Rachel Evans is certainly one-of-a-kind, an accordion-playing, witch-oil-throwing paranormal researcher. And she used that uniqueness to play a one-of-a-kind game within The Circle. Her entrance to the show came with unfortunate timing, as she was immediately accused of being a catfish for lurking Spice Girls. But she recovered and got to show her true self, which gave her close and important bonds with Frank Grimsley, Yu Ling Wu, and “Nathan” AKA Alex Brizard, who all appreciated her open heart and blunt nature. Her connections got her to the finale, where her gameplay of speaking from the heart and playing from her gut got her to fourth place. Read on to hear Rachel’s thoughts on her time in the game. And check out Parade.com throughout The Circle season 4 with the various players and catfishes alike. What made you decide to enter The Circle? Well, you know, I’m getting older. (Laughs.) First of all, I’m a fan of this show. As far as reality shows go, it feels inclusive. There’s a lot of opportunity for maybe people like me, which I don’t necessarily see on other reality shows. My platform post-Circle is: Let fat people on dating shows! But I really do love The Circle. And when the opportunity came up, I just kept saying yes until I found myself there. It’s such a crazy experience I’ll never have again. Did you contemplate going in as a catfish? I commend people like Trevor and John so much. That experience is so trying, even as yourself. I couldn’t imagine catfishing. I’ve got so many little gimmicks. I have such a weird collection of experiences and perspectives that I would find it hard to be somebody else. So yeah, I didn’t really didn’t consider it. I was just me or bust. (Laughs.) You work in social media, doing production for Smosh. How many of those skills from your job help you in The Circle? 0%. I’m very good at my job. And I would love to say that that helped me. But when you are in it, you are the most raw version of yourself. I mean, I know that people do it because I’ve seen people do it. And I know it’s possible. But nothing that I know here at Smosh could have begun to prepare me for what that experience was going to be like. And I have a little bit of a hard time with my own personal social media. I can speak for a brand because that’s just like putting on your brand suit. But if I’m doing it for myself. I’m like, “No, no! Take it if you want.” (Laughs.) You were not part of the original group to start the season. How did coming in late affect the way you perceived people and the season overall? Watching the first few episodes without me in it was illuminating. I tend to be a little solipsistic in that the only thing that exists is what’s directly in front of me. I had no pop-up object permanence. I just walked in, and I was like, “Here are my thoughts.” And I did find it difficult. It was stressful. I knew that people had already developed bonds. And I’m not a small talk person. I’ve seen so many conversations of people just like goofing around. And I’ll open up a conversation and be like, “Would you like to trauma dump with me?” (Laughs.) So I immediately was like, “Well, I just need them to see my whole heart. Or else nobody’s going to know me.” It was stressful. But I don’t think that it changed how I interacted with people. Because I’m needy like that. (Laughs.) You spoke very openly throughout the season about how you weren’t playing very strategically, just going with your gut with each decision. Did it surprise you that you weren’t able to get into the gameplay? That was always the plan. I, of course, wanted to win, like everyone wants to win a thing that they’re involved in. But it was so much more important to me to be true to who I am. I wanted the right person to win. And if that was me, then fantastic. But I can’t take the notes. I can’t make plans. I’m just experiencing it. If you start to be strategic, that’s where lies start to happen; that’s where deception starts to happen. And I’m not one to keep up with my own lies. So if I had started to try to play strategically, I would have played myself. That being said, you were part of the “Inner Trust Circle” alliance with Frank and Yu Ling. How did that all end up coming together? First of all, I very publicly would like to say that I’m in love with them. (Laughs.) They are just the best people in the entire world. Yu Ling has become like my best friend. I love her dearly. And Frank is just poppin’! He’s doing his thing. But I knew pretty immediately simply from vibes. I don’t love to judge people based on two pictures and a bio. It’s why I don’t have a Tinder. But in Frank’s profile, he talks about body positivity. That’s something that’s really important to me. I think I could just feel how genuine they were. And immediately, I was so drawn to them. And I was like, “I know I’m supposed to, go in there and be like, ‘I’m gonna win.’ But immediately, I’m rooting for y’all.” Your relationship with Alex, AKA Nathan, is more eventful. You come onto the show together, then he ends up throwing you under the bus to others, thinking you’re catfishing as the Spice Girls. Then after that, he swore his loyalty to you, and you crucially saved him in the antivirus safety chain. What were your feelings towards him? I was so excited to move in there with somebody. I was like, “This is my dude. We will be in this together. And I don’t care if you’re a 20-year-old frat bro. I can get along with you. I got no problems with that.” But he definitely made a weird choice in being like, “I’m coming for you.” But I am so easy. You say one nice thing to me, and I’m like, “Are we married?” (Laughs.) And I do think it takes a big person to apologize and say, “Hey, that was messed up. I’m sorry I did that.” And also, he called me a Spice Girl. How could I ever be mad at somebody for a prolonged period of time for thinking I’m a Spice Girl? (Laughs.) Alex is genuinely one of the sweetest people on this planet. So I don’t regret how our relationship ended up happening. But I feel like everybody on this season has a moment where they make a choice. And that was my moment. Let’s talk about that Spice Girls stuff. How tough was it to hear at the beginning of the game that so many people thought you were a catfish? I didn’t receive it that way. Yes, objectively, that is true. It’s tough to be perceived in a way that you’re not. I know that they called me a “fake fan,” and we will have words later, Mel B. and Emma. But I’m sorry I was six years old when that video came out! But I was so jazzed that anybody thought I was a Spice Girl. And the thing is, it pretty immediately came to pass that I wasn’t. So it wasn’t something that I had to keep defending, which was nice. And I also think that it proved a lot of people wrong, which kind of switched the conversation off of me. What were your final ratings between the other four finalists? (Sighs.) So, besides getting my Spice Girls question wrong, this is the other thing that has kept me up at night. Yu Ling has come to L.A. to stay with me multiple times. We’re really good friends. And there was one time where I sat her down, and I was like, “I have to tell you something.” I rated Frank first, and that was always a given for me. And then I voted Imani second. And I voted Yu Ling third. Genuinely, I called that on an audible. Yu Ling was in all of these different groups that I knew loved her. I knew that she saved me, so I was never going to sabotage her in any way. That was never my intention. But I just wasn’t sure how she was playing the game. There are so many uncertainties, and I’d had these conversations with Imani where I just felt like, “I love this person.” There’s also an aspect to Imani being older and having nieces, having this life that she could use the money to support her family. I just hadn’t gotten that from Yu Ling. Yu Ling is nothing but personality, and all of that comes across in her messages. But I needed to understand more, what’s deeper in her heart. It’s cheap to say, but Imani also called me her “little sis.” And I have a big sister who lives in Australia, so I miss her a lot. I got played, but I can’t be mad about it because I freaking love Trevor. He’s one of my favorite people. So it was Frank, Imani, Yu Ling, and then Eversen because we had literally never spoken ever. Was there anything you learned about yourself while playing in The Circle? I’m literally this close to crying. (Laughs.) I’m always crying. I started the final table by saying, “I have a really hard time making friends. For what it’s worth, I didn’t have a hard time this time.” I have thought about that at least once a month. And that’s genuinely the truth. I also think it’s really validating that there’s a lot of discourse, especially in my job, about the value or the detriment of social media. And this really shows you that you can connect with people on a deep level, having never met them. We have only really experienced each other through this platform. And we’re so close; we’re like a family. All of us are on this group chat together; we communicate every single day. I just feel so very grateful to have had this experience with the people that I have done it with. Next, check out our interview with Yu Ling Wu, the third-place finisher of The Circle season 4.
