Contestant Mecole Hayes chats with EW about her time on 'Big Brother 25'
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00:00 (dramatic music)
00:02 - Nicole, it seemed like the entire house
00:07 was ready to send Felicia out the door,
00:10 and then instead you're knocked out unanimously,
00:12 seven to zero.
00:13 What do you think happened?
00:14 - I mean, I think that what I knew going into this week
00:19 is although I was being painted as the pawn,
00:22 I knew that there was a strong possibility
00:24 that I could easily become the target.
00:25 I knew that people would possibly perceive me
00:28 to be the stronger competitor
00:30 and that I had a social game.
00:32 And so while unfortunate, also not surprising to me.
00:36 - We gotta talk about the exit.
00:38 For a few things, first off,
00:39 you refused to hug Corey on your way out.
00:41 Why is that?
00:42 - I know that he was responsible for flipping the vote.
00:46 I have been a victim to his vote flipping, unfortunately,
00:50 and also have been a part of it in evictions prior to.
00:54 So, you know, I knew that he had played some role in it.
00:57 And I also knew that America had played
00:59 a heavy role in it as well.
01:00 So I did think that it was authentic of me, if you will,
01:05 to do the hugging and the kiki-ing with them
01:10 while they were secretly plotting my demise.
01:13 So I opted out.
01:14 - You called Corey, America, and Bowie, Jane out
01:16 on your way out the door,
01:17 and then you pointed at the people they were targeting.
01:20 You had the camera angle.
01:21 What we saw, we couldn't see who you were pointing at.
01:24 So who, tell us, walk us through exactly
01:26 what you were doing there,
01:27 who you were pointing out and saying
01:28 were next on their hit list.
01:30 - So I was pointing out Jag, Matt, and Baloo.
01:34 So earlier that week, during my pitch,
01:38 I was having a conversation with America,
01:39 and she was just like, you know,
01:41 me, you, and Corey, like, we've all worked together before,
01:43 and we'd like to continue this moving forward.
01:45 Like, who else do you feel comfortable with?
01:47 And I was like, ah, I really don't feel like I have anyone,
01:49 especially Mama Feeleys.
01:51 I kind of feel like I'm out here alone, besides you two.
01:53 I don't feel like I can trust anyone.
01:55 And she was like, oh, well, I love Bowie Jane.
01:57 You should get to know Bowie Jane.
01:58 She's so smart.
02:00 She really trusts Corey.
02:01 She looks to him as sort of an advisor.
02:04 So I really think you should get to know Bowie Jane.
02:06 And I was just like,
02:07 ah, I don't really know about that, per se, but sure.
02:12 So, you know, my plan on the way out
02:15 was just to tell a little white lie
02:17 and also spill a little tea.
02:19 You know, America seemed to know so much about Bowie Jane.
02:22 So I figured the rest of the house
02:23 should know how much she knows about her.
02:25 - Just throw a little bomb over your shoulder
02:27 as you walk out the door?
02:28 - Yeah, just throw a little bomb over my shoulder.
02:31 You know, America was always saying,
02:32 Mimi doesn't talk game to me.
02:34 She doesn't talk game to me.
02:35 Everyone is saying that they didn't know where I stood.
02:37 And I also don't think that they know
02:39 where each other stand either.
02:41 So it was just a convenient characterization.
02:44 So I figured that I'd make them scramble a little bit
02:46 before I walked out the door.
02:48 - Let's talk about your strategy
02:49 once you were put on the block.
02:50 It seemed to be sort of, hey, hang back,
02:52 not make waves, maybe let Felicia dig her own grave here.
02:56 Why didn't that work?
02:57 And do you think you should have been
02:59 maybe a little more aggressive making some deals?
03:01 - I could have been a little more aggressive,
03:03 but part of me wanted to stay true to how I played the game,
03:07 which was to not go around making a bunch of BS deals
03:11 that I knew I couldn't really hold true to.
03:14 You know, I don't really like to speak for my future self.
03:17 You learn that while working in politics,
03:19 you only wanna speak to what you're able to do
03:21 in the present tense.
03:22 So, you know, my strategy that week
03:24 was to lay as low as possible,
03:26 but also not to seem too frazzled or too worried,
03:29 although I was super anxious
03:31 and not getting much sleep that week.
03:33 And I knew that Mama Fee is a fighter
03:36 and that she would obviously campaign for herself.
03:37 And I didn't think that she would campaign against me,
03:40 but I knew that she would go around making a lot of deals
03:42 and promising a lot of things that people knew
03:45 that she wouldn't be able to hold up to.
03:46 So I wanted my strategy to be opposite of that
03:49 when I went into those conversations.
03:50 - I mean, it seemed like, and you tell me,
03:52 it seemed like it sort of mirrored your strategy
03:54 for the game, which was keep a low profile,
03:56 let the flashier folks keep taking shots at each other
03:59 and I'll just hang right here and like avoid the crossfire.
04:01 - Yeah, I mean, well,
04:03 so I've spent my career working in politics.
04:06 So I've been, you know,
04:08 tasked with tons of important decisions.
04:11 And I know that oftentimes when you are a decision maker
04:14 and a mover and shaker,
04:16 while it could seem to be a more popular position,
04:21 you also tend to get a lot of envy
04:23 and you also tend to make yourself a target.
04:26 And that's what I did not wanna do in this game.
04:28 I knew that the house would be filled
04:30 with tons of big personalities
04:32 and tons of masterminds and strategists.
04:35 And I didn't come here to win America's favorite player.
04:37 I came here to win $750,000.
04:39 So I figured that I'd let the big personalities
04:41 get their shine on where I kind of hung back
04:44 and see what it was like in the backyard.
04:47 - Speaking of big personality,
04:48 so how does your view of the game
04:51 and the alliances in the house change now
04:54 knowing that Sari and Jared are mother and son?
04:58 - Oh, it changes.
05:00 Okay, first of all, I am still shook, okay?
05:02 Like I had a nightmare about them being mother and son.
05:06 Because so many things make sense to me now.
05:09 I'm like, oh, epiphany.
05:11 But it really does change everything.
05:14 I kept thinking to myself,
05:15 why is she spending so much time up there?
05:17 They seem to have such a close relationship.
05:19 At some point he moved out of the scary room
05:21 and into the comic room.
05:22 And after losing the zombie resurrection,
05:27 he was in there and he was tearful and crying.
05:29 And she was talking to him and consoling him.
05:32 And even out during the zombie resurrection,
05:34 she was cheering him on.
05:34 And was the only one out there that was verbally
05:37 coaching him through what was going on.
05:39 And now that I sit back and know
05:42 that they are mother and son,
05:43 I'm like, wow, this all makes sense.
05:44 I'm such an idiot.
05:45 How did I miss that?
05:46 - Give me your analyst hat for a second.
05:48 Who's playing the best game in the house?
05:49 Not necessarily who you want to win,
05:51 but who's playing the best so far?
05:53 I think a lot can change between now and finale,
05:55 but right now at this point, who's playing the best?
05:57 - It's so hard to say, but if I had to pick anyone,
06:02 I would probably say Matt.
06:05 Just because he is well-liked
06:07 and well-received in the house.
06:09 He also has the ability to win comps,
06:12 although he hasn't won that many,
06:13 he has shown that he can win if and when necessary.
06:17 And I just think that people love Matt
06:20 and is someone who, while they know they probably can't beat
06:24 at the end of this game,
06:25 is someone that they would probably like to take
06:27 to the end of this game.
06:28 So I probably have to go with Matt.
06:29 - Who are you rooting for to win this game?
06:31 - Oh, it's so hard to say, 'cause I hate everybody.
06:34 But if I had to pick two people to sit
06:36 in those final two chairs, I'm going,
06:40 okay, I'm gonna go Matt and Serene.
06:43 - This is a question for anyone that doesn't win the game.
06:45 If you could get a do-over and go back
06:48 and change anything you did during the game
06:50 that would maybe take you down a different path
06:53 that leads to you not talking to me right now,
06:56 what would it be?
06:57 - I would probably try to trust more people.
07:01 I think my downfall in this game
07:02 is that I truly trusted no one.
07:05 And so I just didn't feel comfortable sharing my strategy
07:08 and sharing all of my thoughts and opinions,
07:10 because the house is like the leaky faucet.
07:12 Once you say it once, it just kind of spreads everywhere.
07:16 And so I would really try to align myself
07:18 with people that I can trust.
07:19 I think that I tried to do that with the Brown Sugar Babes
07:21 and then I heard about the idea to potentially blindside me
07:26 on the Izzy Felicia vote.
07:28 And so that really just altered my trust.
07:30 And from there, I was just like,
07:32 oh no, I can't trust any of you.
07:34 So I'd probably find more people that I could trust
07:36 and really try to stick to that.
07:37 - What's more cutthroat, politics or Big Brother?
07:40 - Oh, politics, 100%.
07:41 You have so many avenues that you can explore in politics.
07:45 You go from being a representative to a senator,
07:47 to maybe attorney general, governor, vice president,
07:49 so on and so forth.
07:51 Big Brother, you can only win so many HOHs and VNOs.
07:54 - Well, I don't know if you've been caught up,
07:55 but there's been some cutthroat political stuff
07:57 happening over the past week.
07:58 - No, I have not been caught up.
08:01 - I'll wait for you to get your phone back,
08:03 but there's been some things happening there
08:05 that are maybe just as crazy
08:07 as in the Big Brother house for the past week.
08:11 Final question, Nicole,
08:13 just how messy and germ infested is the Big Brother house?
08:16 - Oh, it's disgusting.
08:17 It is terrible.
08:18 I mean, the bathrooms, horrendous.
08:21 First of all, I would go into the bathroom stall
08:23 and put tissue on my nose
08:25 because it literally stunk so bad.
08:28 The shower is terrible.
08:29 I would take 15, 20 minute showers with my eyes closed
08:33 because there are clumps of hair everywhere,
08:35 have open bottles of shampoo and body wash.
08:39 The bathroom sinks are always wet
08:41 and filled with mouthwash or water.
08:43 The dishes are never washed.
08:45 The floor is never swept.
08:46 It's disgusting.
08:47 It's horrible.
08:48 The kids are gross.
08:49 - Not your problem anymore.
08:50 - Not my problem anymore, no.
08:52 I will not sweep another floor.
08:54 I will not clean another bathroom.
08:57 I will not wipe down another counter.
08:58 That is somebody else's problem.
09:00 (whooshing)
09:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]