It is a funny, touching and authentic Nathalie Simard that we discover in the reality show “Get me out of here!”, which TVA viewers will be able to watch as a family this winter just before “La Voix”.
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The 53-year-old singer and host shows a lot of humanity in the Costa Rican jungle where she lives, alongside other personalities, in a rudimentary camp where difficult trials follow one after the other.
In addition to dealing with snakes, tarantulas and insects, the 10 participants sleep under the stars, deal with oppressive humidity and have a basic diet of oatmeal in the morning as well as rice and black beans in the evening. Their goal, through these challenges, is to get everyone extra food or ingredients to jazz up their supper. The meals are concocted on the fire, near the bunk beds in which the campers try to close their eyes… Instead of betting on rivalry, we celebrate solidarity, mutual aid and group spirit.
Nathalie Simard, who developed lasting friendships with the other campers during filming last summer, is proud to have dared to take part in this crazy adventure produced by Produits Déferlantes, in collaboration with Quebecor Content. The concept is adapted from the hit reality show ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!’, which has been on the air for over 20 years in the UK. In Quebec, it is Alexandre Barrette and Jean-Philippe Dion who co-host this production with significant resources and impressive logistics.
COURTESY PHOTO
In an interview, the artist, who has been in the public eye for half a century, says that “Get me out of here!” made her realize that she “still capable of surpassing [s]it is limits».
“Life gave me a lot of challenges, but this one I chose. I went to the end of where I could go on the show, I made big decisions and it’s quite special, but I can’t say anything, ”she slipped with a smile, stressing that she had signed his contract just a week before boarding the plane.
Speaking of an “incredible human experience”, which requires as much courage, endurance as adaptability, she was able to reaffirm in Costa Rica that the positive always triumphs over the negative.
“I’ve always managed to get by and make something beautiful out of nothing. It is a strength that I have and that I realized more. It’s as if, over there, I had gone to consolidate everything”, explained the singer, saying to herself “liberated” after having “taken back power over [s]for life”, she who was sexually assaulted for years by her ex-impresario, Guy Cloutier.
“Hunger, strength, overcoming, when you are malnourished, when you don’t have what you need to get through all the hardships… We are really put to the test. Sleeping under the stars, trying to live totally in the present moment without thinking that when I go to sleep, is there maybe a tarantula that will come to visit me, a bug that will bite me or an army of red ants that will attack me! You really have to surrender and become one with nature.”
Nathalie Simard continues to host on the radio at Country Pop 92.9 in Mauricie, the region where she has lived for more than 10 years. From January 9, she will pilot the afternoon slot, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. She also continues to write a weekly column in the magazine “La Semaine” and is fully involved in her quarterly magazine “Simplement bien avec Nathalie”.
The reality show “Get Me Out of Here!” will be broadcast on TVA every Sunday at 6:30 p.m. starting February 19.