For the past five months, Dame Susan Devoy has had time to reflect after once again walking away from Treasure Island empty-handed. So, when the 59-year-old chats with the Weekly ahead of the Fans v Faves finale, she is at peace.
Though she has replayed that final day in her head many times, analysing everything she could have done differently, each time she comes back to the fact that she can’t conquer her fear of the water in one day.
“You only get one chance, but if I had to do it all again, I don’t know if it would be different,” she says. “I would still have to be in the water and I’d still be scared.”
Going into the final treasure hunt, the former world squash champion knew she had just as much chance of winning the $50,000 charity prize as Matty McLean or Lana Cochrane-Searle. But the second she saw their first challenge was in the ocean, all her confidence slipped away.
Susan almost drowned when she was young and only really got back in the water again in preparation for her 2022 season of Celebrity Treasure Island. So, having to dive for sacks of puzzle pieces in the ocean was way outside her comfort zone.
“I was petrified in that water,” recalls Susan. “It wasn’t just swimming, I had to dive underneath the water and swim back with bags that had pétanque balls to weigh them down. It was so bad, I thought they were going to come and pick me up on the boat. Instead, they threw me a life ring, and I lay on my back and kicked while I tried not to cry. It was so humiliating.
“The next day, I could hardly walk because I had pulled all the muscles down my side trying to pull myself up onto the pontoon.”
Facing off against Lana and Matty.
Susan fought on – giving up is not in her competitive nature – but her time in the water had done the damage and she could only watch on as Matty got to the treasure first.
While she doesn’t like losing, Susan’s main disappointment was knowing how far the prize money would have gone for a small charity like The Aunties, who support women escaping domestic violence.
“I was deflated,” she tells. “I thought I had a fighting chance. I just wanted to win the money for The Aunties.”
Though she wishes she could have brought home more money, Susan acknowledges she has a lot to be proud of.
“If you had asked me when I went on the show if I would be in the final, I would have said, ‘Hell no!’ But the fact I managed to stay on there, even after I was violently ill, I am quite proud of myself for doing that.”
Susan was almost forced to leave the show when a cut on her leg became so badly infected, she started hallucinating. Luckily, after an extra-strong dose of antibiotics, she was allowed to return to the island.
In the past, Susan has lamented the perils of menopause. When asked what the harder challenge was – menopause or Treasure Island – she doesn’t hesitate before answering.
“Definitely menopause. I got to leave Treasure Island, but menopause has been following me around for years!”
While she is through the worst of the hot flashes and brain fog, Susan says the most difficult thing to cope with is how menopause has completely changed her sleep cycle. Of all the elements she had to battle while in Fiji, the long sleepless nights were the worst.
“It was really hard,” she says. “You don’t know what the time is, you can’t read a book, you can’t make a cup of tea, so it just plays on your mind. At least at home if I wake up, there is something to preoccupy you, but out there it was challenging.”
Next year, Susan will celebrate her 60th birthday. She has done a lot to be proud of in her life, but admits she tries not to think about the looming milestone.
“I keep pinching myself, saying it can’t be true. I still feel like a 21-year-old asking myself what I’m going to do when I grow up! The scary thing is that these 60 years have gone by so fast. Hopefully, I’ve got another 20 really good years left in me.”
If the dame has her way, her later years will be filled with playing with grandchildren. All four of her sons, Julian, 29, Jamie, 27, Josh, 26, and Alex, 24, have partners Susan adores, so she’s hoping it’s not too far off. But she also knows better than to put pressure on them, so is waiting patiently until that day arrives.
Susan and husband John with sons (back row, from left) Jamie, Alex, Julian and Josh (front, with pup Frankie) and their girlfriends.
“I think they’ve all got a bit of travelling and a bit of living to do before that happens,” shares Susan. “But it would be a real blessing.
“I have six brothers and no sisters, and now four sons and no daughters. I’m not being picky – a healthy baby is all that matters – but I’d desperately love a little granddaughter.”
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