SURVIVOR Host: There are lots of great questions, so let's get begin! If you're just joining us, we're chatting live with Survivor Deena Bennett. We'll get to as many of your questions as we can. Hey Deena! How's it going?
Deena: It's going fabulous! I love NYC, and I'm glad to have been able to come here.

Tomato: Deena, you are a beautiful, smart player with a fabulous sense of humor. How do your kids feel about their mom being on the show?
Deena: Thank you very much! My kids? One doesn't care cuz he's too little to care; my four year old is incredibly proud of me because he goes around telling his friends "Hey, my Mom was on SURVIVOR!"

PMonty: Deena, I think you played the game superbly well. As an attorney, you know that alliances come and go all the time. The others didn't know or chose not to remember that. Do you think there was anything you could have done to stay longer?
Deena: Yes, what I should have done and what I clearly failed to do was go after the Butch and Mom non-alliance. They were just kind of these floaters out in the game, and I did nothing to talk to them about their position. I knew that it was a mistake at the time leading up to the Immunity Challenge, but I just ran out of energy.

Kyrre: First, I'd like to congratulate you on making it into the jury. Now, I've got to ask: do you believe that had you not said anything about Alex until after Matt won Immunity, you would have survived that Tribal Council?
Deena: Absolutely not, because I still needed Jenna and Heidi to vote with me, and at this point in time I didn't have the support of Butch or Matt. As you can see, Alex was already trying to turn Jenna against me, which was evident at the coffee house.

Nick: Deena, who do you feel betrayed you the most?
Deena: Heidi, but on the other hand, Heidi knew that I had no intentions of keeping her into the Final Four, so good move on her part. I don't think betrayal is a good word in the game of SURVIVOR. To me, it's jockeying of positions, and I was just outplayed.

Betsys a moofeaux: Deena, are you amazed by Heidi's intelligence?
Deena: [laughs] What you don't know is that Heidi was very clever in disguising her manipulation. What you see is cute girl, no brain activity, but is she really just playing a part?

Tomato: Deena, your smile and sense of humour were some of the sexiest features in the Amazon. So how do you feel about Jenna's and Heidi's views on physical beauty?
Deena: I have to chalk it up to immaturity and lack of life experience. It is my personal opinion that neither of them meant to be as condescending as it sounded.

BlueEyes: Deena, were you shocked at the comment that Jenna said "that fat pig"? I would have punched her later! Deena: [laughs] I'm a deputy DA, so I'm not shocked at anything, and truth is an absolute defense in a libel lawsuit. [laughs]

Nick: Deena, would you take off your clothes for peanut butter and chocolate?
Deena: Not for a million dollars. [laughs]

Wisdom: Deena, French Valley…great town. Tell me how surprised you were to see how often Rob talked about controlling you?
Deena: I wasn't shocked at anything by what Rob said or did. He is playing this game the way that it should be played: two-faced and ready to change teams at any time. I like him a lot.

Mommarabbit: Deena, do you think you got a little too full of yourself and missed the clues that you were getting voted out?
Deena: When I sat down to Tribal Council, I knew by that point that I would be voted out. But absolutely, I was incredibly arrogant at times. Remember, pride cometh before a fall! BUT I make no apologies for my personality. Love me or leave me.

Wisdom: Deena, did any of the Survivors use the "you don't need the money" card on you?
Deena: No, I am a county employee and I do not make anything close to what a similiar attorney in my position or profession would make. But interestingly enough, EVERYBODY (including me) played the "poor me" card. It's all a part of the game.

Chris: Rob kept saying it was you and him till the end. So what made him change his mind and vote against you, and how do you feel/think about him changing his mind?
Deena: Rob and I had an agreement. He and I to the end, unless it came down to saving your own neck. And that worked both ways. I completely understand the fact that he had to cut me loose because we did not have enough votes for Alex. Kudos to Rob for playing the game instead of putting personal relationships in front.

born_naked_singapore: Hey Deena, when Shawna was begging for the tribemates to vote her off, you kept her in the game because you did not want her to spoil your plan. Do you regret what you did?
Deena: Absolutely not! I would do it again in a heartbeat. My theory on that point is this: she was physically and mentally ill, but there is no way that I'm going to sacrifice my position in the game for somebody that I knew for six days. My family sacrificed seven weeks for me to be out in the jungle. My first and foremost priority was to play the game the best that I could. And see? Look how quickly she recovered anyway.

BoZeeQ: Deena, Christy seems to be an outside to all the so-called alliances going on, yet she's been skating through the game unchallenged. What's your take on this?
Deena: Christy is flying through under the radar at this point in time, and I think that's exactly what she needs to do. She clearly did not bond with Jenna or Heidi at Jabaru. She does not have any close personal bond with any of the power people, so she's playing it well by keeping out of the limelight. But the dynamics of the game are continually changing and power will always continue to shift, especially when Immunity is up for grabs.

draftman: How well do you and Christy get along? Learn any sign language?
Deena: Christy and I got along fabulously. I dig on Christy. I learned in sign language "Deena is a dork" and "Christy is a tree lover." Perhaps the most important sign that I learned was "friends for life."

Mywave: Deena, it seems to me someone who is laying low will win this thing, seeing as the strong people are being voted off. Did you ever consider that strategy?
Deena: [laughs] And ignore the fact that my personality won't let me fly under the radar? No, I have to work within the realm of my personality, so believe it or not, I toned it WAY down to play this game. In real life I am much more of a control freak and a dictator, but it's because I have to be in my profession, and justice demands it.

stacyloca2: Deena, did you really just plain DISLIKE someone on the show?
Deena: No, absolutely not. The reason is because even though you have disagreements (and goodness gracious I have them with my own husband every day) you have to give people the benefit of the doubt. You're starving and thirsty and the environment just stinks, so it's natural for people to be on edge.

bambi: Hi Deena, what were you the most surprised to see/learn when you got to watch the Survivor episodes?
Deena: It would have to be this last episode where Jenna felt that I lied to her and that I was a backstabber. I did not have enough time to go into her emotional state of being. I didn't get to talk with her enough about what was going on in her own head. So, I feel bad that I thought that she lied, and I hope that she doesn't hold any ill will towards me.

SurvivorBecca: Deena, even though Matt was a physical challenge, do you feel that it would be a better plan to keep him around because he would be less of a challenge in the vote for the Sole Survivor?
Deena: Yes, which is why I went after Alex instead. Alex clearly still had the ability to out-think and out-play me, whereas Matt was doing well to be coherent.

Aimee: Had you wanted to, Deena, could you have finished that worm before Matt did?
Deena: Not in my lifetime! But I wish I would have at least tried, even though I know I couldn't have eaten that thing whole as quickly as Matt did. It had a human face, giant legs and a body the size of the Empire State building!

Nick: Deena, how scared were you that Matt was going to kill you?
Deena: Very!! [laughs] We did not have fire shift alone with him. We were always in groups of three. TV did not adequately portray how scary he was. He not only looked the part, but he continued to sharpen his machete at EVERY available opportunity. I would have been calling 9-1-1 had I access to a phone!

REDCHILLY: Deena, what was the hardest thing you had to go through out there?
Deena: I was not prepared for the blackouts that accompanied food deprivation. It was incredibly bad at night, during fire watch when you had to stand up or move. Your vision would get blurry, you would start to get dizzy and you wanted to hang on long enough until your vision cleared and hope that you didn't fall in the process. I would have given my wedding band for an In-N-Out burger (Double-Double, Wild Style).

vucrusader: Deena, do you think Rob is as hard-up for some lovin' as he claimed to be in the Amazon?
Deena: [laughs] Yes. [laughs hysterically] Rob talked about his lack of female companionship quite a bit, but that was in response to all the massive amounts of sex talk that went on at the Luuuuv Shack.

sinsin: Jenna seemed to develop a real dislike, more of a personal kind, for you after the "bath" reward. Do you know why, or where that came from?
Deena: [laughs] Jenna was really hungry. Jenna was incredibly tired. Jenna talked about banana splits a lot prior to that bath Challenge. I think that she was a little jealous that I got to go, but I think more so she became apprehensive when she came back from her own Reward Challenge. From what I've seen on TV, I think that apprehension was caused by Alex during the reward and by Heidi when she came back. I don't know what they said, but clearly she thought that I was lying to her and backstabbing her.