It’s often been said that targets change every minute in the game of Big Brother, especially its faster-paced celebrity edition. But on occasion, that target can shift right back to where it started, even if someone thought they officially evaded the line of fire. That was the case for Teddi Mellencamp this past week. It was a tumultuous ten days for the TV personality, as she was the victim of the first betrayal of the season from Head of Household Miesha Tate. The MMA fighter had eyes on Teddi from the first night, noticing how well-balanced she was both literally in the HoH competition and metaphorically. When she hatched a plan to backdoor the real housewife, skater Mirai Nagasu tipped Teddi off. Scrambling, she made a deal with Miesha, which protected her from initial nomination. But when nominee Carson Kressley won the veto, Miesha kept her focus on the increasingly visible trio of him, Teddi, and her fellow housewife Cynthia Bailey. And so Miesha went back on her deal, putting Teddi down for the count. She was granted a momentary possibility of safety when noted designed Mon Won unleashed his stylistic fury on Todd Bridges, putting him next to her on the block. But Todd had the votes in the bag (or hat). Despite a close vote count and a plea to not let her go out through a backdoor, Teddi’s game had crashed like a poorly-planned diet. Now out of the house, Teddi talks with Parade.com about her reaction to Miesha nominating her, why she became suspicious of Todrick betraying their “Formation” alliance, and some candid thoughts on the remaining houseguests. So last night, there was a theoretical chance of you surviving with this Mon Won curse that put Todd on the block next to you. Did you think your chances were better when he ended up sitting next to you than Mirai? Oh, I knew once Todd sat down, I was going to be out. It was the same alliance. I knew nothing would shift. Except for the fact that I think I could have had Lamar if Mirai stayed on the block with me. I think I had turned Lamar. I don’t know if you guys saw this, but I made a deal with Lamar. No! Tell us more about it. I made a deal with Lamar that if I won Head of Household, I would give him the suite. So he was so excited about that. Because he’s so tall that he wasn’t fitting on the beds. So I was like, “Listen, I know you love your private bathroom time. You can have my suite if I win Head of Household.” And we had been playing games the entire time. We were playing spades. We were playing cornhole. And I was winning. So I know he knew I was a true competitor. I think I could have gotten him. Your eviction speech talked about never pretending not to want to be in the house and how the houseguests should give you a fighting chance rather than have you go out in a backdoor. Was that targeted to get anyone’s vote? Well, during the commercial break, Todd’s like, “Guys, do what you’ve got to do. I don’t care about being here. I’m fine, blah, blah, blah.” So I mean, it was directed at Todd. And he got frustrated! He was like, “Why did you throw me under the bus?!” And I was like, “Well, because you’ve been saying you don’t want to be here.” I don’t play that kind of game. I want to be here. I want to fight. And if you don’t care, then go home. Speaking of that fight, we saw you give an emotional plea to Miesha when she said she might end up putting you up after all. Was that trying to pull at her heartstrings, or were you legitimately feeling upset during all that? I wish I didn’t do that. Maybe my only regret is that I got emotional. Because it wasn’t even that I was getting kicked out of the game. It’s that I truly trusted her as a competitor and somebody I respected. And I thought she had a personal connection with me. We talked about being moms and how we wanted our kids to see us succeed in this and play with integrity. And then for her to have zero integrity and not keep her word, my heart broke for a second. I recovered, but my heart broke. Throughout the week, there were moments where Miesha was giving you non-answers, which I imagine didn’t make you feel great. Did that give you a sense that she would end up going back on the deal you made? I, of course, felt sketched out at that moment. But we made our deal after all those things happened. I had already been told by Mirai that I was going to be backdoored. So that’s when I went and made a deal with Misha. So before that, I knew I was an immediate target to be shot. But some of those people were going and ringing her doorbell and pretty much kissing her butt. Unbelievable. And I was like, “I’ll play a strong game. But honey, I’m not meal-prepping for you. I’m already doing your dishes!” We’re all on the same level here. I refuse to do that level. And I think she took that Head of Household seriously. We saw you had theorized that Todrick was the one to turn on your alliance in favor of Miesha. And when the live feeds came on Thursday night, one of the first things we saw was you confront him about all of his alliances. What made you believe he was double-dipping? The part that was frustrating to me in regards to Todrick was we were in beds next to each other. He would hold my hand at night and be like, “We’re gonna do this.” He was just such a pal. But I started to see him flip. He was manipulating everyone. He was like, “Oh my gosh, I have such a target on my back because I’m close with Cynthia.” I’m like, “No one thinks that!” (Laughs.) Not one person in this House thinks you’re a target because you’re friends with Cynthia. He was consistently manipulating everybody. He was telling everybody how important it was for him to win because he financially needed it. But then he would say, “Oh, I was considering buying a $250,000 costume.” And I’m like, “Cool…” (Laughs.) I’m not the brightest bulb on the tree. But you’re not struggling financially if you’re going to buy a $250,000 costume. You were close with Cynthia and Carson by the end of your time in the house. What made you three gel so well together? Well, I don’t know if it was shown, but Shanna was just as close to us. The four of us were so close in the house. So it was a little bit of a shocker that she ended up not voting for me. But I know she did what she had to do. But we were not hiding our alliance. Did you have a natural connection with Cynthia based on the Real Housewives of it all? I mean, going into the house, I didn’t know what to think in regards to Cynthia. I had watched Housewives and Girls Trip and I was like, “Eh…” But Cynthia is so beyond lovely. She is so kind and fun. I thought she was going to take herself really seriously in watching Girls Trip. But she can laugh at herself. I have so much respect for her. Without Carson, Shanna, and Cynthia, I don’t know that I would have made it in that house. They made the experience for me. If Miesha went through with your deal and didn’t nominate you, and then you won HoH the next week, who would you have gone after? Oh, Todrick. I don’t know if they showed this. But Todrick went to Carson and told him, “Because of our history and us both being together, I’m going to fight for you.” And once I realized he turned on Carson, I was like, “He will turn on anyone.” Because they were friends prior to the show. And I was warned prior. I read on Twitter that he would be on there, and one of my friends who knows him warned me. I was like, “Oh, this guy plays dirty.” Let’s finish with some rapid-fire thoughts on the remaining houseguests. Give me a few words to describe everyone left in the house. Starting with Carson. Hilarious.Chris Kattan. Kind.Chris Kirkpatrick. A game player.Cynthia. So much heart.Lamar. He’s funny! And I think he will actually be a competitor in this game. He’s disarming everybody by acting like he doesn’t really care.Miesha. (Pause.) She’s out for me. (Laughs.)Mirai. (Exhales.) A good actress. She should get an Emmy!Shanna. I think Shanna will go far in the house. She’s going to get Lamar and Todd to come to her side.Todd. It’s the Todd show 24/7. It’s a hard one to stomach.And finally, Todrick. (Sighs.) Todrick…untrustworthy. Next, check out Celebrity Big Brother 3 host Julie Chen Moonves’ preseason thoughts about the cast.
