Big Brother 28’s Haley Thogmartin had a rough go during the medieval-themed twist that went on all night.
“I was out there for probably seven hours, but I didn’t know how long I’d be out there,” Haley, 29. exclusively told Us on Thursday, September 3, following her elimination from the Big Brother house. “Plus, it was really hot.”
Haley, who is from Wildwood, Missouri, explained it was “super humid” outside during the competition.
“I’m not from California, so I don’t understand some of the humidity,” she said. “It was in the middle of the night, and it was just a really long competition. I’ve played sports my whole life. I’m used to the heat too, you know, having to play you know game after game after game in summer ball. But that was when I was like 13, not when I’m almost 30. So it was a lot harder. But I thought I gave it my best shot.”
Following Big Brother’s milestone 1000th episode, the houseguests used the dining table time machine to travel to the medieval times for their next competition. However the players were informed that the Head of Household competition was canceled and that someone would be eliminated by the end of the night.
The group competed for safety which was ultimately won by Dee Valladares. The Survivor 45 winner, 29, could also give one additional player safety. Haley told Dee she was worried about being eliminated in a safety chain competition. However, Dee ultimately picked ally Rick Devens who saved her with the Diamond Power of Veto earlier this season.
“I already knew she was going to return the favor,” Haley said of why she didn’t campaign harder to Dee for safety. “So I just feel like it would have been more pressure for her and me to try to advocate for that and be like, ‘Hey, please save me.’ But in the back of my head, we all knew she was going to pick Devens because he saved her.”
Haley ultimately volunteered to compete first alongside Drew Campbell. Drew, 22, won the first competition and saved Angela Murray. Barrett Pfeiffer was sent in next to compete against Haley and he was victorious against her. Dee, Devens, Angela and Drew advised Barrett, 27, to send Taylor Brown and LaTrice “La La” Verrett in to compete against Haley to ensure her safety but the jumbotron engineer had different plans following the eviction of his friend Mallory Aurichio. Barrett sent in La La and Yash Patel to compete. Yash, 24, was successful and decided to send Haley home.
Haley confessed that she wasn’t completely surprised by Barrett’s decision to betray her.
“I’ve already been flipped on once in the house you know,? Again expect the unexpected,” she said, reciting host Julie Chen Moonves’ catchphrase. “I was kind of bummed because it was a do or die moment for me, and to be able to look back eventually and see why it happened again. I totally get it, but again, it just was what it was. But I knew it was going to be a win or go home moment.”
The telemedicine executive added that while she did volunteer to go first, she knew it was going to be tough to win against some “great competitors.”
“Drew is very, very good with puzzles, and we’ve talked about our strong suits before. So, you know, the competition was not easy. None of the competitions we played were easy,” she told Us. “And then, you know, Barrett, seeing him rock the balance beam already in the previous HOH, I knew going into that that was going to be tough, even though I didn’t know the games before. I went against some pretty great competitors, and then you Yash at the very end, [he] pulled it out. I can only tip my hat off to them because they did great.”
Big Brother airs on CBS Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.
