Scott D. Pierce: Utah woman was a survivor before she got on show

Every "Survivor" contestant I've ever interviewed has told me it really is as hard as it looks. Harder, actually.

"Everybody asks me, 'So what's it like on "Survivor"?' " said Utahn Jennifer Lanzetti, a contestant on the new season, which begins Wednesday at 7 p.m. on CBS/Ch. 2.

"I say, 'Well, the next time it rains, strip naked and go stand in your driveway for eight hours,' " the self-described "bad-ass chick" said with a laugh. "Even after drug addiction to heroin and meth and cocaine and all of that, 'Survivor' was still really hard. That sounds silly — eight years of hell versus two months on an island. But that's what it's like."

Lanzetti, 38, had been through a lot long before she was cast in "Survivor: Kaô Rong – Brains vs Brawn vs Beauty." Beginning at age 18, she went through multiple surgeries for endometriosis — which ended with a diagnosis of cancer and a hysterectomy.

"I had 15 surgeries total in eight years," she said. "I was trying, but I didn't handle it as well as some people do. I turned to self-medicating with drugs and drinking and got in trouble with the law."

That led to jail time and drug rehab.

"Between the drug addiction and the jail time, going to drug rehab, going to college, getting my college degree — that was eight years of just struggling," Lanzetti said. "Anybody who could survive that and not go down six feet under, I think can handle two months on an island."

But the physical challenges of "Survivor" are formidable. She laughs when people ask her if contestants get help — food or water — when cameras aren't rolling.

"None of that happened," Lanzetti said. "You are on your own. If there's no food, you don't eat. If there's no fire, you don't boil water, you don't drink. It's very real."

And on top of the physical trials, there are the mental challenges. While the contestants are dealing with food, water and sleep deprivation, they're also trying to outwit, outplay and outlast the other 17 contestants to win the million dollars.

The contestants begin the season (taped in March 2015) divided into three tribes — Brains, Brawn and Beauty. Lanzetti, who owns a construction firm, is on the Brawn tribe. And, as always, there's plotting and lying and back-stabbing.

"I don't have issues with hunger and thirst and sleeping on bamboo, but dealing with deceit and lies and trickery — it's hard.

"I remember one of my old bosses told me, 'It's not about whether your behavior's right or wrong, it's whether your behavior gets the result you want.' So that came into play a lot. A lot more than in my normal life."

She's a longtime fan of "Survivor," but didn't consider applying until her friend and fellow Utahn, Jonas Otsuji — a contestant in Season 24 — encouraged her.

"When he came home, he called me and said, 'Jenn, you have to apply. You are the ultimate survivor,' " Lanzetti said. "I thought — you're damn right. I am a survivor."

Scott D. Pierce covers television for The Salt Lake Tribune . Email him at spierce@sltrib.com; follow him on Twitter @ScottDPierce.