Survivor NZ's Franky March calls out 'chauvinistic attitudes' behind shock elimination

Survivor contestant Franky March says her tribe on Survivor New Zealand "self-imploded". Photo / Scott McAulay

Survivor's latest victim says living in a Thailand jungle was "10 times worse" than she expected, calling one night "unbelievably terrible".

Wildcard entrant Franky March was eliminated during last night's episode of Survivor NZ after her tribe, Chani, lost another immunity challenge.

As the ZM Wildcard contestant, the public had known about March's role on the show since last October.

She told the Herald she developed a misconception over that time that the show was going to be easy.

"I half thought, 'They probably have a semi-shelter set up, and they probably have soap, and… maybe a Portaloo even?' But no, there was none of that," says March.

Franky March says she was expecting shelters and port-a-loos on Survivor New Zealand. Photo / Scott McAulay

"Everyone … kept saying, 'It's actually not going to be as bad as you think.' So I started thinking maybe it wouldn't be. But it was honestly 10 times worse.

"Survivor was definitely no joke. Especially when it came to that night with the monsoon, it was unbelievably terrible, and at that point, I was like, 'this is probably the hardest moment in my whole entire life'."

March says she feels "completely betrayed" by her elimination, and as the third woman to go, she believes there was underlying sexism in her tribe's decision.

"Chani, and particular people in Chani, were really threatened by strong women obviously," says March.

Franky March during episode three's immunity challenge. Photo / Scott McAulay

"I don't think it was purposely like, 'let's vote out all the women', but I think just underlying, how did it happen like that, you know? You have to ask yourself the question; why were three strong contestants, not only in Chani but in the whole game, the ones that were voted out first?

"We completely self-imploded when we voted off Jose," she says. "What were they thinking? And the whole thing on the lake – I was definitely one of the strongest swimmers, why would you vote me off? So I feel like there's definitely an underlying reason behind that, and I think it's because we're strong women.

Franky March says her tribe felt "intimidated" by "strong women". Photo / Scott McAulay

"I think there (are) just some chauvinistic attitudes still really prevalent, especially in Survivor, and it's a shame that I was put in a tribe with a lot of them," says March.