Eliminated at the same time as Maxime, her partner in episode 12, Louana looks back on her journey in Koh Lanta, the cursed totem. Interview.
At 28, Louana has set herself the challenge of participating in Koh Lanta. Selected during the casting, this commercial rental property living in the Paris region had the opportunity to shine during this Koh Lanta season the cursed totem. First in the green team then in the red team of which she was the captain. Ambassador against Colin, she does not flinch and ensures the future of the former Reds whose numerical superiority ensures them to reach far in the adventure. She also won several individual events. However, his association with Maxime – who was able to annoy on the camp – during the episode of linked destinies caused his downfall. Louana is eliminated at the end of episode 12 after a majority of votes against Maxime. The candidate gave us an interview to discuss her career in Koh Lanta 2022.
Why did you choose to participate in the show?
Koh Lanta is a show I’ve been watching for 20 years, since I was very young. It was truly a dream to participate one day. I love to challenge myself in life, to surpass myself. I love adventures. I had a pretty wild childhood. I am from a small village nearby in the South of France. Participating in Koh Lanta was also a way of reconnecting with nature and everything I experienced as a child. I’ve been living in Paris for three years, I needed to challenge myself, to get some fresh air.
What was the hardest for you?
Hunger, without hesitation. Can also be humidity and rain. Having clothes that are always damp is very complicated to manage. But hunger is a physical and mental pain that is enormous and hard to bear. It’s awful.
What is the memory you will keep the most of your adventure?
I have a lot but my greatest victory can be said to be the obstacle course. I’m super proud of it. Who says Koh Lanta, says obstacle course. Everyone who wants to participate in Koh Lanta wants to win this mythical event. It is a very great pride. For comfort tests, I would say that the last comfort we gained thanks to François was a small bubble of shared happiness. That’s also Koh Lanta, sharing these moments outside the camp, enjoying the landscape, discovering other culinary cultures. It’s a very intense memory that we shared together. In addition, we were able to talk to our families, it was very moving. And then the moments of difficulty on the camp, it’s super powerful. With the Reds we gained very little comfort. It happened to us every time. It was tough. But I still have a lot of memories.
Since reunification, we have seen the ex-Reds unite. More than the ex-Reds, we have the impression that it was the ex-Greens who were leading the game. What was the pact between you?
With the Greens, we had a numerical superiority. There were more Greens than Blues or Purples. We wondered what strategy to apply that would work and put us more or less in safety. We all said to ourselves that we had been through so much trouble with the Greens that we were going to stick together until the end and no matter what, we would stay between the Greens. It didn’t last!
Throughout the adventure, we witnessed several clashes between you and Maxime. How do you explain that these tensions have never really subsided?
I don’t necessarily agree with that because there is the montage that we see and the reality of things in the camp. I find that there is a slight discrepancy in the fact that there are three days of filming for one hour of what we see. There was a lot of tension with Maxime, I would never hide it. But not only with me, with Ambre, Pauline, Fouzi… with just about everyone. We had a bit of a dog-and-cat relationship with Maxime. We still had times when we communicated. We see it in the episode of the mango. Who am I going to complain to? To Maxim! Who do I spend time with from time to time? With Maxim! So there were still times when we talked. He was very difficult on the camp and I think he was the one who had the most difficulty with the lack of food. He was a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, he had his say all the time. He was afraid of missing because he didn’t have enough rice shells, he absolutely wanted to make the fire when someone was already there, he absolutely wanted to touch the hut when someone was taking care of it. .. I think he may have meant too well. But in community, there are things to respect. Everyone must stay in their place and Maxime had trouble with that. Sometimes, it was good but having thoughts from right to left… we had a lot of them on the shell!
What is your reaction when you are associated with Maxime by the draw in episode 12?
I said to myself that, overall, it was the worst combo we could do. There were Greens with Yellows, Greens with Reds, Reds with Yellows… It was the worst possible and imaginable scenario! It dealt the cards. I think the production was very happy with it! They couldn’t imagine better in terms of the draw. I knew very well that it was not necessary to fall on Maxime. I said to myself “we really have to win the immunity test because if we don’t win it, it’s screwed.” That’s the first thing I said to myself. Then we lost immunity and I was like ‘well, I think I’ve proven myself’. I was team leader, I saved the adventure of everyone at the ambassadors. On the camp, I clearly have my place with the Reds. I’m still liked by everyone. I thought the ex-Greens had a little more recognition for that and I really thought they were going to stick to the strategy. Especially since it was told to me. In the evening, Ambre told me “don’t worry, everything is fine. We’ll save you. We’ll vote for Fouzi. Don’t worry, we’re with you.” In the end, they played their game very well but I felt it was a bit like a betrayal because it was said to me straight in the eye while they did the opposite. And at the same time, I tell myself that it should have tipped me off because they promised to save Colin and they didn’t. There they promised to save the Green alliance and it was not done. In Koh Lanta, you should never rest on your laurels!
Did you understand their explanations?
Francis’ explanation was to say “I’d rather save two beautiful people than one”. Inevitably, it touched Maxime a little more than me because when he was talking about a beautiful person, he was talking about me and not him. The one who must be more upset is Maxime. But he knew that by eliminating Maxime, he was eliminating me. I’m a little mixed on these explanations. Knowing that moreover, it was my dream. I saw myself going far, but everyone sees themselves going far. Koh Lanta is a sporting, strategic and human adventure. You can’t undo the ties. Maxime had been on the hot seat for a while. Me, I was strong on the tests. I had several victories, it may have annoyed some people. There is the parameter to take into account that, among the Yellows, it was I who was put in the wrong position because I was a spokesperson to save Colin and he was not. So inevitably, I had the Yellows a little on my back. There are many parameters to take into account, but being with Maxime, plus the fact that he is not necessarily appreciated, plus the fact that I was strong on the tests, plus the fact that my word was put in cantilever after the elimination of Colin… At one point, there were five pairs of us, the trick is quickly done!
Do you think it was also a way for others to get rid of a strong candidate like you on the tests?
I do not pretend to say it but it is a parameter to be taken into account. I will not name names but I am someone who votes on merit. I would never have eliminated someone strong because he was strong. I will not name names but I know that some candidates did not vote on merit and that they voted against strong candidates to have a chance to go further. Inevitably, I was one of the strong so you imagine that they did not have my mentality and that it was not my strategy. But it takes everything. Taking a step back, having seen all the Koh Lantas, it is rarely the strongest who go to the end because there is the strategic and human aspect that takes over. All these parameters must be taken into account.
Do you have any regrets in your career?
No regrets.
How do you view your personal adventure on the show?
I am proud of my journey. I’m obviously disappointed not to have gone further than that. I inevitably have a bitter taste of non-finish, of revenge because I don’t know if it was really me who was eliminated. There are a lot of parameters to take into account, it might have been easier if I had been eliminated alone with explanations. I took a long step back. I am very proud of my journey, I had three individual victories. I’m the one with the most wins so far for girls. And I had great responsibilities. I was team leader, I was appointed to the ambassadors, it seems nothing but I have the role of the cook, which is a great responsibility on Koh Lanta! (laughs) These are not easy roles to assume but which are pleasant once you have taken the responsibility to assume them. I’m proud to come out with those wins because I hung on to that too. I prefer to go out and have had the course that I have rather than finish on the posts without having had any victory. I would not have liked my victory if I had been transparent. I have a defeat: I did not go to the posts and where I wanted to go. But I still feel grateful and proud to have been part of this program and to have answered my questions about how far I am able to go.
Would you like to participate in Koh Lanta again if you were given the opportunity?
You would have asked me the question in December, I would have told you that it is so hard physically and mentally that I never go back there. But now the water has flowed a little under the bridge. Looking at the broadcast, there are bound to be things we would have done differently. When you’re there, you have your head in the handlebars and you don’t realize it. Now there are things I would have done differently. I had set myself three objectives: not to be eliminated first, to pass the reunification and to go to the posts. I have two out of three goals. My third was not validated so obviously I feel like I want to do better. If I get the chance and I’m called back to do an all-star, of course I’m going.