let’s play strategy again. Say I side with Alexis, and me, Alexis and Jelly get Devin out. Now, again, Jelly’s pissed off. I just sent home her number one. I broke up the alliance again. I wasn’t keeping my word. And then guess what? We lose again. Jelly has an idol. Guess who she’s mad at? Guess who she sends home? Yeah, me. So that’s what I’m saying. A lot of people have so many opinions. And it’s one of those things — Alexis is dope. Alexis is a G. Alexis is game, straight. She’s dangerous. She’s so smart. She’s so smart. And listen, that was my best friend. I was her number one. But it was just one of those things where, if you think about Survivor gameplay — I’m not the biggest savant, but I knew. Come on now. So a lot of people are saying you should have went with Alexis, but if you knew what you’re doing, if you’re playing Survivor, you knew that that decision was cut and dry, you know?

Men’s Journal: Yep. I think you made the right call. Unfortunately, because I love Alexis.

Ori Jean-Charles: I loved her. Oh my god, from the bottom of my heart. But it’s one of those things. And I told Tom, like, “I wish I could have,” but what can you do?

Men’s Journal: Last question: People are already saying “Ori for Second Chances,” “Ori for another season.” If they call, would you say yes?

Ori Jean-Charles: Oof! If they call, would I say yes? What kind of question is that? Come on, man! Come on, man! It’s one of those things where, like I say all the time, this was a great experience. Because, again, I talk to Jeremy [Collins] all the time — one of the OGs, one of my favorites. We’ve built a relationship. He’s great. And he talked about his first time playing — at 10, he was like, “Oh, I’m gonna win this game.” He saw the route. He was like, “Oh, I’m gonna win this game,” and they sent him home. He had to come back. And then for me, even at 14 — even though I was the vote before the merge — at 14, I had that same feeling. I saw the path. I saw, realistically, the advantage we have, the relationships we have, how things are shaking. I’m like, “Oh, I’m gonna win this game.” I saw that path. So I have unfinished business, Sharon.

I have unfinished business. I was playing such a good game. I was in such a good place. I was low-key strategic. People trusted me. I want to know what it feels like to be on that merge beach, where I can do my thing, have my hands in everybody’s pockets, working with everyone, having an immunity where somebody not being able to get a bucket filled is not gonna kill me, not being able to get a shot up — it not being on me. Having the opportunity would be amazing. And then the second part was just the love — how many people reached out. I have so many friends, especially one of my mentors — it was a rough night, but they were so happy the world got to see what type of dude I am, the type of guy I am, and the amount of people that show me so much love. So it’s one of those things where — absolutely, Sharon.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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