Nobody, apart from the first concerned, had seen this twist coming. At the end of the stage of the third episode of season 15 of Beijing Express broadcast Thursday on M6, Etienne announced… that he was giving up. An irrevocable decision which had a direct impact on her teammate, Vanessa, who was also forced to leave the adventure which can only be disputed between pairs. The 29-year-old Aveyronnaise returns for 20 minutes about her “broken dream” and assures her: she has no grudge against her former playmate.
Did you expect Etienne to quit?
Yes, it was not a big surprise. I tried to hold the pair from start to finish. It was becoming very complicated for Etienne. He had several times mentioned his desire to give up. My good humor was not enough to convince him to continue. In this show, we push our limits, it’s sometimes difficult and we wonder what we’re doing there.
When Stéphane Rotenberg confirms that you have to leave the adventure, what do you think?
I am very sad at the moment and I think back to everything I experienced in this adventure, especially the meetings during the hitchhiking or the nights with the locals. My dream is shattered. I know there is no other solution. Etienne went to the end of his mental limits. Of course, I would have preferred to lose normally, in a final duel. Etienne gave up but it wasn’t just him.
Do you want him?
What would be the use of resenting him other than hurting me and hurting him? Etienne is someone I would never have met if I hadn’t done this show. He is very endearing. I had a very funny adventure thanks to him. We still exchange regularly, we live on social networks… It would have been a shame to get confused.
Did Etienne not correspond to your idea of the “ideal” stranger for your partner?
I had several criteria for the ideal pair and the only one he met was that he is very funny! No, he’s not the pair I was hoping for. But if I had to leave, I wouldn’t mind if it was with a stranger.
How was your return to France?
I needed to digest all that a bit. I returned on a Thursday and the following Sunday I left again for a three-week stay. I did a circuit Albania, North Macedonia and Montenegro. This allowed me to release my frustration and continue to live my adventure without cameras.
The public is very attached to your pair. Do you feel it on a daily basis?
I get a lot of messages on social media. I try to answer everyone. Saturday, I was at the market in the next town and I couldn’t do my shopping. I was stopped in the street to take pictures. People tell me that they follow me and support me, that they hope we will go far. I answer them “Mystery…” They call out to me, shouting: “It’s the game, my poor Lucette!” That is a phrase that has stuck. People write to me from Switzerland and Belgium to tell me that they too know the expression. Some have sent me the famous pub who popularized the phrase. This weekend, some friends came by the house and, as I have a slate in my toilet, couldn’t help but write it in chalk!