“You take me with a jacket or you leave me. Literally, it came to that.”

Angelina Keeley refused to do Survivor 50 unless they gave her a jacket

"You take me with a jacket or you leave me. Literally, it came to that."

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.

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February 1, 2026 9:15 a.m. ET

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She is not a legendary champion. She is seen as neither a strategic titan nor a challenge dominator. She did not receive a single vote from the jury to win her season. But when you ask *Survivor* fans the person they are most excited to see playing again for *Survivor 50*, a name that comes up a lot in response is Angelina Keeley.

And it is for good reason. Not only does Angelina fall in that sweet spot of having played a relatively long time ago (enough time to miss her) but also has only competed once (so not overexposed), but she was also relentlessly entertaining during her 39-day run on *Survivor: David vs. Goliath*. Whether she was begging for Natalie Cole’s jacket, negotiating with Jeff Probst for rice, or needlessly planting a fake idol to add some extra spice to a Tribal Council, Angelina was the reality TV gift that just kept giving. And now it is time for that gift to be reopened.

Angelina is back for *Survivor 50 *(premiering Feb. 25 on CBS), and as she tells **, “I'm really coming in hot because I have a jacket now!” Of course, there is naturally some hilarious drama surrounding the outerwear Angelina will be sporting during her return outing, and she dropped all the intel while chatting with EW in Fiji just days before the game began.

In a conversation that alternated between tears of laughter and just plain tears, the now 36-year-old Angelina discussed her pregaming policy, the emotional impact of leaving her daughters, how she plans to play differently this time around, and if her *White Lotus cameo* and friendship with Mike White makes her a target. You have been officially warned, because as she said herself, ANGELINA IS COMING IN HOT!

*(This is one of 24 deep-dive, on location interviews with the *Survivor 50 *cast. Links to the other interviews will be posted at the bottom of this article as they become available.)*

Angelina Keeley of 'Survivor 50'.

Robert Voets/CBS

**: Tell me why you're going to win *Survivor 50,* Angelina.**

**ANGELINA KEELEY:** I am going to win *Survivor 50* because it's been seven years since I played and a lot has happened in my life. I'm still the fun, big character personality that we saw the first time, but this time I hope to temper it with a lot of patience, a lot of joy, a lot of love, and a whole lot more savviness.

I want to use my creativity for good. I want to do everything with intention and with a why behind it rather than just throwing spaghetti at the wall. And I think I'm one of those players who is going to be able to connect with everybody on some level. I have a lot of different sides to myself, and so I think that's what makes me a real threat. I also think that I'm not seen as a threat, and I'm going to use that underestimation to get deep into the game.

**Give everyone the update on all that’s happened in your life since playing *Survivor.***

I was 28 last time. I'm 35 this time. And for anyone who's gone from twenties to thirties and gone from no kids to kids. It's such a huge emotional, physical change for a woman when you become a mom. I have a 2-year-old and 5-year-old who are just the light of my life and they're really the reason I'm going to win *Survivor.* There are all the things I've learned from motherhood — how it's pushed me, it's challenged me, it's expanded me in every way. I'm playing for them this time. Last time I was only playing for me. And this time…. [starts to cry] I'm sorry, this is the first time I've cried all day today.

**No, no, I totally get it.**

I know you get it. It’s because I know you. And I know my little girls are going to get to watch this one day when they're ready. They've never seen my first season yet, and I know they're going to watch this one day. And so that is going to be in the back of my mind every day and every day I'm going to remember who I'm fighting for and what I'm fighting for.

And outside of my family, and I mean honestly, I *am* playing for me too this time. I have a lot I want to prove to myself. I know that I could do so much better than I did the first time. But the other thing too is I'm really grateful to be here. This is insane. It's such a pinch me moment to play *Survivor* once, but to play *Survivor* twice, and on an anniversary season is just like… WHAT? It's surreal. Honestly, I just feel so lucky and I'm just not going to take it for granted.

Angelina Keeley on 'Survivor 50'.

Robert Voets/CBS

**You know better than anyone that when you're out there, it's like emotions on steroids. And so you can think that you're preparing yourself for how you're going to handle something, but what's going to happen when you're at that low point, which everyone has, and you’re missing your babies.**

For me, when they're that little, it's a hard thing to step away from. But that being said, I do feel like this is where I'm meant to be right now. I feel like…. [starts to cry] Oh my God, I literally haven’t a cried all day. I'm so sorry!

**Do not apologize to me. I totally get it. But I also, as a parent, know we also need time to do our things, Angelina.**

I know, I know. And I know this is just a blip in time for them. I truly haven't cried with anyone all day. But I feel safe with you.

**I guess my question is: How much is that a concern for you, worrying about them when you want to be worrying about the game?**

Missing home will be my biggest liability in the game. It will also be my biggest source of strength. So it cuts both ways, and that's what I have to remind myself of. And me being a prepared queen, I literally went to therapy to prepare myself mentally as much as I possibly could for the separation.

Because for anyone who doesn't know, it's like you have zero contact with home, and between pregame and the game, you're gone for 36 days. I've never spent a night away from them, period. And I was a stay-at-home mom for four and a half years, so it's not a small thing. And I know there's other people out here with little ones too, so that gives me solace. I know Aubry's baby is 18 months old, so I can only imagine what she's going through. I can't wait to talk to her.

But it's going to be something that I have to manage. And I've done as much preparation as I can. I literally wrote them a book and had Chat-GPT illustrate it about mommy's big adventure. So we read that a bunch of times before I left. I recorded myself reading it, and they have it too. They both have their own copy and it's about why mommy came to play *Survivor* again.

So I know this is where I'm meant to be. I'm so happy to be here, even though I'm crying — that's just because I miss them. I think I said in the opening scene of *David vs. Goliath*, “I want my grandkids to say ,‘My grandma won *Survivor’”* and I didn't even have kids then. And now I have two daughters, and if they choose to have kids one day, I could very well be a grandmother one day. And I want my grandkids to say, “My grandma won *Survivor*.”

Angelina Keeley on 'Survivor 50'.

Robert Voets/CBS

**You talk about preparedness, which leads me to ask: Did you bring a jacket this time?**

Okay, Dalton. I’m going to have to write a whole book about this jacket stuff because you can't make this stuff up. I went back and forth with wardrobe probably about 40 times about the jacket I would bring into this game. It was the journey of the jackets for me. I sent them parkas and my husband's like, “They're not going to approve those.” And I said, “Yeah, but you know me, I got to push the envelope. I got to see what I can get.” And they were like, “Yeah, no, we can't approve these winter jackets. You're not going to New England, Angelina.”

And I'm like, “Yeah, but I got to start high! You can't start in the middle!” Anyways, we finally landed on a jacket. I'm very happy with it. Everyone will see it in the game. I think it's a very good jacket. And I told them, “You take me with a jacket or you leave me.” Literally, it came to that. It came to a little bit of an ultimatum where I was like, “I'm not trying to be a thorn in your side, but I'm not playing again without a jacket. So let's make something work. Let's find the right one.”

**Again, your master negotiation skills coming into play. There are so many reasons why I would never play *Survivor*, but one is that I run super cold.**

You get it! I just could not handle it. I was wet for two weeks. If I had a dollar for every time that someone asked me if they could have my jacket, I would be richer than Tony and Sandra. When people are like, “Why'd you do that? Why'd you ask Natalie so many times?” I tell him I was just cold! There's just no other explanation. But I was cold and I was wet, and we had two cyclones and it was real out there. And I had this stupid sweater that just kept getting wet and didn't dry. So anyways, the journey of the jackets! Luckily, I'm coming in hot this time. Well, I came in hot last time, but this time I'm *really* coming in hot because I have a jacket now!

Angelina Keeley on 'Survivor 50'.

Robert Voets/CBS

**Anything you regret on a personal level from the last time you played?**

It was scary to even enter the game. I didn't realize it until I played *Survivor*, but I had a lot of perfectionism I had to let go of. I was scared to not wear makeup and not take a shower and be on TV for 39 days — and then, *What are people going to think about me? What are people going to say about me?*

Those things almost kept me from even playing in the first place. And then I said, “To hell with it. Let me just say yes and see what happens.” I didn't apply, I was recruited. But I'm a big believer in saying yes to life and just trying things if it feels right, and it felt right despite those fears. So I'm so glad I said yes, because I don't know if I would've ever really confronted those things inside of me had it not been for *Survivor*.

And having so much backlash to the polarizing player that I was was also really freeing, after it was scary. It was scary because people were really threatening and crazy. But once I started to block them out and just hone in on: *It doesn't matter. These voices don't matter.* And to learn that lesson at 28 was invaluable. And it also made me tougher. It made me just let go of so many of those sides of myself that were holding me back. And so I don't know if I've really answered your question, but my mindset going into this time is so different from last time.

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Going in late time, I was like, “I'm never going to play again. No regrets. Swing for the fences.” And we saw me swing for the fences. I had gumption, I had confidence, I had overconfidence. I went for it. It got me to the end, but it got me no votes. So I'm proud that I lasted that long, but I have a chip on my shoulder that I didn't win and didn't get a single vote. And that stays with you.

Watching it back is very humbling because people always ask, “Do you feel like your character that is on TV is how you are in real life?” And what I say to people is, “What you saw is a slice of me.” Am I those things mostly? Yes. But I'm also a whole lot of other things that you might not have seen as much of. I'm hoping this time we see a lot more of my range, a lot more of my depth, a lot more of the spectrum of what makes me, and I have a lot of varied life experiences.

7:23 The Cast of ‘Survivor 50’ Reveals Who They Want to Vote Out First

**There are three of you here from *David vs Goliath.* Does that help you or hurt you?**

I think it cuts both ways. There are three seasons that have three people. That helps a little bit, and so I hope that diffuses the attention a little bit. But people are going to try to find any way to target anyone that's not them. So could people say, “They played together, they're close, Mike put her on his show?” I'm sure that's going to come up. We're just going to have to navigate it. We're going to have to mitigate it. If we have to sacrifice Christian, we got to sacrifice Christian.

Of the three of us, yeah, I'm with Mike, but we want to keep Christian as long as possible. He's just a national treasure. I love those boys. I've been telling everyone that  Christian is officially a Goliath now because he is on season 50, so we can no longer call him a David. He's certainly been upgraded to Goliath level. So we are now the three Goliaths playing against all these people. But yeah, certainly it can make us look like a throuple. It can make us look like we're trying to run things.

But there are so many different ways that you could target folks. You could say, “That's a winner, they're a threat.” Or “They're with two other people from their season.” You could say, “Ozzy and Cirie, this is the third time they've played together.” There are so many different ways that you can spin it and use the narrative you need to for that given vote to survive and do what you need to do. But I'm hoping that if anyone can pull it off, it's us three. Those are two of the smartest guys I know. And I can certainly keep up.

I truly feel like us folks from the thirties are going to mess people up. I mean, look, we've got Aubry, we've got Rick, we've got Chrissy, we've got us three. We could do some damage.

Angelina Keeley on 'Survivor 50'.

**A perfect segue to my next question. I’ve been out here for pretty much all of the returning player seasons, so I know how the way these work. Tell me about the pre-gaming situation.**

I was in an interesting position because I was on a lot of lists. I was kind of a prevailing name, and there were only a few of us whose names kind of stayed consistent. And because of that, a lot of people reached out to me. Some people were more direct, and some people were more subtle, but it ranged. And my policy was, I call it a cracked door policy — just a little open. You want to slip into my DMs and say hi and be friendly? Totally! You're trying to send me your phone number? You want to call me for five minutes? Okay.

I didn't want to over pregame though, so I proactively did not reach out to anyone new. But I kind of kept my open-door policy for anyone who wanted to chat with me. Of course! Coach, you want to be my best friend? I'm a yes woman! I'm a hype girl!

That should be my strategy: I'm a hype girl. These egos in here — myself included. I know I'm not immune, but I'm going to that beach and I'm going to make everyone the star of the show. Especially people like Coach who love that. Kyle? You're a king. You played one of the best games I've ever seen! I'm going to hype these people up to make them feel good.

Angelina Keeley on 'Survivor: David vs. Goliath'.

**And you were making them feel good pregame.**

For pregaming, I talked to Chrissy a lot! I'll be honest about that. We met six years ago, totally hit it off. I had already seen her season. My season had aired a year and a half before, and you know Chrissy — she's assertive. She's direct. Just like me. And she told me then, “Angelina, if we ever get a chance to play together, I want to run it with you.” And I said, “I'm in. Where do I sign up? Let's do it!”

And so fast forward to when calls started going out right after Thanksgiving, and she was like, “I wanted to wait till the new year, but I didn't want to miss my opportunity. I really want to play with you and go deep and have a secret alliance that no one knows about.” And I said, “I love it! I love you. I adore you. I respect you. I think we have really similar styles and we get along so well.”

So I've got Chrissy. She and I are lockstep and we already kind of built that trust.  So my people are Chrissy and Mike. Those are my two closest friends, my two closest allies, and they're two of the smartest people I've ever met. So I am really excited to see what we can do.

**Anyone that you are particularly wary of?**

There's no one I have bad blood with. If Natalie had showed up, I would be a little worried that maybe she was out to get me for everything. I heard some rumor that Christian and I were plotting to take out all the old-school players, and I'm like: Who would even say that? First of all, it's not true. And second of all, we have to play with the old-school players or else the new era is going to just literally knock us all off.

If they wanted to be a strong block, 12 of them, they could just take out everyone besides themselves. I'm aware of that. I know that that's a possibility. Do I hope that happens? No. That would be a really boring season, and then I would be gone and I'd be sad.

Angelina Keeley of 'Survivor 50'.

**How do you think the other players here see you?**

I'll tell you what I've heard from the grapevine, speaking of pregaming. I heard Colby told someone, “That Angelina girl seems chaotic.” First of all, we don't refer to women in 2025 as *that girl.* Second of all, okay, yeah, my edit was a bit chaotic, so… fair. But in real life, I'm lot more reasonable. He'll find out soon enough.

So I think that's a good representation of how people might see me who don't know me, and who only know the *David vs Goliath* character of me. And I can leverage that to my advantage because I'll be underestimated. Those are the cards I've been handed, but I fully embrace my *Survivor* narrative, and I'm going to leverage it to get my good footing in this season.

***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. ***

**** Other *Survivor 50 *deep dive player interviews:***** • Survivor 50* star Ozzy Lusth opens up about hitting 'rock bottom of my life'** • *Survivor 50* star Aubry Bracco opens up about the 'freedom when you fall from grace' ** • Colby Donaldson reacts to playing *Survivor* for the first time without Jerri**

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Source: “EW Survivor”