Survivor's Michelle "MC" Chukwujekwu Details Unexpected Twist of Going From an Alternate to Contestant

Michelle "MC" Chukwujekwu almost didn't get the chance to outwit, outplay or outlast.

After applying to compete on season 49 of Survivor, the 29-year-old was initially made an alternate. But after two contestants were removed ahead of filming for breaking rules regarding pre-game player communication, she and Jason Treul were upgraded to take their place just 12 hours before the game began.

"When they first called me and gave me the news that I wasn't on the cast but I was an alternate, it was disappointing at first," MC said in an interview with Austin news outlet KXAN that was posted Sept. 24. "They were like, 'Take the day to think about being an alternate.'"

After consulting with her sister, the San Diego-based fitness trainer didn't have to think about the decision for long.

"I called them back in five minutes," she said, "and I was like, 'Yeah, I'm down. I'll fly out to Fiji for a week and just see how it goes.'"

That’s not to say she saw her time in Fiji as a vacation. Indeed, MC readied herself for the possibility that she could get the chance to compete on Survivor after all. And ultimately it that came to fruition.

"The whole week, I was prepping, I was like, 'Some girl is gonna get scared, she's gonna drop out, something's gonna happen,'" she recalled. "Then, all of a sudden, 'Hey, you're officially in season 49. Get ready, we start in 12 hours.'"

And her late call-up doesn’t mean she isn’t ready to go all the way.

"I have what it takes to become Sole Survivor," she said, "because I have the physical strength, I can win these challenges, but I also have the social strength. People love me. I have an amazing social circle and I know what to say, what people want to hear to get the things that I want done."

She continued, "I have the mental strength as well. When other people are ready to quit and give in because it's hot and they're hungry, I know how to push through because I can do hard things, and that's why I will be Sole Survivor."

Survivor host Jeff Probst first shed light on the season 49 drama just ahead of its Sept. 24 premiere, revealing the for the first time in the show’s 25-year history, they had to disqualify players for repeatedly talking to one another in Fiji before the game began. And ultimately, he sees it as a warning.

"It should be clear to future players, although I doubt this will ever happen again, to just know we will not hesitate to pull you from the game," Jeff explained on his podcast On Fire With Jeff Probst. "It doesn't matter how much time or money we've invested in you."

He stressed, "We value the integrity of the game more than anything."

And to him, MC and her fellow Survivor 49 castaways, are keeping that integrity alive. Read on for more about the newest group hoping to walk away Sole Survivor...