After 39 days in the lush savanna of Gabon, high school physics teacher Bob Crowley, 58, outlasted his 17 other competitors to become the winner of the 17th season of CBS’ Survivor. But along the way, the Portland, Maine, resident got a mighty boost from under-the-radar Jessica “Sugar” Kiper, 29, the pin-up model from Brooklyn, who saw him as a father figure since her own dad passed away before the show began taping. Snagging three votes to Bob’s four was Susie Smith, 48, an assistant teacher and hairdresser from Charles City, Iowa. PEOPLE talked to the three finalists about the results and what the game meant to each of them.
Bob Crowley:
How did you feel sitting with the final two, waiting for the results?
I was real nervous! I knew I had the original Kota votes, I was pretty sure I did, but when I realized that Randy was going to be the swing vote, and I was just very nervous. Then, I sort of went blank there. My whole family was sitting in the front row and it was just so fun to see them so excited.
Your wife Peg went out to Gabon and surprised you there. Was it great to be able to share this with her in more ways than one?
That was without a doubt one of the most exciting things that has ever happened to me. In fact, we have taken still photographs from the TV of the moment when she was sneaking up on me! That is one of the highlights of our life, and one of the highlights of my time in Africa.
Do you thinks physics will come into vogue from your appearing on Survivor?
I am more excited about the fact that being a teacher — that I hope this will gain more respect from people for all teachers. I think that would be a wonderful thing, making someone believe in the teaching profession.
Did you know before tribal council that Sugar regarded you as a father figure or did that surprise you?
No, it wasn’t until tribal council that I began to realize the impact I had. I wasn’t trying to counsel her in her decision and then knowing that Matty was like a brother to her, it was a tough position she was placed in, sort of like a Sophie’s Choice! I met some wonderful people and made some friends for life.
Not only did you win the million dollars, you won a Sprint Fan Favorite prize of $100,000. Did you know beforehand what you would spend the money on?
No, because I thought it would be bad luck! I owe a lot of money on my house and on my kids’ education, I still have a daughter in college, and my wife and I never had a honeymoon, so I think now it will be really fun to put her on a plane and go over to Africa and spend more than four hours with her over there!
Are you happy to be reunited with the fake immunity idol you made while on Exile?
Yes! And it’s actually in pretty good shape! I am not sure what I am going to do with it, really, but I am sort of a collector of things.
Susie Smith:
You got three votes to Bob’s four. Were you surprised? Hopeful?
You know, the only person I was confused about was Randy. I think Marcus, Charlie and Corinne were very loyal to Bob because they were on Kota, so I wasn’t disappointed that they didn’t vote for me; I knew that was going to happen. Apparently my speech didn’t mean anything to Randy — he was more upset about the cookie thing! And it’s funny because I think a couple times he’s told me that’s what cost me. But I told him, “It’s okay, Randy. I’m not the type of person who is vindictive. You did what you did and you don’t have to explain it to me.”
Did you expect the tie that led Bob to sit with you and Sugar in the final three?
I really thought it would be Matty with us in the final three. But it’s funny, because I asked Sugar if she was sure she was going to vote out Bob. She had told me yes and I said, “because if you don’t, it could be a tie and then there would be a fire challenge,” and then that went in her head. So I feel like now it’s my own fault! But Matty would have probably beat me but he’s a great kid, too.
Bob is an educator and so are you. Are you happy he won?
Oh, yes. I feel like we are getting the message across. It’s not even a hard message. It’s simply to try. To me, it felt wonderful. I told Bob before, I was never afraid to go up against you and I’m not afraid to go up against you now. You are very deserving and if you win, great! Same thing with Sugar. And Peg, when I first saw Bob’s wife out there and saw them coming over the hill, I thought, “Oh, Bob’s got time to be with his wife,” and I started to cry. I got to talk to her for a while and oh, what a beautiful lady and very nice. She got along great with my husband, too, I guess. And what we’ve got in common is that we are older, wiser and married for more than 25 years. I hope what we can show America is what it’s like to be committed and work hard.
Are you in good shape now?
On the show I lost 23 pounds but I knew to eat in moderation, I did not gorge myself right away. I’ve gained 6 pounds back — that’s not too bad! I am a sweet eater but I did not eat immediately much chocolate or candy. The first night I got back, I still felt like I was in the jungle and was asking if Bob and Sugar had enough to eat and my husband was like, “You’re home now!”
Jessica “Sugar” Kiper:
You were the truest player in the final three. Was that your strategy all along, to manipulate from under the radar?
I did have the strategy to have an alpha male in the first half to carry me along and when that worked, I didn’t believe it! And then after I killed my best friend, then I figured nobody was safe and it was more about who was going to go next and it’s not going to be me. The thing is, why didn’t anybody ever vote me off? It would have been really easy — hello! — to blindside me.
How great was it to have your sister join you and to be able to honor your father in Africa?
That was really the most awesome thing because my luxury item was going to be my father’s ashes, so the fact that they let my sister do that, because that’s what I wanted to do, to have him out there to hang with me for awhile.
How comical was it that Kota kept sending you back to Exile?
Every time I went there I was like, “Just send me again!” Except for that one time when Crystal made me cry because she said they were all starving, I was like, “But I will still eat this pineapple!” I totally expected to be underestimated going in there.
Bob did mean a lot to you. Can you remember a particular moment?
There were so many moments with Bob. Before the game, Bob did a couple things for me. This is when we weren’t supposed to talk [to each other]. Bob would show me a drawing of an alligator or crocodile or whatever they have in Gabon and then he’d kind of show me where it was so I could go look at it. Then one time we were doing interviews overlooking the water and he had some binoculars with him and he saw some dolphins and he handed me the binoculars and the last time I saw dolphins was with my dad on a sailboat and from that moment — I mean, I told the psych doctor before we started playing the game that I wanted to be on a team with the man in the bowtie and the bald, enlightened rich guy, which would be Ace! And I was the third on that team. Pretty much everything worked out as if I wrote it myself.
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