Two girls say good-bye in ‘Survivor: Gabon’

Torches have been snuffed out and some castaways have been voted off "Survivor: Gabon" – certainly one of the toughest, most grueling "Survivor" seasons ever.

"Survivor: Gabon" – the seventeenth season of the phenomenal, Emmy award-winning show, "Survivor" – had a rousing premiere recently. The two-part pilot aired last Friday on Q Channel 11.

Marooned in Gabon, Africa – widely regarded as "Earth’s Last Eden" – the castaways embark on an amazing adventure, trying to survive extreme conditions while attempting to forge alliances with strangers from diverse backgrounds.

The very first to get voted out this season is Los Angeles music production assistant, DJ, and boxer Michelle Chase. The pretty 24-year-old, who had been married and divorced by the time she turned 19, said that although she was very athletic, she found the condition on the jungle very tough.

"I didn’t expect it at all that it would be freezing cold all the time and that took a lot out of my mental game."

Asked if she thinks she has been unfairly labeled as a whiner, Michelle said, "I think so. I mean, if you look at all the footage, I was probably the most uncomfortable but the least whiny out of anyone. I was really uncomfortable but I wasn’t whining about it to everyone. I wasn’t like bringing down the rest of my tribe just because I was cold."

Michelle is currently preparing for a boxing match scheduled on Superbowl weekend in February.

Second "Survivor: Gabon" cast-off Gillian Larson, on the other hand, said that she didn’t expect to leave the game this early. Gillian, 61, is now back home in Temecula , California. "I’m so disappointed that I didn’t last long in the game because I so desperately wanted to play it I would love to be part of it much longer," the expert swimmer and retired registered nurse said.

An adventurous grandma who was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, Gillian met her husband Ron in Germany. The couple later moved to the United States. They’ve been married 37 years and have three daughters and four grandchildren.

"I’m doing fine," Gillian said. "I have a great family and a great life and hey, life moves on."

Speaking of doing fine: "Survivor: Gabon" host Jeff Probst is doing absolutely great. Probst, who recently co-hosted the 60th annual Primetime Emmys, won the Emmy in the newly-created best reality show host category.

"Thank you for allowing reality in," Probst said as he accepted his award.