During the episode of Koh-Lanta, The Cursed Totem broadcast Tuesday May 17, 2022 on TF1, the adventurers were divided into pairs. This is how Ambre and Bastien won the comfort game and Olga and François the immunity test. At the council, it was finally Maxime who was eliminated, thus dragging Louana down with him. A hard blow for the adventurer who could have gone a little further… Purepeople.comMaxime looks back on this crazy experience and talks about his complicated relationship with Louana, his management of hunger or the eating disorders he suffered on his return.
How did you experience your elimination?
I took a blow, even though my name had already appeared several times on the council. The goal in this game is to stay as long as possible and when it stops, it’s bound to be disillusionment.
Why do you think your classmates voted against you?
We come to a point in the adventure where choices have to be made. At the time of the council, they evoke a little their motivations. There was another duo, Fouzi and Géraldine, that they didn’t want to see leave. They made their choice, that’s it.
Why did you choose to save Fouzi and Géraldine by offering them to eliminate Nicolas?
They were in danger. And I said to myself that there was perhaps a move to be made to regain control of this green team which, for the moment, has control over the game. I try to offer them to save them to return the game. I had been a pawn for a long time, I had no control over my game. I ate my black bread for a long time. There by doing the accounts I saw that there was an opportunity to regain control, it was now or never.
Why do you think this strategy did not work?
Because Géraldine and Fouzi have done their calculations. Maybe they had a view of the game that was different from mine and they preferred to do something else. They wanted to move forward with other people.
You seemed happy to be in pairs with Louana, why?
I’m happy to be with her especially because I find it very funny. After the moments of tension between us, I found it very funny. And then I also thought that with the green alliance in place, there was a chance that the pair where Louana was would not be eliminated.
You also seemed to have a complicated relationship with her and more generally the ex-red girls, in particular Pauline and Ambre. How do you explain it?
It’s because of our characters. Louana says it herself in her presentation portrait: she likes to control everything, that things are done her way. And funny enough, that’s exactly what she blames me for. While it is the trait of character that she puts forward at home.
Regarding Ambre and Pauline, do you think this is a group effect?
Let’s say that it necessarily plays, that’s for sure. Afterwards, they do not follow like sheep. But inevitably in a group, when there are tensions and we focus on it, the others pay more attention to it.
In previous episodes, they seem to blame you for your hunger management. Do you understand ?
Quite frankly, I felt like I managed my hunger very well, in the sense that I didn’t suffer from it any more than the others. On the other hand, it is true that I looked carefully at the number of pieces of cassava that I received. But maybe that’s because I’m in a family of three and I’m used to fighting for food.
What happened with the cassava bowl?
I was suspected, no one accused me by name. In fact, it turns out that I had eaten after the others. We don’t have the time, but they must have eaten around 2 p.m., while I wanted to go to bed with a full stomach, I had eaten later. Besides watching other people’s ends, I was the perfect suspect. Finally, we still don’t know what happened with this bowl. Mystery.
You are over several weeks endangered by your ex-Red comrades. Why do you think?
It’s the chemistry of a group. If there had been one or two different people, maybe the whole adventure would have been different. There were affinities, several people came from the same region. It all plays. A group is very subtle like alchemy.
What was the hardest thing for you in camp?
Frankly, the combo of everything. What makes the adventure extraordinary is precisely this level of complexity on all fronts: hunger, the weather, the lack of loved ones. If you put me in a place where I sleep well with my relatives but where I don’t eat, things will be easier and vice versa. There is not one aspect that takes precedence over the others.
What was your first gesture on the way back?
For once, I organized the reunion with my relatives. First with my family then with my darling. And that was really the most important thing for me, before the shower or the meal. Because I had already spent a few days in the villa, I had been able to shower and eat.
How was the return to reality?
We landed on Saturday and I went to the office on Monday. I was plunged back into the heart of the matter very quickly. Apart from eating disorders, I haven’t had any other problems. I ate four times as much as before, I bought chocolate bars or that sort of thing whereas before I walked past and it didn’t even speak to me, I took three pain au chocolat… I ate a lot during a month, a month and a half. Whereas normally I have an extremely healthy lifestyle and it doesn’t even occur to me to eat fat.
Have you since regained your figure?
I had lost 10 kilos during Koh Lanta, I took 12 on my return. But within a month, I lost the extra 2 pounds. I got back to my ideal weight.
What are your projects ?
For the moment, nothing related to television. Afterwards, if I am offered a next Koh LantaI’m in, but not in Palawan because it’s raining way too much!
And on the heart side, where are you with your partner?
This adventure strengthened my relationship. And there may even have been a marriage proposal…
Exclusive content that cannot be reproduced without the mention of Purepeople.com.