When the members of the Matukad red team saw
Émilie
join them on the very first day of
“Koh-Lanta, the immunity hunters”
, satisfaction could be seen on all their faces.
An elegant telephone saleswoman, this mother of three children is also an accomplished athlete with a French bikini fitness champion title to her credit.
To discover
TV program this evening: our selection of the day
“I do “Koh-Lanta” to test my limits, I want to go beyond them, I want to go all the way and impose myself
,” she declares in her portrait with her beau lilting southwest accent.
A fan of sport in general and bodybuilding in particular, this dynamic Narbonnaise commands respect both in the camp and in the events.
“Koh-Lanta, the immunity hunters”: the 22 candidates
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LE FIGARO. - Was this your first attempt to join the cast of “Koh-Lanta”?
Emilie.
-
This was the second time I tried my luck.
I have been following “Koh-Lanta” for a very long time, it is a program whose values correspond to me.
I hadn't tried to register before because my children were still young and the dad wasn't a big fan of the idea of me going.
Now that my children are grown up and I have been separated from my dad for a few years, I started.
Have you had previous experience in television shows?
Yes, I participated in several games like “A Golden Family”, “The Price is Right” and “Wheel of Fortune”.
A few years ago, I took part in a “Wheel of Fortune” casting for fun and I walked away with 19,000 euros!
(Laughs.)
In an old interview with
Bodybuilding Rules
magazine , you said that you almost became part of Vincent Lagaf's Gafettes troupe...
When I participated in "Just the price", Vincent Lagaf was the host at the time on TF1 and he came to talk to me at a time off filming to ask me to be part of his Gafettes.
I told him that it would be complicated to come to Paris given that I live in the south of France and that my children are still young.
You also said that you were elected Miss Narbonne for
Miss France
...
It's true!
I modeled at a very young age and was elected Miss Narbonne before winning the sash of first runner-up to Miss Aude.
But it didn't go any further, I was only 16 at the time.
Sport is inseparable from your daily life to the point of practicing it at a very high level...
I have been sporty since I was little.
I did classical dance with many hours of training each week.
Then I practiced tennis, volleyball, athletics... After my first pregnancy where I had to abandon sport for a while, I got back into it with bodybuilding and CrossFit.
I took a liking to it, it’s a very friendly environment.
Then I tried fitness competitions and became French champion before taking part in international tournaments.
“My body was equipped to hold on, I had gained weight voluntarily before leaving for the Philippines”
Emilie from “Koh-Lanta, the immunity hunters”
While participating in “Koh-Lanta”, did you have any thoughts on the impact that the adventure could have on your body as an athlete?
I had no worries, I had prepared accordingly.
I knew my body was equipped to hold out, I had gained weight voluntarily before leaving for the Philippines.
I knew my muscles would melt as the days went by.
How did you feel physically and mentally during the first nine days?
Physically, I didn't feel any difficulties.
After six days, we still had no fire, we had eaten between 40 and 60 grams of coconut only.
In the morning, it was difficult to get up, I lacked energy and my head was spinning.
As soon as trials arrive, the mind takes over.
But I didn't feel very hungry because I was used to food deprivation as part of my physical preparations.
I was mentally equipped to hold on.
Have the first tests impressed?
The very first one was a bit confusing because we didn't know each other.
The following ones with the balance and the underwater trunk did not pose a problem for me.
On the other hand, even before leaving to film “Koh-Lanta”, I dreaded the one where you have to hold a long bamboo on the top of your head.
My strength is more in the lower body.
I really gritted my teeth to hold on as long as possible.
What was the most difficult thing to experience?
It's not the distance from families and loved ones because I was conditioned for it.
The most difficult thing was relating to others.
Even though I'm a very sociable person, it's never easy to get along with everyone and not have a psychosis when you see two people walking away to talk.
Émilie, on the left, alongside Julie and Alicia in “Koh-Lanta, the immunity hunters” TF1 screen capture
“I would never have taken Alicia’s immunity necklace if she had one”
Emilie from “Koh-Lanta, the immunity hunters”
From the first moments,
Alicia described you as
“Beyoncé at the beach”
upon discovering you
...
These are statements that I discovered while watching the first episode of “Koh-Lanta” on TF1.
This surprised me because Alicia and I got along very quickly.
But in life, these are things that happen to me, people tend to judge me based on my appearance without taking the trouble to know me as a person.
I am often judged as a tall blonde, cold and haughty when I am someone who is very sociable and funny.
How do you explain it?
I don't know, I'm a smiling person though!
(Laughs.) Maybe on the men's side, I impress them.
And on the women's side, maybe it's jealousy.
I do not know.
Many people who get to know me tell me that if we hadn't had discussions together, they wouldn't have guessed I was like that.
Before Alicia's elimination
advice
, Julie said that you went to look in Alicia's backpack to check if she had an immunity collar and possibly sting her...
Everything is totally wrong. just in this story!
(Laughs.) Cécile came to see me to talk about our desire, with Julie, to eliminate Alicia but she feared that she had an immunity necklace.
The three of us found ourselves near the backpacks at a time when Alicia and Mégane were swimming.
While Cécile and Julie were watching them, I put my hand in Alicia's backpack for five seconds and it did absolutely no good.
Especially since an
immunity necklace only works for whoever finds it first or if it is voluntarily given up by its owner
...
I would never have taken Alicia's necklace if she had one A.
But I admit to having plunged a hand into his backpack for the sole purpose of checking, as other “Koh-Lanta” candidates have done in the past.
We just wanted to make sure Alicia was going to be eliminated at the council, all three of us were concerned.
I accept it like everything I have done in “Koh-Lanta”.
Émilie during Alicia's eliminatory council in “Koh-Lanta, the immunity hunters” TF1 screen capture
“I don’t know if you can call it cheating because there’s no rule against it.”
Emilie from “Koh-Lanta, the immunity hunters”
Two reinforcements joined the adventure on the fourth day,
would you have preferred to choose William, the survival expert, or Léa the sportswoman
?
Unanimously among the Reds, we preferred William because we had not yet managed to make the fire.
We didn't particularly need Léa's sporting skills, especially aquatic skills, because we were already well equipped with Jean, Maxime, Mégane and me.
Reinforcement in the area of survival to help us find food and improve our comfort was more important to us.
What do your loved ones think when they discover you on TF1 in the context of “Koh-Lanta”?
I only have good feedback, it's really nice.
There might just be a little shock with the backpack story!
(Laughs.) Without talking about family, I only receive kind and encouraging messages on Instagram.
People who know me see me on television as I am in life: fighting, smiling, determined and involved.
But the backpack thing might surprise them...
Yes and no because they know that I'm playful in life and that I like taking on challenges.
I don't know if you can call it cheating because there's no rule against it.
It was just a check, nothing more, and it never happened again.