Exclusive: Deal or No Deal Island Season 2’s Maria-Grace Cook on Her Surprise Elimination and Her Status With Storm

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Nothing is ever as it seems on Deal or No Deal Island Season 2. Every challenge has a twist or consequence. There are nine remaining guests on the Banker’s tropical island. And they are eager to prove to the Banker that they are her ultimate competitor. Host and Game Master Joe Manganiello helps the competitors through the excursions and also acts as the Banker’s intermediary at The Temple.

During the most recent challenge, the group paired off into teams. Each team was brought back into the jungle to an 80-foot-high tower with cases on it. And they discovered they weren’t working together. They were competing against each other.

Each guest was seated on a hammock, facing their opponent. The hammock was raised in the air, and each player could see the case amounts on their side of the tower. If they wanted to lock in a case, they would pull their cord. However, doing so would send their opponent plunging to the ground. The person with the highest case value was safe at The Temple, and the other would be in danger.

Alexis Lete ended up with the highest value case, and Dr. Will Kirby, who again threw the challenge, wanted to play the Banker. He originally wanted to target Courtney Kim (CK), but Seychelle Cordero convinced him to target Maria-Grace Cook (M.G.).

Seychelle wanted to strike a blow against the Family alliance, which was made up of Survivor winners Parvati Shallow and David Genat, along with Dickson Wong. In the end, Dr. Will made a good deal, dressed down CK, and then eliminated M.G.

M.G. joined Reality Tea writer Kim Stempel to discuss her crazy elimination and her romance with Storm.

Does M.G. regret giving David immunity in the hammock challenge on Deal or No Deal Island Season 2?

Kim Stempel: Do you regret giving immunity to David during the last challenge?

Maria-Grace Cook (M.G.): I do. He offered it to me, which they don’t show, but he offered it to me as soon as … we were tight. We were really close and he said, I want you to take it. You need it.

And me, not knowing he was a Survivor player, I’m like, He’s a way bigger threat than me right now. Looking back, knowing that he’s a Survivor legend, I think he would have been okay. I think he would have been fine. But I was like, Oh he needs it. You have it. So it does make me look really ignorant [and] naïve, but it’s okay.

Kim Stempel: I thought it made you look nice and caring and I was like, Aww.

M.G.: Nice girls don’t win!

Kim Stempel: Were you a full member of the Family alliance?

M.G.: I kind of got grandfathered in just because I was … David was my number one, so just hanging out with him so much and me already knowing Parvati’s secret, I kind of got put in, but I was not friends with Dickson. The whole time, I was never friends with Dickson, even if we were in this alliance, and then as you see what happens.

M.G. didn’t know she was targeted by other Deal or No Deal Island competitors

Kim Stempel: Did you have any idea that Seychelle and some of the other people were gunning for you?

M.G.: That was the most surprising part, honestly. Dr. Will taking me out – crazy. Insane. But I already knew that. Watching the show last night, I had no clue Seychelle, Lete – all these people had come together. I thought it was a blindside. In reality, it was just a blindside to me, and my Family. Like it was a blindside to nobody else. Everyone else expected it. So, yeah, I mean … hmm.

Kim Stempel: And The Temple with Dr. Will was just crazy. I was like, What is happening right now?

M.G.: Yeah. It’s hard to explain, but like watching from home, it’s hilarious. It’s funny. Ha ha ha! I think even David says it, Stop laughing! It’s not funny!

In the moment, it’s not funny. We’re all very, very upset. He’s making a joke out of the game. You know, Banker’s assistants Ben [Crofchick] and Kamari [Love] are all upset. Everyone is not happy in the moment because he’s just making a joke out of it. But that’s his plan. He wants to make everyone miserable, and he does it really well.

Kim Stempel: You could tell that everyone seated in the gallery was stressed.

M.G.: Yeah. We were very stressed. You could see me at one point with my head in my hands. And then he hits the button real quick and does his whole antics, and asks everyone what [they] think about it and we find out later that’s a trick but we’re like, Stop playing these games on us. And I was so stressed out, they even asked me, What do you think about this? I couldn’t speak. I was like, Ah … let him do it, I guess. Let him do it.

M.G. reveals the status of her romance with Storm Wilson after Deal or No Deal Island

Kim Stempel: We saw a romance developing between you and Storm Wilson. Are you dating now that the show has wrapped?

M.G.: We did spend some time off the island together. We had a great time. Then I moved to L.A. and he did visit me and that was amazing. We had a lot of real-world talks then and then recently we had another one. He is fabulous but we are just friends. He’s great though and there’s nothing bad to say about him.

Kim Stempel: Who would you like to see win the final case?

M.G.: At this point, I think it would be better to say who I thought was gonna win. In the moment, after I got kicked off, I was like, Oh no. Who am I rooting for? Who do I think has a good chance? I think the people in Will’s alliance, they have numbers.

So, I was like, They have a really good chance right now. But I didn’t know they were all gunning for me, so I was kind of rooting for them on the side. I kind of was like, Oh Seychelle’s so funny.

Kim Stempel: What was your favorite challenge that you took part in?

M.G.: I don’t know. The most fun was probably the cases in the swamp. It was kind of like … there was a danger involved and they never told us about the rats or any of the things, so it was a big surprise. We’re like, Oh my gosh! So, that had to have been the most fun. Everyone was enjoying it, so it was good and that was before Dr. Will got there. So …

M.G.’s reaction to finding out David played Survivor Australia before Deal or No Deal Island

Kim Stempel: How did you feel when you found out that David played Australian Survivor?

M.G.: Oh, I was mortified! In Season 1, at the very end, whoever wins, they bring back the whole cast. So, you are staying not on the Banker’s island but off the island with the rest of the eliminated cast members.

So, when I got there, they give you your phones and you know you get to talk to your family and stuff like that and I get to see Storm [Wilson]. And I saw him, and he’s like, Yeah. Dave is a Survivor player. I was like, WHAT? WHAT?

So, it was a big shock. Very big. And then I got to watch seasons of Parvati and Dr. Will from the past, and I really understand now. I get the whole hype of both of them. They’re very, very, very good.

Kim Stempel: And Dr. Will says that he thinks this is his last time being on a reality show.

M.G.: Yeah, but didn’t he say that 20 years ago? You never know. I’m telling you, this man … tomorrow, he could tell us all, I’m creating my own reality TV show and I’m gonna be the host of it. We’d be like, Makes sense.

He also said he wasn’t going to take me out. So, how much can we really trust him?

Kim Stempel: What surprised you the most about being on the island, or the show?

M.G.: It’s like you’re rushing to get somewhere and you’re stopping for filming. And there’s a lot of cameras the whole time. It’s very, very hard to adjust when you’re not used to that world. I mean, I’m from a small town. I was a fireman. So, just cameras in your face all the time and having a lot of attention on you. It’s really hard to be yourself and focus on the game, which gets easier. But that was probably the most surprising part. How long everything takes to film, and then cameras in your face 24/7.

Who does M.G. think will make it to the Deal or No Deal Island Season 2 finale?

Kim Stempel: Do you think the Family alliance has a good chance of making it to the finale?

M.G.: Honestly, getting kicked out and me knowing I was the fourth … I knew Will didn’t come up with that on his own. So, I was like, whoever is behind him is really good. Because my whole Family never knew. They probably have a good chance.

David and Parvati were strong, but it’s kind of up in the air. I was very distraught. There wasn’t a lot of strategic mindset after I got kicked out. I was like, I’m ready to party!

Kim Stempel: I don’t blame you. Do you think that you would go on another reality show in the future?

M.G.: I would, and I would do a lot better. I know where I went wrong. I know what I could do differently, and I know what I did right, as well. There’s a lot of things I did right. I made it to the fifth episode, and I had immunity four times in a row, which was my plan. Unfortunately, the challenge where I gave my immunity up, I was with my number one.

Kim Stempel: I was going to ask who the villain was before Dr. Will. Maybe it was just Dr. Will?

M.G.: Before him, there wasn’t a distinct villain. I think we were more of a cohesive group. So bringing him in was good for production because it really split us all up. But before him, I think we all kind of ganged up together. So, we all were grouping together. It was like everyone against one person, but when Dr. Will came in he was like, everyone hates me. So, it was kind of hard not to when he wants everyone to. He loves it. It’s his ego boost.

Kim Stempel: I was surprised that the people in the High-Five alliance were kind of working with Will a bit.

M.G.: Okay, so I was obviously shocked with that, too. But it does make sense because the people that were in my tent, I was working with. But we were all very, very upset. Even Lete and Seychelle were like, I hope he’s not sleeping in our tent. When he came onto the island, we were like, Is this true? Is he really joining the game? We’ve never done reality shows before.

We didn’t know what was going on, and he comes in and he’s like, Hey. I’m sleeping in this bed. I’m sleeping in this tent, and I’m in the game! We were all like, Oh … great … great. So, I don’t even know if they were a true alliance. I don’t think anybody liked him. I think they were just willing to put him up.

This interview was edited for clarity.

Deal or No Deal Island is streaming on Peacock.

TELL US – ARE YOU WATCHING DEAL OR NO DEAL ISLAND SEASON 2? WAS DR. WILL WRONG TO SEND M.G. HOME INSTEAD OF CK?

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