Check out our interview with Metta World Peace below. Beyond the Edge airs Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Before you left the show, Mike Singletary said you would be making a decision you would immediately regret. But how do you look back on the experience, especially now that it’s being televised? I mean, I thought it was a really great experience. It was really tough. I thought it was a great way to just get back in touch with yourself. There was a beautiful jungle right next to a beach. That was really incredible. But there was also times where it was tough being in the jungle at nighttime, when it’s really dark and three sides around you are open. You just don’t know what’s out there. I felt a lot of growth when I came back. I was able to connect with different people. I thought it was really, really worth it. Knowing that you can work with people you’ve never met. But if you put your minds together, you could accomplish a goal. I think that’s such a positive thing. There’s so many positives from it. I know your family were the ones who really pushed you to go out there. What was their response when you came back after only a couple of days? I think they responded kindly. Obviously, they wanted me to stay a little longer. But they loved that I had a good time. And we’re watching the show together, so that’s cool. We saw some of the reaction from the other contestants when you decided to ring the bell. What was the temperature of the room in that moment? I think people were a little bit upset. Probably because it’s not an easy thing to do by yourself. Everybody, especially Captain Morgan, didn’t want to let anybody go. Craig’s background is not to let anyone fail. So I really felt bad for him. I was really surprised everyone wanted me to stay. That was overwhelming. I didn’t expect that. I didn’t expect Ray Lewis’ speech, and for tears to be flowing. It made me cry a little bit. You talked a lot about how much you didn’t want to sleep in the jungle that first night. What was the experience like? I couldn’t sleep. It was so dark. I mean, I’m looking for animals. I’m sleeping on my head at one end of the bed and I’m looking back that way. And I’m sleeping at the other end of the bed and I’m looking out that way. I just didn’t know what was behind me. But I did take a nap the next day. So that was really cool. Did you ever end up have any run-ins with the animals you feared were out there? I know they removed some snakes. And I knew there were alligators, and different things like that. But those monkeys on top of the trees, they can swing and go to where they want to go. The spiders are really small, so you can’t remove the spiders at all. So there were a lot of different things like that. How was the food situation? I know we saw you and Craig go fishing on this most recent episode. It was kind of tough. You’re out there fishing and finding your food and cooking your food that you are hunting. The fish was incredible. They somehow found sea salt and put that on fish. Captain Morgan was great. Let’s go back to before you went to Panama. What was it exactly that pushed you to come onto the show? Initially, I was like, “Nah.” But my family kept saying, “You should do it, it’d be good experience.” I’ve stayed away from TV for a long time. And now I’m kind of getting back into it. My family didn’t want me to miss a great opportunity to work with CBS again. The production company was nice enough to cast me. So I had to take that into consideration. I really didn’t want to say no, being that it’s such a big opportunity. And it’s such an honor. How much did the idea of supporting of charity keep you going in those tough moments out there? When I think about the charity, that’s what really kept me going. I thought, “You know what? I really do need to finish this.” Because it’s not about me. Being in the jungle and the night, what pushed me through was just knowing I was doing it for something else. And it truly was for the greater good. Everybody was doing something for the greater good. And we forget that because the show was so long ago. But as we think about it, it was really for the greater good. I know you got to work with Jodie Sweetin again on reality TV. How great was it to have that familiar face out there? Well, I had a great time with Jodie. We did a show together [called Hollywood SCARE]. And I felt like it was just fun. We chatted a lot. And then when I found out she was on this show, I thought that was really cool. And we had a great time on another show! I think she’s really resilient and a great person. I know her from TV, you know? But now I get to see her as an adult. And we’re same age, and have had a lot of different experiences. She is a really good person. Who surprised you the most out there? I was surprised by Paulina. She was struggling that first day. She was so cold, it was raining and freezing cold. And I thought that she was for sure gonna say, “I’m out.” But I’m really happy, she stayed. You opened up in the most recent episode about your struggles with anger and mental health awareness. What has it been like to show that side of yourself? I mean, I’m happy just being on the show for the greater good. And I get to show what I’ve gone through as a professional athlete. It just put a lot of perspective on your life. You should enjoy life. And I’m happy I did this for me. At the end of the day, what did you learn about yourself from this experience? I learned that if I want to do something, I can do it. That was not something I always knew. But I also learned that I could be uncomfortable and be fine with it. Next, here’s everything you need to know about this season of Survivor.
