The Family lost their first team member in Deal or No Deal Island season 2, episode 5. Maria-Grace went home, and we have chatted with her exclusively about that shocking turn of events.
For us watching, the exit wasn’t too surprising. What was surprising was that Dr. Will stuck to his word and didn’t decide to betray Lete and Seychelle by voting out CK. However, for MG during The Temple, it was a shock to the core.
Since then, things have changed for MG. She shared just how much she and Will talk, more about her showmance, and whether she regrets any choices.
MG talks Dr. Will, the elimination, and Storm in Deal or No Deal Island season 2, episode 5
Hidden Remote: How much of a shock was Dr. Will’s decision at Temple?
Maria-Grace Cook: It really was a shock, because earlier in that day, me, Philip, and Dr. Will sat down and we had a two-hour conversation just laughing and getting to know each other. There wasn’t a lot of strategy involved. It was just getting to know each other, because there’s so much going on. You don’t have a lot of time to just get to know people.
I even asked him if he was going to take me out. I heard supposedly in the Boston Rob exit interview, they played a clip where he’s like ‘why would I be targeting you?’ I mean, why would he be targeting me? I didn’t have any clue, and this happened.
HR: Now that you’ve watched it back and you saw Dr. Will making a deal and holding onto that promise, did it change things for you?
MGC: It does! I really liked Seychelle. I thought she was really funny, and she’s actually coming to LA on Sunday and we’re getting dinner together. We keep in touch, and I love her. Watching that back, I never knew any of it. She never told me, anyway. So, her saying ‘this is like watching Sex and the City for the first time,’ I was like Seychelle! So that’s the more surprising part.
HR: You were the only member of The Family they could go after.
MGC: That was true. It just never came to my head, because I never knew the family was a threat, because no one ever makes that apparent to you. It’s always in confessionals and confessionals are private.
HR: Do you have any regrets in protecting David?
MGC: How my life is now, I wouldn’t change it, but gameplay, for sure, because I even say in one of the confessionals, he’s not playing a good game, so I’m gonna help him. He is a Survivor Legend, which I didn’t know.
I knew Dr. Will was going to go against The Banker, because he always wants to lose challenges. It’s always a thought he’s gonna go up, so I thought he would definitely take CK over me, but he’s gonna take David over CK, and David was the head of my alliance…Our lives would have crumbled anyway.
HR: Is there anything you would have changed if you could go back?
MGC: I don’t know, honestly, because my strategy was to get safe and not win challenges, because I didn’t want to be a threat. I was a firefighter for three years, so challenges were not a problem for me.
Maybe keeping me and Storm a little more private, but that was kind of an outlet for my game.
HR: Since you brought Storm up, how is the showmance going? It was so adorable.
MGC: I was really nervous for the world in general to see it, because I didn’t know how it was going to be perceived. It was great—he had a great time, I had a great time—it was awesome. In real life, we’re are friends. We officially made it just friends, but he’s great.
He visited me in LA and I was gonna visit him in Austin, but we’ve decided not to do that and just stay friends. There’s no bad blood between us. I still talk to him on the daily. I know there’s a lot of great things coming up for him.
HR: So much has happened in the week!
MGC: It’s been a heavy week.
HR: Let’s jump to the night of Dr. Will playing The Banker. I swear, there’s a method to his madness, but I’m not sure what that method is. What was going on in your mind as he played his game?
MGC: It’s really funny to watch as a viewer. In the moment, it makes you sick. It’s funny to laught about now, but if I get my head back in the space of the game…it’s like traumatic. It’s awful. He makes everything terrible…I get why he does it, because it’s a good strategy, but it’s miserable. Everyone’s not having a good time, Joe’s not having a good time, none of us are having a good time. Ben and Karami are not having a good time. We’re all just p****d, so it’s very present in the room that no one is happy with him.
HR: I talked with Karami and Ben about Dr. Will coming in. They said he would turn it into his game. Is that what it felt like for you?
MGC: I don’t know if he was really making it his game strategically. I think it was just more that he was getting on every single person’s nerves. Not one person liked him. Even his alliance he was in. They didn’t even like him…They used him because they knew he would go up against The Banker and he’d take out whoever they wanted.
HR: Has he changed at all coming out of the game? Has he at least apologized for what he did? Have you forgiven him?
MGC: It’s been up and down. Since the show, he did offer me a job at his company in LA…He said I was young. I needed to explore the world, so I got an email about two weeks after filming, and he put me in an email with some of his executives from his company and was like ‘we’re gonna get her a job.’ Two weeks later, I’m in LA and I work for his company. I’m filming this right now in his house.
He has apologized. I don’t know how much more he could do. He bought me a bottle of champagne, he bought me flowers…He was very nice. I have forgiven him, but it’s still a dagger in the heart.
HR: Is he the trash human you said he was?
MGC: Dr. Will in the game is garbage. Awful! Terrible! On camera, exactly the same terrible awful person. In real life, he’s not. But I will not take that back. Anyone will agree. He is terrible to play the games with.
HR: Still a method to his madness, whatever that was.
MGC: He knows what he’s doing with TV. Anyone would that has been playing it for 30 years. He had a head up on all of us. I’m 22 years old. He knows what he’s doing.
HR: At this point in the series, was there anyone specific you were rooting for to win that prize pot?
MGC: I was in an alliance with David, Parvati, and Dickson. I didn’t really want Dickson there, so I wasn’t rooting for him, because he took Storm out. I knew Parvati was a Survivor person, so I wasn’t really rooting for her. She knew what she was doing. Then David, I didn’t know he was a Survivor player, but I was like this guy is very handsome, he’s a model, which he told me he was a model, I was like he has money, so he’s good.
So really, at this moment, I was probably Seychelle or Philip.
HR: Have you forgiven Seychelle? I guess it’s early days for that one.
MGC: Really early days. I don’t see her; she lives in New York. I texted her last night, and she was like ‘I’m sorry, Love, I had to do it.’ She’s coming to town…so I’m hoping there’s going to be some apologies then.
HR: If you could do any other reality TV show, which one would you love to do?
MGC: I would love to do Survivor just to say I can do it, but realistically, I think I would be way better at The Traitors. I think it’s funny. I’m watching the season now, and Rob is doing amazing. I know a lot more about reality TV and I studied it a lot, so I think I would do a lot better.
HR: I love The Traitors. I love strategy games.
MGC: Yeah, and it’s a lot of strategy. I know a lot more about it.
HR: When I asked Storm, we both agree you and him should do The Amazing Race together.
MGC: I heard they’re doing a kind of showmance thing. We talked about it…but there’s a lot of legal stuff involved with it being CBS. But Storm is a really great friend. Just because we aren’t in a relationship anymore, doesn’t mean that I don’t talk to him on the daily. I just love him as a person, so I definitely would do it. I’m sure he would too.
This interview has been condensed for clarity purposes, but you can watch the entire interview below:
Deal or No Deal Island season 2 airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC. Catch up the following day on Peacock.
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