An Interview with Nina Twine, the Season One Winner of ‘The Anonymous’

THE ANONYMOUS -- "Welcome to the Finale" Episode 112 -- Pictured: (l-r) Andy King, Nina Twine -- (Photo by: Rico Torres/USA Network)

After twelve incredible episodes filled with twist and turns and epic strategy, season one of The Anonymous on USA Network came to a close last night, and to properly bid season one farewell, we sat down with the winner of the competition, Nina Twine, to talk all things Anonymous.
 
John Betancourt: Congratulations on winning season one. Amazing job there, and that's actually I'd like to start today. How does it feel to be the winner of the first season of The Anonymous?
 
Nina Twine: It feels amazing. It feels like an honor. I knew it was going to happen, but still, you know, I had to go through the whole process. But no, it feels amazing, especially being the first season. I, you know, heard what The Anonymous was, and I was like, I feel like this is made for me. Every aspect of the game, when I was looking at it fit what I feel is my gameplay style. So, I knew I had it in the bag.
 
John Betancourt: You manifested it, I love that! And you also had to go through one intense Face Off. The most intense one of the season to get there, what was that final Face Off like?
 
Nina Twine: I'm going to be honest; I was not nervous until I actually looked in the box. I find when I'm under pressure, when I'm stressed, I actually thrive. That is something that I find success in. And I think my heart rate was the lowest at that moment, at the beginning of the Face Off, then any other time in the game. Because all I could think is, this is it. It is your decision. It is going to be you who wins or loses, do not get distracted. And so, I will say the heart rate went up, of course, when I saw a win, but I did not want my face to show that at all. I think I was successful at it. Obviously, didn't get it stolen away from me. So yeah, it was, it was the toughest, but I was honestly the most calm I'd been the entire game.
 
John Betancourt: Now for the viewers, everything just went to black, but for you… what was life, like, after being crowned the champion?
 
Nina Twine: Knowing I was the champ, was, at the beginning, surreal, right? Because you're like, “Oh my gosh, this is crazy.” You come back home and you gotta go straight back to work, but as all the promos started coming out, you kind of start reliving it. And I'm like, “That's me. Like, Nina is here. Nina is The Anonymous, I can't wait for everyone else to find out,” I knew it the second I got there, but I'm glad that everybody now knows, and they get to see it themselves, and they also get to see the journey and what it took. You always, you know, it's still edited, right? So, you don't get the full 24 hours like we do, but you get a really good understanding of the path that it took for me to get to the end.
 
John Betancourt: I think what I appreciated that the most was that, like, the last two episodes were not a sizzle reel and were very honest and very raw. And I'm curious to ask that question too, because I like, was that we got to see a little bit of nerves from all of you. How nervous were you then during those last two episodes?
 
Nina Twine: Oh my gosh. While I was very calm in the Face Off, because now we're here, we just needed to do it. Get it done those last two days. Now, don't go back and look. I was… everywhere, blemishes, stress, everything was coming out of me. And I'm like, “Oh my goodness. Stay cool, calm and composed. You've gone thus far under the radar. You have been very effective in all the things you wanted to do. Rely on your confidence and your intuition. You've made it this far. Don't question yourself now. Make sure you have those conversations that you really need to have. You talked to this person already. Who cares? Go talk to them again.” And if I hadn't done that, who knows what my story would have ended up being, but I did do that, and I'm so glad that I did. I didn't hold back. I wanted to make sure that I covered all my bases, and those last two days, I was constantly running from base to base.
 
John Betancourt: Now obviously, as the winner, you know you don't really have to think back on anything you could have done differently because you won. But it does beg the question. There were some ups and downs. There were some days that people were kind of really gunning for you, what was, the most challenging aspect of doing this first season for you,
 
Nina Twine: The most challenging aspect for me, was being very mindful of what you're saying, while also listening so hard to what everyone else is saying, that was very difficult, because I'm telling myself in my head, “Remember what they just said,” you know, file that away, but also remember what you're telling them too. And that's really, really difficult. I didn't think it'd be as difficult as it was, but it was also kind of fun. I'm a puzzle person through and through, so I'm always thinking, “What's the next thing that I can do to find that next piece that fits just right?”
 
John Betancourt: It's a well-known fact now that everybody in the cast just basically friends, That you all have had time to hang out together, had a great time together, now that the whole thing is done, what are you missing the most about the experience?
 
Nina Twine: What I'm missing the most is just that genuine human connection with no distractions, right? This is something in our society that we constantly talk about and see, you go to dinner, and you can be with a friend. Your phone's right in your hand or on the table. We don't have any of that, so you have no choice but to chit chat, or like some people go take a nap, but either way, it's restful, it's relaxing. I very much enjoy people, that's something that naturally comes to me and really helped me out in a game like The Anonymous. So that is what I miss the most, having that connection with no distractions. When you want to talk about a movie and you can't remember the actor's name, you better start thinking, because you can't google it.
 
John Betancourt: This was a pretty epic journey in general, lot of growth, a lot of opportunities to do amazing new things. What did this journey mean to you on a personal level?
 
Nina Twine: On a personal level, this allowed, not only for me, but for others, to see Nina is here. There is no more labeling me as anyone else's anything. I am just Nina. I am my own person. I go through this my own way. It also gave me the ability to say, “You know what you're doing, girl, don't question it. Go all in.” And I -- although on Survivor, that opportunity was there, the confidence wasn't. This time around, I said, “Screw it. You didn't come out here to be bashful and, oh, I don't know, just do it, do it, do it effectively, and do it with the confidence that you know you have.” And that's what The Anonymous gave me. That's what I gave myself. And I'm so happy that I did not hold back.
 
John Betancourt: That brings up a great point that I want to follow up on, what then does it mean to be building your own legacy in this industry?
 
Nina Twine: it means more like… than a lot of people would probably think it does. Um, you can't control who you're related to, right? And I would never change that. But just like a lot of people, whether it's a sibling, a family member, a parent, guardian, a best friend, if there's anybody that you're constantly tied to, you're kind of like, “Okay, like, but I can do it too. Like, I swear I can, and in my own way, by myself,” and that is amazing to actually have it come to fruition, see it, have everyone else see it, be able to answer all the questions from my own point of view. So, it means a lot, and also kind of… I'm not like a huge manifester, right? But just to be like Nina's starting her own legacy. It started in Survivor: Australia, went back a second time. Now we're finally here in The Anonymous and to see it, to feel it, to be there, to know I did it all me, feels really great.
 
John Betancourt: Obviously there's more that goes into that legacy too, because this is obviously the first season of the show. You are now the standard for everyone. What does it mean to you now to be part of a show and the winner for something this new and this dynamic.
 
Nina Twine: It feels really great. I mean, there are so many really cool things that we see come out every year, and I get to say that I'm a part of it, and I'm the first. That will never, ever, ever, ever change. And what an amazing experience, especially how turbulent the game was from start to finish. It was such a tough, tough game, but such an interesting and amazing concept that grasped me the second I heard what The Anonymous was, what the game, the competition, was going to be, or what I thought, you know, it was going to be. Because, of course, your expectations can always change when it's the first season. So, it just feels amazing. And in all honesty, I don't think I can put too many words to it. Besides, like, just… grateful. Like I'm so grateful to have been given the opportunity there, and to have given the opportunity to myself to let Nina just do her thing and trust in her.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.