Benjamin "Coach" Wade has revealed the current status of his relationship with his Survivor arch nemesis, Ozzy Lusth.
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Coach and Ozzy's feud began on Survivor: South Pacific, which aired in 2011, and so they've seemingly had tension between them for about 15 years.
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Coach and Ozzy reignited their feud on Day 1 of Survivor 50 when they competed against each other -- as well as fellow castaway Q Burdette -- for camp supplies, and Coach secured the win after stealing a key right out from under Ozzy, who had fought so hard to win that he nearly passed out and hurt his back.
"I made a decision to call him out early. He was really bent out of shape about me beating him. I almost got that key, just letting you know. Let's say Ozzy almost got that key 30 times. I almost got the key, let's say, eight times," Coach claimed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
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"But it wasn't like I was a complete non-factor. But I made the decision to call him out and I said, 'If it blows my game up, it blows my game up.' It was great screen time. There was not a lot of conflict early on. That was a great moment. And I stand by that. I'd do that again."
Coach admitted he and Ozzy "have this love-hate relationship," and he added, "I knew I couldn't fully trust him, but hats off to Ozzy because he is playing a more strategic game this time."
Coach and his ally Chrissy Hofbeck were voted out of Survivor 50 on Night 16 at Tribal Council during the show's April 15 episode as part of a shocking pairs twist.
While Ozzy placated to Coach and acted like they were allies, he told Tiffany Ervin that he wanted to serve up Coach's head "on a silver platter."
Ozzy also told the cameras, "Coach is on my hit list, for sure, but for now, I need to stay locked in with Coach and show him I'm doing exactly what he says so that he stays nice and comfortable so we can lob off his head when he least expects it."
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Coach therefore confessed that Ozzy truly fooled him into thinking they were buddies out there in Fiji.
"I'll be honest, he duped me. He really did," Coach told EW.
"I actually thought, 'Hey, Ozzy and I can play this game together where we're at now.' And we came to a really good moment. I mean, I'll never, ever forget [one moment]."
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That moment was when Ozzy actually told Coach -- who finished Survivor: South Pacific as the runner-up behind Sophie Clarke -- that he deserved to win the season.
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"Say that again, Ozzy," Coach quipped. "It was great for him to say that at the beginning, and then for us to immediately go south."
But Coach revealed that he recently reached out to Ozzy to make sure they were okay.
"I texted him and voice messaged him and I said, 'We're actually like brothers. We get in fights. We don't always seem eye to eye, but there is something there. There is this fraternal relationship that we have,'" Coach recalled.
"I don't agree with his decisions and he went through a dark place. I understand that. I didn't agree with that. But I appreciate him opening up and owning that."
According to EW, Ozzy shared in January that he had hit rock bottom by dabbling in pornography and making money on an OnlyFans account. Ozzy told the website that he realized he had to make a change in his life or else he'd probably never get to play Survivor again.
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"And wherever he is at on his journey," Coach continued, "I want to meet him where he's at. And I have no ill will towards him whatever."
Although Dee Valladares hinted there is major post-game drama behind the scenes as Survivor 50 continues to air on CBS, Coach insisted "everybody's cordial."
"You know, I have no animosity about anybody, including Ozzy," Coach reiterated.
In fact, Coach said he finds it "comical" when other castaways criticize or slam him on the show.
"I don't take it the wrong way. A long time ago, old Dragon Slayer would've been pissed and made lines in the sand, but now, it's all good," he noted.
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Coach apparently even feels guilty about having called Ozzy "a whiney little b-tch" in a post-show interview that followed their time on Survivor: South Pacific.
"I have very few regrets in life. Regret is a wasted emotion, but I do feel bad about being such a poor loser in South Pacific and, you know, calling Ozzy a whiny little B," Coach acknowledged.
"And so when the torch is snuffed, you've just got to say, 'Hey, this is destiny.' And take it and say, 'Look, who am I going to be in my character?' when you lose."
Coach pointed out how "it's easy to win" and so you have to be "magnanimous" when you lose.
"Everybody can be, 'Great job, well done.' But when you lose, that's when your character shows," Coach explained, adding how he had "a great moment" when his torch was snuffed.
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"Jeff and I had a real moment, and I closed my eyes, and I [exhaled slowly], and he did not do anything. He just looked at me. And then I opened up my eyes, and he nodded and said [his parting words]. So it was cool."
Coach also gushed about how Rizo Velovic called him his "hero" at the end of Tribal Council on Night 16.
"For a split second, you want to turn around and say, 'All right, listen, you mother friggers, screw all of you!' And it's like: Yeah, but that's not who you are," Coach concluded.