Drag Race star Alyssa Hunter details the Anaconda look she almost wore on the Jennifer Lopez runway

Alyssa Hunter's Anaconda almost did.

The Puerto Rican beauty might've sashayed away after Friday's Jennifer Lopez-themed edition of RuPaul's Drag Race, but her collective excellence across a mere handful of episodes still slithered its way into the fandom's collective heart — and she tells EW she nearly did it in a runway look inspired by Lopez's 1997 reptilian-centered thriller.

But Alyssa isn't the kind of queen who needs flashy theatrics to make her mark. If the nation's collective thirst-tweets (and, well, thirsty Werk Room reactions, too) are any indication, as you lay your head down to sleep on your cozy Wilow Pillow each night, chances are you're going to dream about her — not just because her season 14 sisters deemed her the trade of the season, but because the beauty queen went out like the self-proclaimed Puerto Rican royal she was born to be: in a crisp, unforgettable, boss-level suit inspired by one of Lopez's iconic gender-bending looks that matches Alyssa's natural versatility.

Still, the runway coach and pageant stunner became the second dearly departed lady to exit the competition after her acting skills fell short of the judges' expectations in the comedy challenge. As Alyssa adds in her exit interview below, she's not taking this one as a loss, but as an affirmation that she's on the right track — and that we haven't seen the last of this queen's starry fantasy become a reality.

Read on for our full conversation with Alyssa, including her thoughts on being sidelined during preparation for the challenge, how she got away with rocking cheetah for the leopard ball category, her first idea for the talent show (no, it wasn't always that guitar set), what she would've worn as part of her Anaconda J.Lo look, that final lip-sync against Kerri Colby, and and why you should never discount a queen whose first language isn't English.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How do you feel, reliving the elimination after filming it?

ALYSSA HUNTER: I feel proud, sad, happy, so many things running through my mind. I'm glad I made it and I know the fans are going to love me. I connected with them, and I think that's my crown!

You have so much to be proud of — you went out looking lovely, you delivered a great lip-sync, but let's start at the beginning of the season when you were deemed "trade" of the season, the gift that keeps giving. I've seen the thirsty tweets you've been RT'ing, they're getting so wild! But what's the wildest thirsty message you've received so far?

I have my personal page [as Josh] and my artistic page as Alyssa Hunter. I model as a boy, too, so I have that balance. People respect the Alyssa one, but my personal page is like Pornhub. It looks like porn. Every day I receive so many photos. It's crazy.

People don't ask you permission first?

Yeah, normal! [Laughs] When [I see that] they wrote something very naughty, I know it's [going to be] a nude photo, so, I don't even open it. I'm grateful to be the trade of the season! I know I got eliminated soon, but I hope that people don't forget me and still recognize me. Being on the show, being the trade of the season, and being Latino, there are so many things that separate me from the other girls.

No one could forget you! You had the fandom talking on episode 1, after Bosco introduced herself and you immediately said, "I'm from Puerto Rico!" That was a great moment, the Puerto Rican pride immediately jumped right out!

I was the first one, so I was excited ... Vanjie is from Puerto Rico, Cynthia Lee Fontaine is from Puerto Rico, Kandy Ho is from Puerto Rico. I was so excited [to be another] Puerto Rican queen that I heard her name, but I just answered, "Hi Bosco, I'm from Puerto Rico," and I forgot to say my name!

Next, on the talent show, you said you'd play guitar to stand out from what you'd done in the past, but Kornbread pointed out that there was no cord. Can you play guitar for real?

Uh, no! [Laughs] I wasn't lying! Here's the thing ... it's like lip-syncing. Yes, I'm "playing the guitar," as real as a lip-sync where it seems like we're singing.

Was that your first idea for the talent show?

I changed the entire idea last-minute. I love runways, I'm a pageant runway coach in Puerto Rico, so my first idea was to do a runway because that's my strength as a queen and a boy. But [I couldn't get the rights] to the music ... I had this rock star outfit in my closet that I never used. I love that kind of vibe in drag. So, I took some risks and did something different.

What was the song you wanted to do?

It was "Vogue" by Madonna. I had an idea to start with a big dress and I had five or six reveals at the same time, doing runways!

You'll have to do it for Instagram.

Of course, I'll do it, on All Stars. They need this trade on the next All Stars.

On the next episode, you seemed disappointed about the ball. Your leopard look was one of the best of the whole ball, and I know you felt like you should've placed higher! I went back in our previous video interview with the whole cast before the season, and I noticed everyone kept teasing you about leopard — why was leopard a sore subject for you?

I realized, thanks to Kornbread, that my print wasn't leopard, it was cheetah! But, I think it's the same s---, because Violet Chachki saw the print and she tooted me! She said that was her favorite look ... So, to me, it's leopard! That was the joke: I wasn't in the top because it's cheetah … The fans literally think it's leopard, so, whatever! [Laughs] I was disappointed after that episode but I was grateful that I was safe.

We also had Jennifer Lopez on the episode. You looked particularly happy to see her video message, but there's a moment where everyone runs back to their stations, but you turn around and run back to the screen to say something else to her. What did you say to her?

I was trying to say, "te amo," like, "I love you." I don't know if she heard me. I tried to tell Jennifer Lopez that I love her so much, a [fellow] Puerto Rican!

In the challenge, you suggested that you felt like you weren't being taken seriously. Why do you feel like you didn't get the approval you needed, and how did that pressure impact how you performed in the challenge?

I didn't mean to be rude to the girls, but I feel that some didn't take me seriously because of my language. They didn't say that, but I'm a very "energy" person, so I felt it. Obviously, it's an advantage to have English as a first language — Spanish is my first language, so it was a little bit difficult. At the same time, I don't make it an excuse because I know what I signed up for, and I did my best. I felt the pressure of that challenge, I expressed my emotions and who I am, all the craziness. The most important thing I did, because some of the queens didn't see me as goofy or campy with that f---ing ugly makeup, was to demonstrate to the judges and the girls that I could be versatile. I can do it all. I don't fit into only one look.

What you said on the runway is important as well, that just because English isn't your first language, it doesn't mean you can't do more. Why was that so vital for you to say in that moment?

Because there are so many people that feel the same way! Not just on Drag Race, but in daily life. People get judged about their language — not only Spanish, but all languages. I used that platform because I think people will feel me. If English isn't your first language, you need to step it up. But, that doesn't mean that you can't achieve your dreams.

It was sad to see you sashay away. What happened with the money gun mishap in the lip-sync?

The money fell to the floor, it opened. I don't know what happened. So I took the money and rained it and made it happen on my own! I was like, okay, this isn't going to stop me. I think I did a good lip-sync, but because of the money gun, that was an issue. I'm not throwing shade at Kerri Colby — that's my sister and she did an amazing job, and she deserved to win, too ... I'm glad to sashay away for that reason. There are so many queens who are good, but they leave because their wig fell off or they did a poor lip-sync, so I think the fans will love me more after this episode. I won, because Drag Race is a platform, but it's not everything in your life. It can help you grow, but you need to connect with the fans because they'll stick with you until the end. I made my goal to rob the heart of all the fans, so, I'm glad!

You made a bold choice to do a suit on the runway. Was that always your choice for this or did you consider doing something else for the J.Lo runway first?

I said to my manager that I need to do something different, and he said we should do J.Lo in the movie Anaconda. That was my first idea, to make J.Lo wet and have a huge anaconda all over my body! But, it was a copyright [issue] with the movie, so I changed it to the suit. I love genderless stuff, I love to mix both, so I saw this performance as very gangster, very manly, very powerful…. I took a risk, and I love my look!

Subscribe to EW's BINGE podcast for full recaps of RuPaul's Drag Race, including weekly season 14 recaps with the cast, adapted from our new Quick Drag series airing Fridays at 10:05 p.m. ET / 7:05 p.m. PT on the @EW Twitter account.

Related content:

• Kerri Colby reveals how she secured Jennifer Lopez's actual Versace dress for Drag Race
• June Jambalaya reveals her original wedding dress idea — and why she held her Drag Race bouquet high
• Orion Story says Drag Race saved her from homelessness: 'I came back from the show and got my s--- together!'