CEBU, Philippines - Survivor Philippines” celebrity castaway Aubrey Miles is a reality show nut. While we could point out one or two who joined the show for the primetime exposure and had no clue whatsover what they were getting into, Aubrey knew the game by heart and prepared herself physically for a good two months. She was such a big fan of the original Survivor series, so much so she was begging for a spot even during the first season of the Philippine edition which was then still hosted by Paolo Bediones.
She’s definitely no stranger to the scene, this being her second foray in joining a physically and mentally challenging reality television show, after finishing ninth place in 2007’s The Amazing Race Asia 1 with her bestfriend Jacqueline Yu.
“I can’t compare. Survivor is way different. Amazing Race, we get to eat and travel. The hardest part was looking for the place. Yung sa island, every day, every minute, ang hirap. Ito na yung, for me, the hardest reality show na sa tingin ko hindi siya magagawa ng kahit sino lang,” said the 28-year-old actress.
And she’s not done. Once the airing of Survivor ends, Aubrey is planning to join another physically-demanding reality show, the details of which she cannot yet divulge.
Why is she tagged as the island’s “Ang Pasimuno”?
“I don’t know. Siguro naisip nila yung ibang bagay ako ang pasimuno. Madalas ako raw ang nagpapasimula ng isang bagay. Ako rin, nagugulat when they tell me may nagagawa akong hindi ko naman sinasadya. Malalaman niyo kung mapanood niyo,” Aubrey said.
Being a mom did not hamper her decision to be part of Survivor even if she’d be leaving her kids behind for more than one month.
“Kasi talagang first season pa ng Survivor I wanted to join na. Kaya eto na yung chance ko. Inisip ko rin, pero a little over a month lang naman, so kaya ko ito. If I’d win, then I can take them on a grand vacation abroad and spend a lot of time with them. I talked to my eldest son, who’s 8, and told him to be good while I’m away and don’t give any problem sa dad nila. If I don’t win it, at least I know I tried.”
It helped that her partner Troy Montero is also a fanatic so she had no problem securing his permission.
“Fan din kasi siya ng Survivor so sobrang proud siya sa akin. Gusto din nga niyang sumali din pero sabi ko, huwag na. Ako na lang. It’d be hard kung pareho kaming mawawala. He’s very happy naman to see me back in one piece, kahit sobrang umitim ako. Kaya lang, our son Hunter, hindi ako nakilala at natakot when he saw me kasi nga sobrang umitim ako,” she shared.
All’s cool too even if her ex-boyfriend Jon Hall and his current girlfriend Michelle Madrigal are also castaways. “I didn’t know. But even if nalaman namin, wala namang problem kasi matagal na ‘yun,” assured Aubrey.
Some of her tribemates incurred a lot of scars due to mosquito bites, but Aubrey was lucky that she had foresight to wear leggings so that anytime the game officially began, she’d have comfortable clothes off her back.
“Tiniis ko na hindi magkamot at hindi maghubad sa gabi. Tsaka meron akong leggings kaya kahit papano, maayos naman ako. I was the luckiest because I had set of clothes to wear for 36 days. Kasi I really watched Survivor. So nakikita ko na yung mga scenario. Sa airport pa lang, prepared na ako na anytime, anyday, it could be the start of the game.”
The three-time FHM cover girl is hoping her stint as a castaway would open doors for her to be included in future shows of GMA-7 such as a soap or sitcom, since she really misses acting.
Watch Aubrey and the rest of the celebrity castaways on Survivor, weeknights after “24 Oras.”