CBS

SURVIVOR Host: Hey, everyone! Clay's with us now and is ready for your questions. Hey Clay!
Clay: Hey! I hope everyone's having a Merry Christmas!

MikeC: Clay, I thought you played a helluva game to day 39. Anything you think now that you could have done differently at the final Tribal Council and swayed one vote?
Clay: Really, I don't think there's anything I could have done. I answered their questions truthfully, told them that this was the rules of the game; I don't live my life this way. I even addressed Ted about him hearing I said something racist, and I can truly tell you that I am still angry about that and I am trying to track down who said that Clay said something racist. They don't know what was said; they just say that I said something. The only thing I can come up with is that Brian, knowing that Ted was going to kicked off and was going to be so angry at Brian for betraying him was trying to tell him that I was from the south and that I was racist. Jeff and I looked at all the tapes, and we couldn't find anything on the tapes!

Ted got mad at someone for hearsay but he was going by hearsay himself in accusing me of such a thing. It really angered me that night, and I was vocal about it, and if he called me a redneck hick, well, I'd rather be a redneck hick than a Big Ted going around accusing people of things that he can't give them the answer to of what he hurt. He's a big guy, and big guys don't like getting beat by little guys.

survivor4ever: Clay, Did you know that Brian was using you to get to the top? If so, why did you let it go on? If not, what do you think about that now?
Clay: Actually, me and Brian did have a true bond with each other from the very first moment we all got in the boat. I'd made a statement about John, about we got somebody trying to be the leader already, and that tickled Brian. When we got off the boat that very first day we actually had a true bond, and we said we'd try to help each other and when we get to end just may the best man win.

When you get down to the last four people, it has to do with endurance getting there and a little luck...when you get to the last four or five, anybody can stab you in the back any time. That's the rules of the game. The only thing I can say for myself is that I didn't step up and change my personality or my words or try to be someone else. I was always myself, and people didn't realize that Brian was being a different person each time he talked to someone. They realize it now, but the game's over.

JAMMco: Clay, you were awesome. I tried to emulate you at home, but my wife kicked me out. How did you do it?
Clay: [laughs] I have a very loving, dear wife. We were boyfriend and girlfriend when we were 13 and 14. I'm a guy that pushes the envelope to its limit, and she has to keep me intact; she keeps Clay in check. She knows how to have fun and I know how to have fun. Every married couple should best friends, and we are! Me and her truly enjoy each other's company. We laugh at each other and we have fun with each other, and I've never really had another girlfriend. They call me the Survivor, well, shoot, she's stood by me; she's been my survivor for years and years and years. She knows how to make Clay proud of Clay. When you've got someone patting you on the back like she has me...she's proud of me. I don't know what else to say, I could go on for years. I can't tell you how proud I am of her and my kids.