Dee Valladares Says She Feels 'So Free' Heading Into 'Survivor 50' (Exclusive)

Dee Valladares knows she has nothing to prove heading intoSurvivor 50.

The Season 45 winner says she isn’t overly concerned about her threat level. If anything, she views it as an advantage. "If you want to take me out because I’m a winner, come on—it’s Season 50," Valladares, 29, told Men's Journal during a preseason interview conducted on location in Fiji before the game began. “You need a better reason.”

Valladares thinks some players will want to work with her early, whether as a shield or because of her reputation for loyalty. She's also aware that other players may want to avoid her altogether.

"What they should do is take me out first," she added. "But that’s not gonna happen."

She’s also already clocking suspicious energy from some of her fellow castaways at Ponderosa—and one player, in particular, stood out even before the game began. "I’m not getting good vibes from Rick Devens,” Valladares told MJ. “He’s already giving off sneaky. He just smirks at everyone. I’m like, dude, you gotta chill.”

Beyond individual reads, Valladares is thinking carefully about tribe dynamics, preferring players who prioritize personal connections over what she calls the “game-bots.”

Returning to the game after already winning, Valladares says she feels freer than ever. "I don't have to prove anything,” she said. "I'm here to have fun.""

Below, Valladares opens up more about her mindset heading into the milestone season, who she’s vibing with, and why the earliest days of the game may matter more than ever.

Men's Journal: Are you worried at all coming in as a winner. And how do you feel about at least one other winner also being here?

Dee Valladares: It's something I've thought about, but I can't say it's something that's constantly in my head. Because I also think that the more disadvantages I have coming in, like, the better the ending will be. Oh, and also, and I've said it multiple times, like, if you just want to take me out because I'm a winner that come on, it's Season 50, you know, you need a better reason. So I'm not really coming in here worried there is another winner, Kyle [Fraser]. The 49ers, I don't know how they did. There could be a third. And as many disadvantages people think I may have, I think I see them as advantages.

Men's Journal: How do you feel going into the game in terms of your threat level?

Dee Valladares: It's going to go too ways. Either people are going to definitely want to work with me, to use me as a shield, and because they know I play a loyal game–which Season 50 is a different story–but there will automatically be people that do not want to play with me, which is going to be fine. I already kind of told myself, right? I'm prepared. Like, if you don't want to play with me, it's fine. I'll befriend you, and then we can figure it out for a vote or two, whatever the case. But no, I think it's a good thing if they align with me. What they should do is take me out first. But that's not gonna happen.

Men's Journal: How are you feeling about the tribe divisions? Is there anyone you definitely do (or don't) want on your tribe?

Dee Valladares: I don't want game-bot people on my tribe just because I'm someone that I like to make personal connections with. I think for the most part, the old era is like that. They're older, they have families. I think coming into Season 45, one of the things that I was mostly worried about was the fact that my cast was so young, and actually, because my friends are all older. All my best friends are in their 30s. No one has kids. Everyone's in their 30s, still living life. It's the best. But I think I'm gonna adjust well to the old era players. And then definitely, if there's tribes of three, I definitely want Jonathan [Young] on my tribe, for obvious reasons. He got the muscles we need a win. So my game plan is to just not go to Tribal up until merge, which is the same thing that happened on Season 45 but you never know. I got to be prepared for everything.

Men's Journal: Speaking of Season 45, we have Emily [Flippen] here too. What is your relationship? Do you see yourselves working together?

Dee Valladares: I love her. I hope we work together, I don't see ourselves starting on the same tribe. If so, if we are probably a target. But there's two sides, right? Because the reason she was out on Season 45 is because of me, but then also another, the reason why I won is because of her. She voted for me to win. She was one of the people that voted for me. So I'm forever indebted to her...And not just voting me for the million dollars, but she did it proudly, and there was no part of her that....she didn't take the game into the real world. And I love people like that. I love people that understand that this is a game, and I think she knows that for me. And that's scary, because she knows that if I'm on the jury, I'm gonna root for her. You know what I mean?

Men's Journal: Have you thought about working with the other winner here, Kyle?

Dee Valladares: Love him. I definitely want to work with Kyle. Obviously, he's a winner, but I don't view Kyle as a winner. I don't know why. I guess it's because I'm a winner myself. I hosted a finale watch party in Miami, so I didn't even finish watching Season 48. I didn't watch the finale because I was too busy drinking. I was taking shots. I was hosting it, so I had people, friends, fans, yeah. So I didn't watch, but I did watch some clips, and I know he speaks well, which I wouldn't want next to me at the Final Tribal. But no, I view him as just Kyle. You know what I mean? I guess it's because I also won myself. So I'm not coming in here with pre[conceived] perceptions of people and how they played their game. I just want to, like, if I vibe with you, I vibe with you, and if I don't, I don't. And it's okay. Both are okay.

Men's Journal: Who are you vibing with at Ponderosa, good and bad.

Dee Valladares: Okay, Jenna [Lewis-Doughtery]. I love her. I hope she's on my tribe. I mean, I don't know anything about her. I didn't even watch Season 1, but definitely getting good vibes from her. I'm not getting good vibes from Rick, and I think it's just because he's just giving off sneaky already. He's already giving off sneaky. He just smirks at everyone. I'm like, dude, you gotta chill.

And then Aubry [Bracco], it's too much too chill. Like, she doesn't look anyone in the eyes, and she's always walking like this. And it's like, dude, you have to at least look at someone in the eyes. You know what I mean, not constantly, but you give in and take. I think the 49ers are scared. I can see Rizo [Velovic] shaking in his seat in the corner, shivering, wondering what the hell he's gonna do on Season 50 again. I didn't watch him, so that's not good for him, but I can sense that he's nervous.

Old era, I can sense that they're extremely excited. It's been so many years, but I do feel like some people might be nervous. Maybe Cirie [Fields], might even be a little bit nervous, maybe just body language. It could already be her game. She's sitting down like this all day. But I love her. Love her vibe, which is dangerous. I really want to be her friend. I really want to call her after the game.

Men's Journal: How do you prep for this as a returning player? Is there a way to prepare?

Dee Valladares: People usually prep by watching or re-watching seasons. I didn't do that because I don't want that fresh on my mind. I want to come out here and whatever Jeff [Probst] throws at us, I'm going to roll with, and whatever players I'm with, I'm going to I'm going to be with, or vice versa. But I think more of a prep, just mental and working out like I do think that to some extent.

Men's Journal: I mean, you're one of the strongest women that probably has ever played.

Dee Valladares: And I'm in a better shape than I was in Season 45. I'm excited, but there are some big dudes on this cast. Did you see that? That's good for me. Take them all out at merge, you know what I mean, and then worry about me. Because how are you going to worry about me when there's these dudes who have won...how many did Joe [Hunter] win on Season 48? Four? Three, for sure. Come on. There's no competition, a man or woman. Obviously the dude with the muscles, which is fine, I'm not afraid, but come on.

Men's Journal: In the early game, when people do want to win challenges, do you hope that they want you on their tribe?

Dee Valladares: Of course. I do think that's the thing. I think people are going to need me, whether they want to admit it or not, because physical capabilities, I might be the strongest female on my on my tribe, so it might be better to take out someone weaker–physically weaker, obviously–and whether or not they want to, they're going to have to work with me. So I don't care if they think that they don't want me at the end, because before they know, I'll be sliding in.

Men's Journal: You're one of those people that if they dropped you in any random season, you'd probably do well. You're super well-rounded.

Dee Valladares: I hope so. I think I'm good with people. I think when people meet me, or they haven't met me yet, or they see me, maybe they have a perception of me, or they're intimidated. Or from the way I look, they might think I'm a bitch, and I'm not like that. I couldn't be far from that. I don't think I've ever met someone that hasn't met me and thought, like, she's so kind, because I do treat everyone with respect and I care for people. I think out here, it's hard to do that. It's hard to care for everyone you meet. You know what I mean? But I'm looking forward to that, and I think more so now, since everyone's going to be on the jury, you have to work extra hard to make sure people like you.

Men's Journal: Did they say everyone's going to be on the jury?

Dee Valladares: No. I would assume, like Season 40, maybe not everyone. But also, if you're voted off, you're on Season 50, you want to be part of the reason why somebody won. You know what I mean? Everyone has a say in who won, because everyone here got chosen for a reason, whatever their reason. So you should have a say. I would think. I would hope. So more partying in Pondy [Ponderosa].

Men's Journal: Do you feel like it's going to go new school versus old school?

Dee Valladares: I hope not, but I think naturally it's gonna happen. I think a lot of these old era players are scared. Well, they think that old era is harder just because of the amount of days, which of course, I'm biased. So new era, I think, is harder. But I think they're scared of how maybe shady the new era could be? And sneaky, like more gamers. There are a lot more relationship and alliances, which is great, and I love that. That's the game that I played on Season 45. I think naturally it's going to happen. I hope not, because I do think that the old era has a lot more years worth of relationships than the new era. A lot of them have met family, played together already multiple times. So I hope it doesn't happen. If it does, I'm gonna try to disrupt it.

Men's Journal: Who do you not seeing yourself working with at all?

Dee Valladares: I think Aubrey. I don't think Aubrey is my vibe. I don't think I even watched your season, to be honest. It's just the vibes are not vibing out here.

Men's Journal: What about the rest of those 30s era players? Because they're sort of in the middle of old era and new era.

Dee Valladares: That's the thing I don't care about–when they played, right? Whether they're very old school 30s or new era 40s. It's just when you put 24 people out in this island, all of that goes out the window. All of it goes on the window. I know the fans want to think, but no, you might vibe with each other and you might not. And this is a social game more than anything else, in my opinion. So I'm not really worried about old era 30s, new era. I just gotta not get voted off.

Men's Journal: Are you worried about the early days at all?

Dee Valladares: The first few days I'm worried about the most, because I think those are going to be crucial in my game. I just have to cement myself with a few people, maybe three or four or five, you know, make them think they're my No. 1's, all of them. And before they know it, I gotta cut them. But yeah, this time I gotta play with less heart, I think. I want to play with heart, trust me, but honestly...

Men's Journal: It's your second season. You already won. You kind of don't have anything to prove. So you can play out however you want.

Dee Valladares: That's what I keep saying. Exactly, I feel so free. I feel so free, which is great, because no matter what, I'm gonna have fun. And I don't have to prove anything to myself, to the world. I already did what most of the cast wants to do, which is win. Winning Survivor is such a huge accomplishment. But also, I can't just win 45. I can't just talk about winning 45 my whole life. I have to do more things in life. But yeah, I'm worried about the early days.

Men's Journal: Yeah, people will just need any excuse, and because you're a winner, do you worry?

Dee Valladares: Well, not even just the first few votes. I'll go even earlier, because what fans don't see is the first three days are mixed into one episode. The first day or two, you're in such high state of paranoia all the time, and you might go to a water well–you and I will go to the water when we don't talk strategy at all, and we don't know what to say to each other. And then you end up being my No. 1 ally. You don't know who's going to talk strategy first, who has already has spoken before the game. You're just kind of adjusting, so the fans don't see that. They just see the first Tribal, and that's the vote. But there's so much that goes on before that first Tribal vote.

Men's Journal: Talk to me about the fans voting on different elements of the game. Do you want rice?

Dee Valladares: I hope so, of course. I hope I get rice. But another part of me doesn't want rice, so that the older people can suffer. I did pretty good for those two weeks [on 45]. I cried a lot, which I feel like the edit saved me a little bit. In a lot of my confessionals, I was crying, but not because of hunger, because of–first of all, starvation–but also because I just kept thinking, I can't believe there's people in this world that are actually starving, and I'm here starving just because it's a choice. I get to do this, and I get to be on Survivor. But being here, it kind of heightens your emotions, and you start thinking about the real world and how you can be a better sister, a better daughter, a better human in society, whatever. But you also are surprised at how much your body can take and how fast you can lose weight. So anyone who wants to go on a weight loss program, just apply. Just come here. Day two, your pants are falling. Day two, you already feel a difference.

Men's Journal: You're dehydrated too, right?

Dee Valladares: Some people are. What I would do is I drink water and just pretend that it was food. So constantly, I was chugging water because you need to stay hydrated out here. You need to go to the bathroom seven-plus times, and I go to the bathroom so much, but that's how you know you're hydrated. But yeah, just pretend it's water, eat coconut. Just trick your mind. It's interesting how much your body takes, dude. Two weeks, no food. I never thought I could do that until here.

Men's Journal: After Season 45, were you already itching to come back or did you think you would play again?

Dee Valladares: No, I'll be honest. After 45, you know, there had been talks of 50 and everything, but it was so far ahead. And I kind of just wanted to sit in my win, celebrate it with my family, my friends. But, you know, if Jeff asked me to come back, obviously I'd say, yes. I'd drop everything to be here. I love this game, but it was never a thought of, oh yeah, I'm gonna go back, or I can't wait to go back. It's like, I'm grateful no matter what. And if it happens, it happens. And if it doesn't, it doesn't, right? Even if 50, if they didn't have any winners, I would have been so grateful. But I still won't live my life thinking I want to be on 51, 52, 53 because then your life becomes Survivor, which is great, if that's what you want to do, but then you're going to get disappointed if you don't get called back. So I think for me, it's just a matter of just let me keep living my life, throwing experiences in my life, and if they call me, I'll drop anything. And if they don't, they don't. I'm grateful, no matter what.

Men's Journal: My last question is, if you do walk away from this and don't win–you already won–but if you do walk away without winning again, what do you want to get out of it?

Dee Valladares: I want to have fun. God forbid, I get out. But if I do get out, I want to get out at a point where I felt like I played hard and I experienced everything that they threw at us. And by them I mean Jeff, you know what I mean? It's Season 50. Some of these challenges, some of these rewards, they're going to be legendary. And that's what I want to experience. And I also want to play this game with old era players. I've only played with new era. I only know the way the new era works. I want to meet the people that paved the path. I want to play with them. And if it works, it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't. But, yeah, I'm here to have fun. Like, damn, not so many people can say they're playing–well, first of all, Season 50–but Survivor in general, you know what I mean?

The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Related: Cirie Fields Says 'Survivor 50' Is About Finally Winning After 20 Years (Exclusive)