For Marya Sherron, Survivor 42 was all about family. The teacher and stay-at-home mom had come to Fiji to focus on herself rather than her children for once, particularly when it came to properly grieving the tragic loss of her brother the year prior. And on the island, she found a new family in the form of her Taku tribe. But when it came to their first vote, the blood bond they had with Marya was faker than what some of her competitors covered themselves with on the first day. As Marya told us in her very first confessional, she believed there was something she needed to find out on Survivor. But that thing was not a tangible thing she wanted to dig up, but–ironically–bury. After losing her brother Kious Kelly to COVID in 2020, she had been searching for an opportunity to grieve him fully. And she hoped to find that in Fiji, with perhaps a million dollars to boot. After her ally Jackson Fox’s sudden removal from the game, Marya found her head on the chopping block alongside Maryanne Oketch. She hoped her stability would win out over Maryanne’s energy. But like Maryanne’s on-island love connection, it wasn’t meant to be. Marya used her Shot in the Dark, correctly feeling it would be her. And it failed for the second vote in a row, leaving Marya to face a very different type of closure on Day 5. Now out of the game, Marya talks with Parade.com about whether she ended up burying her necklace like she initially intended, how difficult it was to find her footing, and the biggest thing she discovered about herself on Survivor. So I couldn’t help but notice that you’re wearing the necklace with your brother’s face on it as we’re talking today. Did you end up not burying it like you initially intended to when you came on the island? So it didn’t happen. Initially, I was devastated because I really believed that was what I was supposed to do. And I’m like, “Well, wait, I’m going to be at Ponderosa. We’re still on an island.” I had a moment where I just knew I was not supposed to leave him there, metaphorically speaking with the necklace. It just wasn’t the right time or space. And I don’t know when that is. But I just know that eventually, I’ll know when and where, and I’m okay with that. What was it like for you and your family to watch the episode back last night and see how they portrayed you and Kious’ story? I think we were all nervous. My parents had never seen the show. I was nervous about what would be said about my brother and how it would rub off on my parents. I mean, I didn’t want to hurt them in any way. But we were all really blessed and grateful. And we really felt like it was just a beautiful episode and that he, his death, and everything was dealt with care. Honestly, I think it was greater than I probably would have asked for. So I’m pleased. So you play the Shot in the Dark at Tribal Council, which indicates you were at least fairly sure you would be voted out. Did anything in particular tip you off to that? So moments before, as we were leaving for Tribal Council, I knew that I needed to play my Shot in the Dark. In my last confessional, I actually said, “I trust my tribe. I believe they’re going to do what we said we were going to do.” But as we were packing, Lindsay winked at me. And you only know somebody so much in five days, but that wasn’t her character. She’s very chill and down to earth. It was just cheesy. And I thought, “You’re trying too hard.” And when you try too hard, this is not what I think it is. And then Jonathan also came in. Just before we were leaving, he lay next to me in the shelter and said, “I’m really going to miss Maryanne.” And it was those two things. It was like, again, you’re trying too hard. When we have a deal, we don’t need to do anything else. Just go and do what we said we were going to do. So I was fairly certain. Even if I was wrong, my son Dylan was in my mind. I told him I wouldn’t leave anything on the island. If I was going home, I wasn’t going to come home with a dice! (Laughs.) That was not happening. I was going to get everything I had out. And that was all that I had. Why do you ultimately think you got the boot over Maryanne? I will still say, I don’t know! (Laughs.) It’s really easy to say age. I was worried about that going in. Jonathan and Lindsay are health fanatics. I didn’t eat some of the things that they ate. And I really felt like they were watching me. In hindsight like, maybe I should have eaten some of those meals. I wasn’t that hungry yet! (Laughs.) Socially, I think I can have a good read. But I don’t think I took a moment to look at them and realize they were paying attention to that. Because their lives are about that. Lindsay is constantly going around talking about, “Drink your water. Do this, do that.” I should have just faked it and eaten some of the grubs! But really, Mike? I don’t know. The target fell between you and Maryanne. But was there ever talk between the three women of voting off Jonathan and Omar, since you had the majority? That is something I didn’t realize until after the fact. I thought, “Why was Omar off the table?” But I think the conversation for me was dominated by the fact that Maryanne went away on the boat. You didn’t see the scene when she came back and told us what happened. But it was a complete disaster. I still don’t know what she said. And I knew she was lying. Her story was great until that last 15%. She started talking fast and got nervous, and it made no sense. And so my thought was, I knew she was going to vote for me. And I knew that off of body language. I would say something like, “Let’s go get firewood,” and she would answer, but she wouldn’t make eye contact with me. She would talk to Lindsay instead. So I’m thinking, “Well, she has an idol. I think she’s voting for me.” She loved Lindsay, she loved Omar, she loved Jonathan. So it doesn’t matter. Because if everyone votes for her, she can play an idol. And then she still doesn’t go home, and I still go home because she’s going to vote for me. So there were no other plans because I was confident about where her vote would go. You mentioned in the premiere that you had a “reality check” upon losing the first challenge for your tribe. Did that impact you socially, or was everyone concentrating on Lindsay being covered in fake blood? (Laughs.) Not at all. I mean, I can still feel the weight of that challenge. And we had a five-minute lead. They actually made it look better! I lost for us so bad. And immediately when I stood up, Jonathan was like, “You got to shake it off. We got to move forward.” And on the boat, they were so encouraging and affirming. And I’m like, “I’m not going to overthink it. I’m going to shake it off. And we’re going to go back.” I truly felt like we moved forward from that. I don’t think my boot had anything to do with that. Jackson told me that you were his tightest tribe member from the jump. What allowed you two to bond so quickly? One, our age. So he was 48. I am 47 until later this month. We understood each other’s references and songs. And he actually understood more than I did some of what the younger people were talking about. (Laughs.) There was just humor in him that I appreciated. I can be very…(Screams energetically.) But I tend to balance a space. So I was a little more low-key because Maryanne had so much energy. And he was low-key as well. So I just think in temperament, we clicked a little bit. I mean, he’s just hilarious. He’s a fun person. He’s a down-to-earth person. He’s just a great person. So when he gets removed from the game, how much did you have to shift your game plan to find new people? Mike, I didn’t have a game plan. Every Survivor fan is going to be like, “What was she doing?” Exactly! What was I doing? (Laughs.) I’m still thinking Survivor seasons 1-40. And I’m like, “I have a day or so.” I’ve never liked it when people hit the beach and are like, “Yeah, I saw you on the mat; let’s connect.” You don’t know anything about them! I really wanted to have an alliance that was organically based on something. When I tell you I’m taking you to the end, I’m going to take you to the end. I wanted it to mean something. And my deceit might be everywhere else, but it won’t be here. It just didn’t work that in this 26-day format. Alliances were made before we were even on the beach for six hours. I didn’t play well. Honestly, my strategy was too little too late. I think I started to figure it out on Day 4 or Day 5. But by then, there were already a bunch of different alliances with everyone else. You told me preseason that you would avoid being the mom out on the island. Were you able to be successful in that goal? I was not the mom at all! To the point that when I watched season 41, I was like, “Maybe I was too not the mom!” I was just loving Tiffany. I mean, I fell in love with her. I could have struck a balance. I was not the mom at all. I think I was too concerned about not being a mom. I was reserved in saying things and initiating. I bit my tongue a little bit more. And we all got along; I think they liked me. But I don’t think they had that connection that they would have had if I had just been Marya and not worried about being seen as the mom or being voted off first like Reem. It struck me how much Taku talked about being an instant family, definitely more than any other starting tribe in recent memory. Was there a particular reason why you got so close so early on? I really don’t know! (Laughs.) We truly got along, in a way I’ve never seen in all 40 seasons. Our personalities were different in a nice way. I can’t explain it. But initially, my thought was, “Maybe it’s not real .“And I think it’s real, even though I’m the first boot and could think it’s fake. But honestly, I think somebody had to go home. And on Day 5, they had to make what they thought was the best decision at that time. I don’t think it was personal. I think it was hard to some degree, but they came to play. You said at the very beginning of the premiere that there was something on Survivor that you needed to find. Looking back on the experience, what was that? I know that it’s okay to cry. And Maryanne taught me that lesson; I give her that. Because I was so perturbed with her. You have no idea how long that crying was when Jackson left. But I sat back, and I was like, “You’re mad at her. But you’re also a little jealous. And you wish you could cry like that. You haven’t cried about your brother yet. And you’ve got to deal with that.” It’s so weird to have these mixed emotions. I think there are so many nuggets that I learned and took away. But I think the huge one is I always thought I needed to be some pillar of strength. I need to care for and take care of everyone else. And I mean, that continued even at Ponderosa. I didn’t cry at Ponderosa. I’m like, “Hey, I got to play. I’m grateful.” I didn’t process anything. I just tried to take care of the next people that came in. And I won’t say that it’s fully changed today. But because I can see it so clearly, I’m driven to advocate for self-care. And just being a mom or a teacher doesn’t mean you can’t take care of yourself and advocate for yourself. And it’s a beautiful gift. It’s hard to change at my age when you’re just used to doing that. But it’s a necessary change. That’s probably the number one thing I’m grateful for. Next, check out our interview with Zach Wurtenberger, who was voted out in the Survivor 42 premiere.
