A blindside … he saw coming? Brent Champagne became the third Big Brother houseguest voted out during the Thursday, July 29, live eviction in a unanimous vote that was set early on in the week by Head of Household Xavier Prather.
Us Weekly spoke with the 28-year-old flight attendant after his ousting to find out whether he was tipped off before the live show, and why he told host Julie Chen-Moonves he wasn’t shocked despite having confidence he was safe all week.
“It goes back to my beliefs – words of affirmation, law of attraction and putting it out there, making it known to the universe that this is something that I would like,” Brent said of thinking he had the numbers to stay. “Confidence with conviction and having that type of perspective of being like ‘this is still a possibility’ really does help get through a game like Big Brother.”
He added, “As much as I would have loved to have at least one vote, I’m flattered that it was unanimous.”
The Rhode Island native received a pretty harsh – and hilarious – reality check in teammate Hannah Chaddha’s goodbye message when she said it was his arrogance that had him convinced he wasn’t going home.
“Hannah is very analytical, very reserved, very observant, very cautious,” Brent told Us. “She said my arrogance got in the way. We’ve had a conversation in front of others, Christian [Birkenberger] being one of them, who actually could vouch for it – and it’s all on cameras – that she definitely mistakes my confidence for arrogance.”
He continued, “I never rubbed anyone’s nose in anything. I never tried to make it seem like I was better than anyone.”
Brent also discussed his mutual attraction with Alyssa Lopez, not knowing that she was kissing Christian behind closed doors.
“If they were, good for them,” Brent reacted. “They were all over each other, and she was so upset that everyone kept saying the showmance stuff, but it’s, like, y’all disappear all the time. Just own it, you know? Love is beautiful. Why hide it?”
“I’m not a jealous man,” he added. “I made it very apparent to Alyssa and she’s made it apparent to me that we are attracted to one another. And she said that I was her ideal physical and mental type, as far as personality is concerned.”
You can watch our full interview above or scroll down to read what else Brent told Us about his game, who he thinks new HOH Christian should target, why he thinks Hannah can win the game and more.
Big Brother airs on CBS Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.
Us Weekly: Were you blindsided or did someone tip you off that you were going home before the eviction?
Brent Champagne: I wasn’t told about anything. At the same time, one of my philosophies in life is “hope for the best, prepare for the worst.” And if you’re not doing both to the same degree, then you’re just setting yourself up for disappointment and/or false pretense. If I was in their shoes – and I’ve ran it a thousand times [in my head] – there’s no way in the world that you keep me over Britini in a game that has both the social aspect and the physical aspect to it.
Unfortunately, I had to come out into the game in defense mode. So I had to display a lot of things that didn’t want to, as far as my social game and strategy, right off the bat. I had to do what I had to do to stay off the block in week one, which I didn’t go home week one. I’m proud of that. I was the target week one. But yeah, everything just equated to people not wanting me to stay in the house. And as much as I would have loved to have at least one vote, I’m flattered that it was unanimous. I mean, it shows that I really was something that people could see being a problem later on. And if it wasn’t this week, it would have been next week. But, at the same time, everyone kept saying I was a threat and I guess they really stuck to that narrative and proved it with their votes. So I guess, yeah, it’s all about perspective.
Us: Your teammates voted to evict you. Whose vote were you most hurt by?
BC: The person’s vote that I was really shocked I didn’t get would be Alyssa. I understand she’s not going to be the solo vote, especially if she knows the whole house is against me – that would put a target on her back. So I understand the reason. If I had to say one person that I thought would’ve voted for me, it would have absolutely been Alyssa because I have a final two with her. And I do have what it takes to most likely block her, as far as if anyone was going after someone, it would most likely be me and not her. It was sticky because she was very close with her team. Her team obviously found me a threat, as you see Xavier’s goodbye message.
She obviously promised me and such, and I was doing a lot of that as reassurance just to get an extra vote because I was like, “What if one of my teammates do flip on me?” It would be 6-5 not in my favor, so I needed to just have Alyssa. I made her pinky promise like the night before. I was like, “No matter what happens, as long as you promise me your vote.” I was like, “I don’t care if it’s my team and just you and I lose 7-4, I just need your vote. So don’t embarrass me in front of America.” I said that, but really what I was trying to do was make sure I have that vote just in case Derek X went against me again. Or just in case Kyland went against me again because they’ve done it in week one, where they conspired against me. So it was more of a reassurance than anything. But yeah, no hard feelings. I do understand what it’s like to not want to be against the grain or against the herd, because the trust would have been broken with the rest of the house.
Us: Were you worried at all when you saw how close Alyssa was with Christian?
BC: I’m not a jealous man. I made it very apparent to Alyssa and she’s made it apparent to me that we are attracted to one another. And she said that I was her ideal physical and mental type, as far as personality is concerned. But we didn’t really mesh like that or connect like that. Christian’s a sweet guy and he’s on her team, and he’s more wanting to put it all out there. I’ve said in the DR actually, if anything would happen or develop with me and Alyssa, it would be outside of the house. It wouldn’t be inside the house. I mean, I really wasn’t opposed to a showmance, but it wasn’t my No. 1 priority, especially when the target was on my back [on] day one. I was like, “I have no time to do anything else. I just have to worry about staying as long as possible.”
Christian did come up to me – and I don’t know if this is part of his strategy or not – but he did say many times, like, “I don’t know why Alyssa trusts you so much more than me.” He’s like, “Put in a good word. What can I say or do to earn her trust?” That’s all on record. That’s all in front of the cameras.
Us: Did he tell you that they were making out?
BC: No, but if they were good for them. Because honestly, it just had to be done. I mean, they were all over each other, and she was so upset that everyone kept saying the showmance stuff, but it’s, like, y’all disappear all the time. Just own it, you know? Love is beautiful. Why hide it? You know what I mean? There’s a lot of people out there and you don’t really get too many opportunities to connect with someone, and they were definitely vibing. Why not capitalize on that when you have a whole summer together? That makes me happy that they were making out though. That’s actually pretty awesome because she’s always like, “Oh, I can’t kiss on camera.” But she learned a lot about herself.
Us: They were doing it under the covers so I guess they were trying to be stealth.
BC: That is so funny. I’m so happy you told me that.
Us: You’re not jealous at all?
BC: To be honest, there’s seven billion people in the world and hopefully half of them are female. I am not jealous at all.
Us: This is not where I thought this interview was going to go, but that’s totally fine. I have to ask you about Hannah’s goodbye message. What is your reaction to it?
BC: There was a lot more to her, and I actually got some type of reassurance of what I felt was correct. So it was actually a win in my book. Hannah is very analytical, very reserved, very observant, very cautious. She was holding back a lot. I actually said it a couple of days before, I was like, “There’s something more to you that you’re not allowing a lot of people to see.” And I could sense that. She was feisty, but like she wasn’t feisty, feisty. She wasn’t [like her] goodbye message. She said my arrogance got in the way. We’ve had a conversation in front of others, Christian being one of them, who actually could vouch for it – And it’s all on cameras – that she definitely mistakes my confidence for arrogance.
I never rubbed anyone’s nose in anything. I never tried to make it seem like I was better than anyone. It was more or less my confidence. Christian went on record saying he would describe me as “confident AF” It’s a fine line. It’s unfortunate that she perceived me that way because I do believe kindness is free. I do believe that there’s a difference between the competitive nature and getting intense, but then also just being arrogant for no reason. I was on her team and we might not have agreed. Me, her and Whitney might not have agreed on a lot of different things. But at the end of the day, everyone’s entitled to their opinion. And I don’t think you should judge too harshly on someone’s … because we all were raised and brought up and have different perspectives on life and stuff. So if she thought I was arrogant, that’s unfortunate and I guess I apologize for being too confident that it’s confusing.
Us: Tell me about your speech? Did you think about throwing anyone under the bus?
BC: I knew from the get-go that my game was going to come to an end, and if I could do anything, it would be take a bullet for the team. I didn’t want to destroy their chances of getting farther. I am many things, but selfish isn’t really one of them when it comes to that type of gameplay. It’s tempting. I will say that, to try and want to get the last laugh, but is it really worth it? Is it really? Everyone’s playing for different reasons. I would’ve [done] this for free. I would have [done] this for none of the perks afterward and none of the opportunities afterward. I truly am just doing it for the experience. A lot of those people in there are doing it for the money and doing it for other reasons, and their families, and to better their lives. I wouldn’t want to be the reason that was stripped from them.
I have always been the one, personally in my life, in my friend groups, that takes the most blows because I know who I am. I know what I can provide, and I know what I want out of life. It’s a lot different when there’s many people out there that never truly find themselves or understand who they truly are. So as far as my ego, my pride and everything else, it’s not damaged, it’s not bruised. The best way to put it is, like, you could take a $20 bill and then crumple it up, and step on it and spit on it. But when you pick it up and uncrumple it and wipe it off, it’s still a $20 bill. So you just got to remember you’re worth, regardless.
Us: Any regrets about saying how safe you were all week? We saw you say that a lot in the diary room.
BC: It goes back to my beliefs – words of affirmation, law of attraction and putting it out there, making it known to the universe that this is something that I would like. Confidence with conviction and having that type of perspective of being like “this is still a possibility” really does help get through a game like Big Brother. If you’re always doom and gloom, or thinking about the worst case scenario or thinking “woe is me” … I was trying to explain it to Britini when she was on the block. I was like, “Listen, we’re on a metaphorical block right now. There’s so many other things. The worst day in the Big Brother house being the block is a walk in the park [compared to] other people’s lives that are actually dealing with real-life issues.” I was like, “When you have that perspective, being on that block is more of like an honor than anything because at least you got to play the game. At least you got a chance that all these other people didn’t get to have.” So yeah, the confidence was real. As much as you’re going to hope for the best, I’m a firm believer in preparing for the worst. That way you’ll never be disappointed. You’ll always be like, “All right. Well, I was expecting that.”
Us: You were suspicious when Xavier put you up and claimed you were the pawn. He was actually in two big alliances who were gunning after you. Do you regret not making more alliances?
BC: I was in three pretty decent-sized alliances – The Slaughter House, The Mafia and The Radicals. The Slaughter House, it’s tough because all those people that are in those other alliances were already in Slaughter House, right? So X was in Slaughter House. Christian was in Slaughter House. Alyssa was in Slaughter House. People that I was already somewhat close to, or friendly within the house, I was pulled into this alliance already. The other two big alliances that were created … Alyssa wanted to work with my team and then Kyland wanted protection. So I just was like, “Why beat around the bush?” It was a lot to juggle already. So if anyone came to me with any more alliances, I would’ve been like, “I don’t even know who to target anymore because I’m aligned with everyone.” And if I’m planning on winning anything, I’m going to have to get blood on my hands.
So it was more or less that I had to leave wiggle room, which is why the whole girl alliance narrative stayed in effect, as far as everyone else that I was aligned with besides five other young ladies in the house and Derek X. I was like, “I have no other narrative to use because I’m aligned with everyone.” It makes it hard because you need to be able to get rid of people. So if you align with everyone, it’s like, you win accidentally. What are you gonna do? You know what I mean? You put two people up as a pawn?
Us: Christian ended up winning HOH last night. Who do you think he should target?
BC: Derek X and Kyland. You take one of the only Veto winners and one of the other gentlemen that has a very strong bond with all the females in the house. You take away two big parts. I mean, I know there’s two big alliances, so they might be aligned with each other. I know Kyland’s aligned with Derek X. I think what you said, Kyland’s also in The Cookout as well? So maybe you won’t attack his own alliance. It’s just basically numbers at that point of who’s outside of those alliances, and your allegiance. But it just makes sense. You’re winning. You have X. Everyone else really can’t compete with you. The only two people who are really competing with you are Derek X with the Vetos. He has the most Veto wins. So it makes sense to take him out. And then Kyland. He has a very likable personality. He’s very nurturing and sensitive and sweet, and he has a lot going for him and people are really receptive to him. That can be a huge threat as well because he has Alyssa’s allegiance. But other than that, he doesn’t really have anyone else’s as strong as Kyland does.
Us: I agree those guys are definitely playing well, but I think Christian might go after Hannah and Whitney. Or at least put them up.
BC: I would love if he did because Hannah is playing … she’s gonna win. Hannah will win. But they’re playing such a quiet game, in a sense. You can never really target them and have a good enough reason. You would just upset everyone else that was in the house that is really fond of them. That’s what’s hard about the game. People take it so personal.
Azah cried when Britini went up on the block, like bawled her eyes out. That’s so tough because you’re going to mess up … If he puts up Whitney and Hannah, and he can come up with a good enough excuse, I mean, great for him. But a lot of people are going to be like, “What? He can do that to me.” I don’t think it’s a good move for him. Let someone else do it. But then again you’re right because he has a huge target on his back anyway for winning. So why not stir it up, I guess? You really think he’s going to go after Whit and Hannah?
Us: I think he will put them up, but to me, it makes the most sense to nominate Britini again. She’s already been up there twice. Just throw her up again. No one’s going to be mad.
BC: That’s what I’m saying. It wouldn’t make sense for him to just pick two people that weren’t really targeted.
Us: Maybe he’ll put Britini up first and then see how the Veto goes or first see how the Wildcard Comp goes.
BC: I think you might be right. I think we’re onto something.
Us: My last question, are you interested in ever playing Big Brother again?
BC: In a heartbeat. I already asked them about Big Brother All-Stars. I want to be able to go into it and not have to have my back against the wall right away. I think it would have been so much more entertaining, and my gameplay would have been so much more clean if I didn’t have to keep sweeping up after other people the very first week. It’s tough to clean up someone else’s mess to keep your name clean and then try to play your own game. Frenchie just targeted everyone and then everyone kept getting safe. Christian got saved from the Wildcard and then you have the Veto as far as Derek X is concerned, and then X was safe because Christian. It just got so messy. Kyland was upset because he was told that he wasn’t going to go up. And then Alyssa was upset because she was told she wouldn’t go up. It was a mess. And then he makes us align together?
In a heartbeat. Like I said, I don’t even care about the money. I want to win the game for the bragging rights. It’s all about the experience and learning about myself and that’s what’s most important to me, personally.
