In Koh-Lanta, The Cursed Totem, the sixth episode has an air of deja vu. Indeed, Stéphanie returned to the adventure before being eliminated again on Tuesday April 5, 2022. Her return, she owes it from Jean-Philippe, forced to leave the game on medical decision. The red team adventurer had had abnormally swollen feet. After taking it upon himself, he had resolved to call the doctor. And the verdict is in, it’s a forced abandonment. In interview for Purepeople.comJean-Philippe talks about this experience on the other side of the world, evoking the state of his feet but also the criticism he is subjected to as well as his relationship with his sons and their mother.
What happened with your feet?
Unfortunately, I suffered from a small vitamin B1 deficiency. It’s called beriberi and in fact I had a reaction in my feet where I had poor blood flow, a little degeneration, and unfortunately my feet swelled up. The time to get back on my feet, if I can put it that way, was a little too long. We didn’t necessarily have the medicines on site so I was forced to stop the adventure.
They were still able to treat you properly on the spot?
Yes, but it was quite long. The drugs worked well, but only after a short week. First I was in a first clinic in Palawan with the production. They understood what to treat me with, but since they didn’t necessarily have the right drugs on site, I had to go for additional tests. I took a plane to Manila, I stayed a few days in the hospital. I was then able to be repatriated to France. I was followed at Dieppe hospital for a few hours and once everything was in order I resumed a normal life. Almost everything is now behind me. Today I just want to go back because I still had it under my feet!
How did you experience your medical abandonment?
I almost want to banish the word “surrender”. For me, it’s rather a technical constraint that was imposed on me because the word abandonment is not part of my vocabulary. I know that I was incredibly lucky to have been selected for this adventure so for me abandonment was not an option. I understood that it was necessary to stop because the production explained to me the concern that I had. So yes, I’m frustrated, sad but not morally weakened because I just want to go back to be able to challenge myself again.
By leaving with the doctor, you apologize, feel guilty… Why?
I blame myself at that moment because I still feel like I’m the captain of the team even if Louana had become the leader. I always had the feeling of being a driving force whether humanly, sportingly, morally. I was always trying to mend the ties in this tribe. So yes I apologized because I felt like I was handicapping them. Clearly I was disgusted but I had been gritting my teeth for three days, suffering. During the raft event, it was impossible for me to paddle with my buttocks on my heels. I was in so much pain… From that moment, my colleagues started to see it… I understood that it was really medical, not moral.
On social networks, you are not unanimous. You are said to be arrogant, too sure of yourself, that you talk too much… How do you take these criticisms?
I understand them, I accept them, I tell myself that given the portraits or at least the first thirty seconds, it’s hard to think otherwise. Afterwards I had the chance to shine alone or in a team to be able to prove that what I was saying was true and that I was not there by chance. And when it was necessary to make the difference between the men twice I was always the one who was shining the most. I may have a strong temperament, a big mouth as they say, but in any case I was not unworthy either with my team or alone. So if they think that, too bad for them.
What was the hardest part of the adventure?
Rain at night! It is virulent, constant, breathtaking, the rain could have all the most destructive adjectives because it is omnipresent, it never stops! We were lucky because we had a few clearings but I can assure you that even for the fire it was hell. The first week with Nicolas must have tried to turn it on between 400 and 500 times and we never succeeded.
You say you participate in Koh-Lanta for your sons Célestin and Cyrius… What relationship do you have with them?
In everyday life I always feel like my son’s hero. I take them to construction sites, I let them touch all the tools, so it’s true that my children are child kings for me. But I also impose rigor and discipline. I live with my two little boys, I am an ultra fusion daddy hen. I mother them as much as I father them.
How did the reunion go?
I was very happy to find them but also disappointed not to satisfy their desire to see me on the posts. It was a challenge they gave me. In Manila I had the right to call them to reassure them when I was in the hospital but they thought I could call them because I had gained comfort. They were therefore very disappointed for that but happy to know that we were going to meet again.
You mention your role as a father, without however mentioning the mother… is it a choice?
We all have a part of private life. Today it is not necessary even if they have an excellent mother with whom I get along very well. I can only say that I live alone with my sons.
You have a tattoo on your chest and part of your stomach. What does it mean?
If you decipher each piece of the tribal it is marked “Célestin” on my back with an S which ends on my hips and on my pectoral it is marked “Cyrius”, the C which is common to the two first names of my sons is on my back on top. And the Roman numeral 48 [XLVIII , ndlr] it’s the addition of our three dates of birth: the 10th for me, the 12th for Célestin and the 26th for Cyrius.
What has changed in your life since Koh Lanta ?
I remain the same Jean-Philippe whether before or after Koh Lanta : self-confident, with the even stronger desire to be able to go and test myself against the elements.
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