Not everyone gets along on “Survivor.”
That was certainly the case for Aysha Welch and Rome Cooney, who clashed during Welch’s seven days on Season 47. The 32-year-old IT consultant was voted out during Episode 3 after trying to mount a strike against Cooney, 30, and his ally, Genevieve Mushaluk.
In an exclusive interview with The Post, Welch said she “tried” to connect with Cooney, but he “was just completely uninterested in getting to know me.”
“I would ask him about his fiancée. I would ask him about his dogs. And I have dogs. I literally talk about my dogs all the time, but he was so uninterested,” she explained.
Welch went on, “And I thought maybe he’s just this way in life where he’s me, me, me, me, me. But I would see him have longer conversations with Kishan or longer conversations with Teeny I’m just like, what is it? Why can’t we … We’re just, just oil and water at this point.”
The Texas native said it was “eye-opening” when she watched the show and saw Cooney express his “disdain” for her in his confessionals.
“I’m like, what did I do to you? Like what? Obviously I was very annoyed with him on a day-to-day basis. That was clear,” Welch said. “That’s very clear on the episode, but I’m not someone who is just, like, spitting out vitriol at people.”
“If I could have my options open enough and work with Genevieve and Rome, I was totally open to doing so. But it’s a two-way street. I couldn’t just be open to giving them loyalty and they didn’t want to give it to me. So with Rome… I’ve never met anyone like him. So that was a challenge in itself.”
As for Kishan Patel and Teeny Chirichillo, Welch admitted that she’s still working through her feelings about the pair who betrayed and blindsided her.
“It is interesting in this game because it happened months ago. We get to talk and debrief and figure out what happened and figure out all these different perspectives,” she explained. “I’ll definitely say it was only 4 to 5 months ago. So it’s all still very much so a work in progress.”
“I understand it’s a game. I understand that it’s not personal,” Welch added. “I was the one felt wronged in this situation. But, there are relationships — specifically with Kishan and Teeny — that are evolving. It’s a process.”
Welch has been a massive “Survivor” fan for years, and even covers the show on “Rob Has A Podcast,” hosted by Season 6 and 8 alum Rob Cesternino.
But now that she’s played the game, Welch recognizes that “Survivor” is anything but easy.
“Watching from home, I’ve understood being so critical,” she said. “But when you’re out there and you’re depleted, you’re deprived, you can’t think straight because you’re not feeding your brain. You’re operating on very little. You want to exert very little energy as possible.”
Welch added, “What I didn’t anticipate was how exhausted you’d be physically, mentally, emotionally from just missing your people. Nothing prepares you for missing out on that love when you feel like you need it the most.”
“Survivor” airs Wednesdays at 8 pm ET on CBS.
