Patrick Bolton was going to leave Survivor the same way he came in -- with a lot of personality.
The Auburn, Alabama, native became an instant topic of conversation when Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers premiered last month, but not necessarily for good reasons. Patrick seemed to treat the game more like a vacation... that is, until he was voted out on Wednesday night's episode.
"It was one of the best blindsides, because I saw none of it coming," he told ET over the phone on Thursday. "Until we got to tribal council, Lauren was going home."
Months later, Patrick, who wished his tribe of Hustlers a "horrible game" for being "liars," doesn't count his heated goodbye among his gameplay regrets.
"I definitely meant what I said," he insisted. "They definitely deserved not to have a successful game because they took the life away from me, and I should still be playing."
"It was too early for me to leave!" he continued, taking pause before seemingly realizing that blindsides are one of the biggest aspects of Survivor. "It was great gameplay, and they did a good job. I just wish I was on the other side of that."
As for what ultimately sent him home, Patrick, who won't admit to playing up his personality for the camera, said he was just "louder" than the rest of his tribe. That, and the "sad coincidence" of losing the immunity challenge because he refused to let Lauren sub in.
"I knew that Lauren was not the biggest fan of me," he shared. "She's not around 20-somethings, and being around loud and obnoxious [people with] big personalities is not part of what she likes."
"She would be able to handle me in moderation, just not all the time," he added. "In Survivor, you're around someone from sun up to sun down, and it was just too much for her."
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Photo: CBS
One regret Patrick does have, however, is not playing with Ali more.
"We were trying to hide our relationship," he reasoned, explaining that he and Ali lived down the street from each other while attending Auburn University, but were more of "associates" than "super close friends." "I wish I communicated more with her and really tried to tailor my game to work with her game."
"I know she tried to work with me, and said I needed to calm down some... I think if I had worked with Ali through this show, we could have really done a lot of great blindsides together and worked really well together, because most people wouldn't think that, looking at us, we would be friends."
With or without Ali, Patrick is "for sure" willing to head back to the island for another shot at being the Sole Survivor -- with some minor adjustments.
"If I do go back, I'm not going to play around. I really was having more fun than I should have, and if I go back, I'm going to win. I'm going to really show my strategy and my gameplay," he declared. "I feel like I was there and it was so brief and now it's done."
Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.