Audience : Eight years later Koh Lanta, we will meet you in Magnus: Paris-Dakhla, in pursuit of the gold bar. Tell us about the concept of this game…
Wendy Gervois: It’s a new adventure game that involves mixing known and anonymous people. The principle is to have three teams of ten people, but we don’t yet know who will make them up, between production and us. Filming will begin next June: people can start applying, with castings in February or March…
Do you know any candidates?
There is Pascal, with whom I did my Koh Lanta. He was my dad in the adventure and he became a very close friend! From other seasons, there is Wafa, Coumba and Jeff, but I don’t know them personally. I just saw them on TV.
Did you miss adventure?
Yes. When they called me, I said yes straight away. From Koh Lanta, I kept the same thirst for adventure.
“As a child, I was afraid of people”
Are you very sporty on a daily basis?
Yes. I started gymnastics at the age of 8, then I took up boxing. As a child, I was very reserved. I was afraid of people. Boxing helped me to open up to others, to laugh. I did it for twenty years, I was even professional. Today I can no longer reconcile that with my work as an ambulance driver. But I run, I swim, I cycle, I do triathlons…
How was your return from Koh Lanta. Did you have any physical after-effects?
Yes, it was complicated. When I left, I weighed 58 kilos, and I was ten less when I came back. My body was unrecognizable! I was a bag of bones, I refused to look at myself in the mirror. I had a real rejection of my body and difficulty eating. Without forgetting a big disconnection from the world! I no longer wanted to sleep in a bed, I could no longer stand crowds, I no longer wanted a telephone. To get back to normal, it took me between two and three months. Even today, when my body is lacking sugar, I shake, I have headaches: my body has been so deprived that, as soon as there is a problem, it registers it immediately. It’s crazy, eight years later! On the other hand, my resistance is much stronger, which helps in my job.
Knowing all that, you didn’t hesitate to sign for Magnus?
No, that doesn’t scare me. I will be deprived for twenty days and I will let go when I return. It doesn’t block me. On the contrary, I will see where my limits are today, and I will know if I can still exceed them.
“Cheating has broken the magic of the game! But Teheiura is not the only one at fault.“
What did you think about the cheating cases in the last edition All Stars of Koh Lanta ?
It broke the magic of the game! This year I didn’t even watch the season. I remain a fan of the concept, which I have loved since I was 10, but it pissed me off! Many people asked me if it had been like that for us too, but not at all. The candidates who cheated had other ambitions, which exceeded their adventurous spirit. And I think the problem was casting a candidate who already knew the location. But Teheiura is not the only one at fault: he was put forward and took for everyone, while others did their thing. It’s a shame because it spoils the image of the All Stars. Personally, I was offered to do one, but I refused. Having won my first adventure, I want to try other things. I have this opportunity with Magnus! I am preparing myself physically. The mind, on the other hand, is already there: I’m not going there to make up the numbers.
And shows like Dals, would you like ?
It was not offered to me. The Koh-Lanta series continued and I was quickly forgotten in the media. Plus, I’m not on the networks much! Playing influencers is not my thing at all: when I make a story, it takes me fifteen minutes! (Laughs.)
“After the show, I had a real rejection of my body”
What did you do with the money earned on Koh-Lanta?
The first thing I did was pay for my dad’s headstone. This adventure was also therapy for me: I was very angry about his death, but I came home peaceful and proud. I invested the rest of the money and my partner and I bought a house last December.
Is your companion Lolita, the friend who joined you in the game?
It’s her, yes! At the time, she was my best friend and with the game, we realized that it was more than that. At the time, people thought we were together, but not at all! On the way back, the notoriety was complicated to live with for a few months. We found ourselves on the cover of a magazine and for the beginning of a story, it’s hard. Especially since she and I had never been with a woman before. It was brand new! But everything is fine today. I still live in Fourmies, in the North, in the countryside. We live a peaceful life there.
Comments collected by Comments collected by Maëlle Brun
Biography
November 6, 1989
Born in Fourmies, in the North, where Wendy still lives. At a very young age, she began practicing sport extensively, particularly English boxing.
2016
Fan of Koh Lanta since childhood, she has participated in the 15th edition of the game, in Thailand. She won it, after a final against her great friend Pascal.
2022
She moves in with Lolita, who was her best friend before becoming her partner. The start of a new life for the two young women.
2024
Great return to our screens in Magnus: Paris-Dakhla, presented by Xavier Delarue. The game will mix personalities and anonymous people. Registrations are open!