8:45 AM EST

It was a close vote.

But she lost.

And she's never felt more like a winner.

“I was a huge winner!” she said. “I went down to Costa Rica as the least-known person on the show. I made it all the way to the end. I was in that jungle for 28 days, the whole month of June. I showed people who I was. I worked hard and competed hard, and I made it to the final two. My charity, Disabled American War Veterans, received a lot of money because I lasted so long. I discovered a lot about myself, I proved myself, I made some good friends, and I came out of that jungle feeling great about myself mentally and physically.”

Along the way, she outlasted and survived competition from John Salley, Patti Blagojevich, Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt, two of the Baldwin brothers (not Alec), train wreck Janice Dickinson and really awful singer Sanjaya Malakar.

OK, it wasn't the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Wilson became good buddies with former NBA player Salley, who persuaded her to become a vegetarian.

Her other close friend on the show was Patti Blagojevich, wife of reeling former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who's facing corruption charges and possible jail time.

“I really got close to Patti,” Wilson said. “I was expecting her to be an awful woman, a real bulldog. Like most people, all I knew about her was that recorded phone call that got out in the public. She is not a nice person on that recording. But she won me over. She turned out to be a wonderful person, and I really feel for what she's going through.”

Before she walked through her door back home in The Woodlands, offers for more entertainment projects were flying her way. That's what being on 16 hours of prime-time TV will do for you. Even if you're not wearing makeup and you look nothing like a glamorous wrestling diva and there's a disgusting snake slithering all over you.

“Yes, there is a lot of interest in different things for me. Some of them surprise me,” she said.

Like being invited to play in the World Series of Poker. She didn't survive as long in a Las Vegas casino as she did in the Costa Rican jungle.

“I'm not much of a poker player. I lasted about four hours,” she said.

The project she wants to do most is a workout video for “normal women” and children.

“'I've already got the video planned in my head. I want to do workout videos that housewives can do at home with their kids. It will be a back-to-basics video. I'm looking for locations — maybe I'll do it in a warehouse or in my home — not an expensive gym with complicated equipment. Physical fitness is a love of mine.”

Then there's Hollywood and acting.

“There are opportunities coming my way. While I love being just a regular girl and running a clothing store, I have to think about these opportunities. I don't want to pass on everything and then kick myself a few years from now.

“There are some acting possibilities. I love being in front of a camera. But there are some things about trying to be an actress that scare me. One, I would have to live in Los Angeles, and I really like living here in The Woodlands. ... I pursued the acting thing before, and wrestling was a barrier. They only thought of me as a former wrestler. They didn't appreciate that eight years in wrestling was great practice for acting. It's live television every week, and I had to do everything in one take.

“Now it's different. On the reality series, I received support from everybody, not just wrestling fans. I'm not just an ex-wrestler anymore.”