It was a whirlwind opening week of Big Brother 23, definitely the most chaotic first 7 days in the show’s 21-year history. The house turned into “Frenchie’s Funhouse,” a dangerous game of Russian roulette that saw targets shift by the hour. And unfortunately, the kill shot landed on Travis Long, as the Hawaii resident ended up saying hello and goodbye to the game in a little over a week. Travis certainly did not expect to be leaving the house last Wednesday, after seeing Brandon “Frenchie” French promise him safety before winning Head of Household. But the farmer came in with some French Commandments: “Though shalt evict meatheads” and “Thou shalt slay showmances.” The menu of “meatheads” winnowed for him, though, as he made a bond with Brent Champagne and Christian Birkenberger won safety through the new Wildcard Competition. Frenchie took aim at Christian’s supposed “showmance partner” in Alyssa Lopez, breaking his initial promise to only nominate white men, but quickly changed his target after nominations to Derek Xiao, who he accused of plotting against him. The Veto threw another spanner into the works, as Derek X. won and gave Kyland Young an early birthday gift in removing him from the block. It all came full circle back to Frenchie’s original claim, as he went back on his word to Travis and nominated him. And after a week of non-stop gameplay and wandering targets, the house near-unanimously agreed to put the so-called “stud bull” out to pasture. Now out of the house, Travis talks with Parade.com about how much being picked last for a team affected his gameplay, whether he would have stayed loyal to Frenchie had he stayed, and his thoughts about everyone left in the house. It was a chaotic week in the house, to say the least. Now that you’re a little over 12 hours out of it, how are you feeling? It’s a lot of gratefulness, happiness, and excitement that it happened. I really made some rock-solid connections inside the house. I think some people will come straight to Hawaii to kick it when they leave the house. That’s a really great feeling. Though I didn’t strategize to the best of my ability or as much as I thought I would, I made some solid relationships. I’m very amped to have been a part of all of it. Let’s start from the beginning. You end up being picked last for a team, which you attribute to playing up your “beach bum” personality. How much did that change the way you approached the game? Initially, I wanted to be perceived as a guy that doesn’t have a lot going on for him, who’s down to cruise under the radar and go with the flow. I thought that was immediately torched when I was dead last. And Whitney picked Brent over me, saying, “That wasn’t a very convincing argument.” That told me right there that people are there to understand how they can utilize any value you bring to be on a team or potential alliance with them. I realized if I was this loser who was “ditzying” around the beach all day, I would probably not be sold to anyone. No one was going to buy. So I had to change my perception and expose some information about my personal life. What I do and the businesses I’m involved in. Graduating early from school, authoring a book, yada yada yada. To say I do have value and I do have wits about me, so that would allow me to be in an alliance moving forward. You said you went too hard with the alliances in the first couple of days, then decided to scale it back. Can you elaborate on that? That was the result of the conversation I had with Kyland and Derek X. I was essentially taking it into my own hands on Day 2 to form what was going to be the very early structure of an alliance between us three. I thought both of them would be both competition and intellectual powerhouses, and I felt comfortable putting my eggs in their baskets. And it wasn’t even a full hour after that where things completely and utterly blew up in our faces. Frenchie found out about it and wasn’t a fan of it. Not only did he find out about our alliance forming, but he also found out his name was already being thrown out as a prospective target. He was not a fan of that; it totally torched our relationship. Then Brent found out his name was a prospect as well. He was really peeved because Derek X. was on his team, and he saw me as a big target because, in his opinion, I had convinced his own team to turn on him in two days. (Laughs.) Not a great look when it comes back around. On the note of Frenchie, you apparently tried to expose him right before the live show, which we didn’t see. What happened? This wasn’t an attempt to sway any votes or anything. It was an attempt to assist my closest relationships in the house to have longevity in the game with the utilization of this information to be diffused whenever they want. I went to my closest confidants, Ky, Derek X. Brent, and then my own teammates, Claire and Tiffany. And I told them all of the lies that Frenchie had told me. I said I had entered the house on Day 1 with him, and he promised on himself as a man that our move-in group would be safe for the entirety of his Head of Household. He actually reaffirmed that information to me multiple times throughout the week when I gave them outlets to not do so. But he was like, “No, I promise. My word is my bond.” And that was a complete and utter lie. So I told all my confidants that, and their reactions were, for the most part, shock. I think they all had some sort of idea that he wasn’t actually as transparent and upstanding as a guy that he makes himself out to be. And they just needed to hear something at some point to prove that, and there it was handed to them on a silver platter. They’re like, “Wow, it’s finally there.” There’s some proof that he’s not as gleaming as he comes off. You wanted to wait to make your pitch to stay until later in the week. Was that strategy, or did you figure your fate was already sealed? I think I was signed, sealed, and sent the second I was put up on the block as a replacement nominee from the veto. I knew at that point, all I could do when pitching was potentially create a little last-minute chaos where they would have to run around having too many conversations than time would allow. And that would hopefully leave people confused and potentially unsure who to vote for rather than a huge house majority just coming for me. Your pitch involves going to Frenchie and Brent, saying you would be loyal to them if you stayed and serve as a shield for them. What made you decide to pitch specifically to them, and with that argument? I went to Frenchie because he had and has, in my opinion, the most sway in the house right. Everyone sees him as this father figure. He’s the oldest one in the house. When he talks, everyone leans in and listens carefully to what he has to say. And everyone wanted to respect the first Head of Household in the game, not putting any targets on their back by not abiding by that. And I had Brent there to confirm some of the information that I was giving. For example, the point I made about Xavier blatantly telling me that he was obsessed with a girl in the house. He told me that next to Brent, so I wanted Brent to confirm that so there wasn’t any question about me being dishonest. I also needed four votes to stay. And I thought Brent was the powerhouse of his team. If I got him on my side, I would be able to get the votes of his team when he went back to them and told them, “Hey, Travis made some really good points. I’m gonna vote for him.” I think that would have flipped his whole team just having talked to him. If you survived eviction and won Head of Household, would you have kept your word and been loyal to Frenchie and Brent? I would have had complete and utter loyalty to uphold my word. Frenchie and Brent would have been totally safe, and more so than that, I would have been gunning to work with them and form some sort of alliance with them. Let’s talk about the veto. You were picked to play by Kyland, and you said if you won, you would take him off the block. What was your reasoning behind that? It was the fact that he’s on my team; he is 25% of my safety. If he wins Head of Household, then the entire Queens team would be safe. I also made a personal bond with the guy. I think he’s fantastic, and we have a rock-solid relationship on a personal level. And I think it’s what Frenchie initially wanted when Ky was put up there in the first place, to be a placeholder there for a “bigger fish.” And it would have given me safety regardless, so it was a win-win. After Derek X. won the veto, you knew there was a chance you would possibly be going up if he used it. Do you regret not pressuring him more to not use the veto? I was totally aware that was a prospect. It didn’t become an imminent, legitimate threat, though, until the night before. I think we stayed up till 4:30 or 5:00 a.m. trying to work through Who else could be put up as a replacement. And my pitch the entire time in that conversation was, “My man, I will be put up it and most likely go home in that event.” Frenchie confirmed that Ky would have had the votes to stay unanimously. So I thought, “It’s a more sure thing that Kyland will stay if he’s there; it’s a lesser thing that I will still be here if I get put up.” And unfortunately, that wasn’t enough. And your boy got thrown up there. Brent claimed in his goodbye message that you were the victim of the “Slaughterhouse” alliance. What’s your reaction to that? Such is the nature of the beast! I got royally played. I had no clue that such a confirmed cemented alliance was already in the house. I think a lot of the people next to me had no clue, or they absolutely played me like a fiddle and didn’t want me to be a part of it. But either way, it’s a testament to me being utterly oblivious or the rock-solid sneaky skills of my fellow houseguests. Finally, we’re going to do some rapid-fire thoughts in the style of my Survivor colleague Gordon Holmes. I’ll give a name of one of your fellow houseguests, and you give me a couple of words to describe them. Let’s start with Alyssa. Charming, pretty girl, a go-getter.Azah. Goddess, powerful, incredible.Brent. Powerhouse, big competitor, macho man.Britini. I don’t know much about Brit, to be honest. Goofy, sweet, and a great competitor.Christian. A more handsome version of me. (Laughs.) Ocean eyes. I gotta call him beautiful. Also, a hell of a competitor.Claire. Claire has to be the funniest and most candid person in the house. And I think she’s sliding under the radar just the right amount.Derek F. Big D! Big funny, big handsome. Not very big game, though. I think he’s trying to employ the same thing X is and say, “I’m not doing much game talk. I’m sliding under the radar, not doing much.“Derek X. My true showmance! Wicked hilarious, witty, intellectual. Poor guy can’t keep his mouth shut, though.Frenchie. Disingenuous but kind-hearted. Right now, I would say the godfather of the house.Hannah. Little sneaky sneak. Has some spice about her. The smartest player in terms of memorization and fandom knowledge.Kyland. Massage-giver, the best set of teeth I’ve ever seen. The best player in the game, with his social skills and ability to get out of situations.Sarah Beth. She’s a unique one. She seems like a bubbly wholesome girl to everyone. But I think she’s hiding something big, and I see right through it. I don’t let her precious personality phase me in the slightest. I think some big secret’s going to come out about her.Tiffany. Biggest personality, absolute superfan, which could be spooky to compete against. World’s best mommy and baddest BB bitch.Whitney. Very, very average player in the game. I think she’s just jumping around to the whims of others. She’s got a charming America’s sweetheart thing going on. I don’t think she’ll ever have a unique strategy of her own. She’ll always bounce around to the strategies and desires of others.Finally, Xavier. X thinks he’s a sly guy. I also think he has some big secret about him. Something’s off, and it smells stinky. He’s the most male model-esque person I’ve ever been next to. He’s also playing under the radar. Next, check out our preseason interview with Big Brother 23 Executive Producers Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan.
