May 13, 2008 - Looking at the group of returning contestants when Survivor: Micronesia - Fans Vs. Favorites began, few would have pegged Parvati to win it all. Here she was up against some incredibly strategic players, including Jonny Fairplay, Jonathan, Cirie and Yau-Man and physical threats like James and Ozzy. And as Parvati herself admitted, she only had one real label from her previous stint on Survivor: Cook Islands: The Flirt.

At first it seemed history was repeating itself, as Parvati got very cozy with James and formed a "couples alliance" with James and another duo, Amanda and Ozzy. But Parvati had a lot more in store than it seemed, and soon began making some very big moves. She and Amanda pulled in Cirie to join their initial alliance, while assuring her they wanted to go to the very end with her, not Ozzy and James. Then, after a tribal switch up, Parvati formed another alliance with Natalie and Alexis, securing their assistance, which would prove crucial down the line. And when the time came, she agreed with Cirie that Ozzy had to be gotten rid of, keeping it a secret from Amanda, while blindsiding one of her closest allies, who also happened to be a good friend outside the game. And that wasn't the only huge blindside Parvati would participate in.

Parvati played a very strong and notable game this time out, and in the end it paid off for her… quite literally, as defeated Amanda in the final two and won the million dollar first prize, thanks to securing five jury votes to Amanda's three.

Just a few minutes after the Survivor: Micronesia reunion show concluded, I spoke to Parvati at the Ed Sullivan theater in New York, to find out what it's like to become a Survivor winner.

IGN: From my perspective, you and Cirie were the ones controlling things for most of the game. Did you realize she was a big threat and try to keep an eye on her?
Parvati: Yeah. Cirie's good! I mean she is good. I knew I wanted to play with Cirie from the first moment I stepped on that mat and Jeff goes "Game on." I grabbed her hand and we held each other's hands on that first walk across the ocean. I was like, "This girl is brilliant. She played on Exile Island and was supposed to be the first person voted out and she made it to the final four. I'm working with her!" And I felt like Cirie and I had a really tight bond that they didn't show, because I think it would have been anti-climatic in the end. But she was one of my very closest allies - her and Amanda, obviously. They showed me and Amanda, but they didn't show me and Cirie. And I felt very loyal to Cirie and I felt that was reciprocated from her, so I honestly never felt threatened by Cirie. I never thought that she would turn on me and try to get me off. Never.

IGN: For understandable reasons, you kept Amanda out of the loop when you voted out Ozzy, but how hard was it to get her trust back after that?
Parvati: I think that Amanda knew that she was my closest ally in the game the entire time. I think she was upset that I voted off Ozzy and didn't tell her about that plan, because I think that she knew it was going to happen sooner or later but she didn't know when. But I just went up to her and reassured her and let her know, "It wasn't because I don't want to play with you anymore. You're my girl." And that was just one conversation and she was like, "Okay, done." So I felt alright.

IGN: How stunned were you that Erik actually gave up his immunity?
Cirie: You know, I offered up the suggestion, but honestly, in the back of my mind I thought it was an 80/20 change. 80% that he would never do anything so crazy and just on the 20% chance that he might, let's try it.

IGN: You guys were on such an amazing role with these voting blindsides. When you're in the middle of that, do you think, "This is going to make great television"?
Cirie: As it played out, you do. You think, "Oh my god, wait until America sees this! They're not going to believe it." I'm a super fan, so I know that had it been me at home watching, I would have been flabbergasted. When I got home, I told my family, and not just because I was there, "I think this is going to be one of the best, if not the best, seasons of Survivor ever." And I'm glad to be a part of it!