“Thankfully, they didn’t show that, but I lost my mind,” reveals the blindside victim.

Survivor 51 star Ana Sani had unaired ‘crashout’ after popcorn-gate

“Thankfully, they didn’t show that, but I lost my mind,” reveals the blindside victim.

By Dalton Ross

Dalton Ross is a writer and editor with over 25 years experience covering TV and the entertainment industry. *Survivor* is kind of his thing.

EW's editorial guidelines

October 1, 2026 10:27 a.m. ET

Ana Sani on ‘Survivor 51’. Credit:

Scott Duncan/CBS

- Ana Sani was blindsided right out of her socks on *Survivor 51,* and now breaks down how it all went wrong.

- Anahita gets into all of her messiest moves.

- The ousted player also explains why she struggled returning home after blindside.

Get your popcorn ready because it is time to hear from the second person voted out of *Survivor 51!*

Ana Sani thought she was sitting in a pretty good place in the Savu tribe, and she was — until she started throwing out names. And getting caught scheming. And then throwing out more names. And then throwing out *her own* name!

That enabled the tide to turn, and after a wild Tribal Council in which one player attempted unsuccessfully to vote himself out of the game, Ana was on the losing end of a 6-4 vote, being blindsided right out of the game.

How does Ana feel about being targeted by her tribe? What does she have to say about her messy gameplay? And how long was Rob Antonson up there trying to vote himself out? We asked Ana all that and more, and you can now watch or read the entire interview below.

**: First off, can I offer you some popcorn? [Holds up bag of popcorn]**

**ANA SANI:** [Holds up own bag of popcorn] Oh, trust me. I was eating it yesterday, just out of solidarity.

**You want to get into it with the popcorn? How did that become the cover story?**

Let’s talk about the popcorn, because that was absolutely bananas. First of all, I was trying to save Carter because if you watch it back, Carter was the one who was talking crap about Alexis. And I was like, “Oh my gosh.” Then Alexis walks in. Carter — completely silent. Christian next to me — completely silent. Alexis walks in, and she’s like, “Hey, what are you guys talking about?” We’re all just like this. [Looking off to the side] I didn’t know what to do.

Okay, the reason why I brought up popcorn is because Kristen kept bringing up popcorn coconut. Like, she makes coconut popcorn. So I was like, “Okay, maybe we’ll just start talking about popcorn.” So I was like, “We’re talking about popcorn.” And the boys did nothing. So I was like, “Oh my gosh, I’m on my own. I am literally on my own.” So I just kept rambling about it.

But it was so clear that she didn’t see it. And the moment she left, I went into a full crashout. Thankfully, they didn’t show that, but I lost my mind.

‘Survivor 51’ recap: A historic moment leads to an epic blunder

Jeff Probst says ‘Survivor 51’ player trying to vote himself out ‘makes no sense’

**Well, let’s talk about where you maybe lost your mind for the second time. You looked rattled when your name kept coming up at Tribal Council. How stunned were you?**

I was completely shocked because what they didn’t show in the edit was, I kind of knew that things were kind of not going my way. I had heard from somebody else that me and Sharonda kind of had beef. And I was like, “Well, the only person I talked to about Sharonda was Alexis.” So I pulled Alexis aside and I was like, “Alexis, what are you doing?”

And I thought we really made amends because I went out of my way to go and talk to her and try and fix things. She said, “I wanna work with you.” I trusted that. Then I did my rounds and I tried to get everyone on the same page, and I was like, “Let’s just do the easy vote and stay solid. I really wanna work with you all.” I even went to Sharonda. I even went to Linnea. But in the end, it didn’t matter. They were just like, “Get her out.”

Ana Sani on ‘Survivor 51’.

Robert Voets/CBS

**Take me through what it was like for you once you walked off that Tribal Council set. How difficult was that evening for you out in Fiji after being blindsided?**

Well, you know, this is the part that I think as a pre-juror doesn’t get talked about enough. I came out wanting to play, but also, I’m a straight shooter. I’m super honest. I was going into the game with leaving a lot behind in my life. And so I was like, “Okay, this is a transitionary period for me. I wanna go out there. I wanna play, and I wanna try and change my life in this game.”

And so I had a lot of game to give. I unfortunately divulged information to the wrong person and it bit me. But when I got off of that island, I was like, “Oh, wow. Now I’m going back to this life that I left behind.” And it was very scary and it was really crappy. And honestly, I couldn’t trust people for a while. I was like, “I can’t believe all these people looked me right in the face and said, ‘You’re good, you’re good,’ multiple times in different ways, and *still* wrote my name down.” And so that really affected me.

Ana Sani on ‘Survivor 51’.

Robert Voets/CBS

**I’ve heard that multiple times, Ana, from people that play this game — no matter how long they last — that they get back, and then all of a sudden with a coworker or a family member, they’re like, “Can I trust you?”**

Literally. Yeah. That’s what happened. I think I had to go to work the next day, and I was talking to a coworker, and the whole time she’s talking to me — she’s this sweet voice actress — and I was like, “You liar. You are such a liar.”

**How was it watching it all unfold last night on TV?**

Well, that was bananas. Me saying, “I’m a smart player?” Gosh, if I just had a clown nose right now. That was crazy. And then Rob’s move was absolutely wild. I mean, it was great TV, let’s be honest. Like, I was watching it stunned the whole time and mortified by my actions, but also wildly entertained.

Ana Sani on ‘Survivor 51’.

Scott Duncan/CBS

**So I would describe your gameplay as a bit messy. Is that fair?**

Oh, yes. I’m messy. And I’ve always been messy. I knew that there would be a point where I would be chaotic and messy out there. I didn’t think it would happen that soon. I truly though, just talking about Sharonda with Alexis... And I’m gonna defend myself. All I said was that she was smart. That’s all I said.

I didn’t think it would make me spiral as much as it did. And then I tried to scramble and make it work and it just got messier and messier. And I will say the decoy vote was entirely dumb.

Ana Sani on ‘Survivor 51’.

**Okay, let’s get into it. As you were saying it, did you realize what you had done?**

Yep. And it was literally as I was saying, “It should be Kristin because of her foot.” And everyone was looking at me like I was a demon. And I was like, “Oh, no. What have I done?” I’m already being targeted because of the whole conversation with Sharonda. So I was like, “I gotta gain trust somehow.”

And I put my name out, but the moment that I did, I knew. I just knew. I was like, “Oh, wow. These people don’t trust me.” Which is why then I continued doing my rounds and trying to talk to people, but it was too late.

Ana Sani on ‘Survivor 51’.

Robert Voets/CBS

**Who deserves the credit — or the blame, depending on your vantage point — for your ouster? Is this a Sharonda move? A Linnea move? An Alexis move? How do you cut up that pie?**

I’m gonna give Alexis her credit here because I don’t know why she didn’t trust me from the get-go, but she didn’t. Maybe she thought she was at the bottom and needed a way to save herself. She took something that we had talked about, took it out of kind of context, ran with it, and she got me out.

This was entirely her plan, and it worked. Sharona and Linnea kind of helped piece everyone else together, but without that initial catalyst from Alexis, I probably could have still been in the game.

Ana Sani on ‘Survivor 51’.

Scott Duncan/CBS

**Who was your ride or die out there?**

100 percent, Carter was my boy out there. He was my bestie, for sure. Him and I always would talk together, and then we’d bring Rob in, which was different than what they showed in the premiere episode. Carter and I were really, really tight, which is why I could tell him anything and everything, and I knew he wouldn’t get out there. We were number ones.

**Can we talk about Rob trying to vote for himself for a minute? Could you tell he was up there for an abnormally long time?**

Oh, yeah. I was like, “What is going on with this man?” And the thing about Rob is he’s clear as water, right? He came to me and he was like, “We’re doing Eric, and that’s it.” I was like, “Great. Okay.” And he really convinced me that everyone was on the same page, and I think that was a fault of mine. I should have had more conversations.

But he was in that voting booth for so long, and I was so confused. And then he came back and he looked stunned. I’ll never forget when my name was being read out loud, the look on Rob’s face, but the drained white ghost face on Carter. I will never forget that. The two of them were just completely blindsided as well.

Ana Sani on ‘Survivor 51’.

Robert Voets/CBS

**If you could go back and change one thing about your game, what would it be?**

Easy. I would not trust Alexis. Because she had asked me multiple times who I was thinking. That conversation that opened the episode with us by the fire, that was maybe conversation number four of her asking, “Who do you think? Do you have any names? Have you heard any names?” And that was the time where I was like, “Okay, she clearly wants to play with me. Let me do it.”

But the previous times, I was like, “Something’s off. Why can’t I trust this person?” And I should have listened to my gut. But no shade to Alexis. She played her game. I’m proud of her, but girl, I’m not gonna trust you next time.

**Finally, you’re an actress. Did you take part in Eric’s improv school?**

No. I wanted to watch the fiery car wreck. Which was absolutely entertaining and also completely, just, wild. Eric is Eric, you know? And he’s just him to a T, so good for him. I love the kid. I really do.

***Want to be kept up with all things Survivor? Dig deep and sign up for ’s ******free Survivor Weekly newsletter****** to have all the latest news, interviews, and commentary sent right to your inbox. ***

- Survivor Fandom

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Survivor”