Lisette M. Azar/CBS
THR caught up with this season's eighth evicted houseguest to discuss the "huge target" on her back and her showmance with Shane.
There's less than two weeks until the first ever Big Brother: Over the Top winner is crowned. Will it be Jason, Shelby, Morgan, Justin or Kryssie walking away with the $250,000?
The answer to that will be up to America, who in fact might be the most bitter jury yet. One person who won't be bitter is BBOTT's eighth evictee, Danielle.
She tells THR, "I'm a Big Brother fan and I usually root for the person who played a really good game even if I didn't like them personally. If it wasn't Jason [in the final three], game-wise, I would definitely say Shelby."
The single mom from California opened up to THR about her showmance with Shane, playing the game again and much more.
Who was your favorite sister: Alex or Morgan?
Morgan because she just seemed a lot more personable than Alex. Morgan played it off well. We were all suspicious about Alex that she was hiding something because she wouldn't reveal anything to us. Morgan was more fun and definitely the easiest to talk to out of the two.
Looking back, were there instances where it may have been obvious that they are sisters?
I was thinking about that last night. I remember seeing Alex and Morgan interact in the bathroom and how Alex would just go into Morgan's things and take stuff and use it. I would always be like, "That's really weird that she doesn't even ask because all of the other girls ask." [And] Alex's HoH -- how her letter from her mom was all about a cat! And then how all her pictures were of herself I thought that was weird. But all of the girls were really close so that made it easier for them to play it off.
What else have you been thinking about? Are you thinking about Shane? Are you playing the "what if" game?
Jason told me not to play the "what if" game because you can go back to week one and say, "Well, what if I won the veto instead of Jason? Or what if we sent Kryssie home instead of Cornbread?" One little thing could alter the entire game so everything happens for a reason. I believe in that. I played a really strong game and I'm not trying to look back and say, "Well, what if this happened? What if I did this?" Being friends with someone who has already done this before, he prepared me for that because he said that you do that often. I've thought about Shane, but that's not a secret! I thought about Shane the entire time I was in the house. I talked about him often! (Laughs.) I'm looking forward to getting in contact with him.
Before you entered the game, you told me you wanted a showmance like Jeff and Jordan's. How does your showmance with Shane compare to past showmances on the show?
My showmance started very quickly, pretty much day two. Shane is so pretty you just can't help it! I said I wanted to keep it PG, but when you're in the house so infatuated with someone it's hard to not be physical [and] have that physical attraction with them and that chemistry. I felt like we were put on Big Brother to meet each other. I know that sounds cliche and weird, but it's true!
He's patiently waiting to talk to you. He's been actively tweeting. I won't tell you what he's said because I want you to see it, but what do you want to tell him right now? When do you plan on seeing him?
I want to tell him I miss him so much! I can't wait to see him. Every day in the house was a constant reminder of him. There's so many things that he left behind that made me think about him everyday. I can't wait to see him. I probably won't see him until finale, but it's only two weeks away. We want to go to Tahoe and go snowboarding for my birthday so I'm very excited to see him. And I'm happy he's excited to see me because I was very scared he'd say, "Danielle's annoying" and not want to see me.
Have you been able to talk to your family and son yet?
I haven't! I haven't talked to anybody yet. I'm really anxious for today to go home and see my family, especially my son. I missed him more than I could ever have imagined.
Who do you think has had the toughest road in the house?
I would say that I had a really tough road in the house. I was targeted very early, very strongly, very aggressively. I got really close with a lot of people. When Shane left that was probably one of the hardest weeks for me in the house, not just because I had my veto punishment, I was America's nominee and a have-not. I felt like no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the other side of the house to like me at all. They wrote me off day one! It was difficult. I couldn't play the game with them. They wouldn't even stay in the room long enough to speak to me. They ignored me. That was really difficult to have such a huge target on my back so soon and not be able to convince the other side of the house to work with me and protect me because they were all just in one ear and out the other whenever I would say anything.
At one point in Shelby's live diary room sessions, she said she really wanted to work with you.
I'm very shocked by that! When I hugged her goodbye she did say that she hoped Big Brother brought me back. I think we do have a mutual respect for each other, but it's a shame we didn't get to work together cause that would have been a really, really good game move. I gave her the opportunity and she didn't want to take it!
Why didn't you get along with the girls on the other side of the house?
I just don't think I had a lot in common with them. I'm not afraid to be myself in any environment and a lot of those girls held back a lot. It's hard to get to know someone when you don't know all of them. I have a strong personality and it takes a special person to appreciate me. I clicked better with the other side of the house. We had more in common. We had the same sense of humor. I've always had trouble getting along with girls and I knew that it would be no different in the Big Brother house.
Was there anything you said about them that you regret?
(Laughs.) You always say things in the moment! Even in real life you say things then look back and are like, "Ugh! Shouldn't have said that!" I can't think of anything specifically, but I'm sure once I watch it back I'll be like, "Oh gosh, Danielle, why were you saying that?" There's no denying that my crew was definitely petty! We always had very interesting, different conversations. I hope when the girls watch it back they don't taking anything to heart.
As a fan of the show, you know some players have a lot of fans and others have people who dislike them. Do you think you have a lot of fans or a lot of people that hate you? And then I'll tell you what the truth is.
(Laughs.) OK, I'm kind of scared of the truth! I think a lot of people don't like me. But that's just because America has a say in the game and things didn't go in my favor. So if I had to guess, I would guess that people are not too fond of me.
You have a lot of fans on Twitter.
Oh, awesome! (Laughs.)
There are plenty of gifs and memes made about you.
Oh, God!
Before you were evicted there was a hash tag made called #DanielleMemory where fans shared their favorite memory about you.
Aw, that's so great!
There was one photo tweeted from the swimsuit photo shoot where you were posing for the camera and the other girls were grilling you which alluded to them being jealous of you. Janelle Pierzina from season six, seven and 14 even shared it and said, "This is sooo funny!"
(Laughs.) That is so great! I cannot wait to see that.
So you do have fans.
Yay! I'm glad.
Most of your fellow houseguests including your alliance members said you were the toughest person to live with. Why do you think they said that?
I talked a lot in the house! And I told a lot of stories. They were very detailed, I was very opinionated and the other side of the house thought I thought it was all about me which is so funny because I'm a very selfless person at heart. When you're in the house and there's nothing to do I can't sit in silence! I have a loud talkative family. I have a toddler. I'm not used to quiet! So it was hard to just sit in silence so I would just keep talking. I would say that's probably why they think I'm difficult to live with.
Which BBOTT houseguest would do the best on a regular season of Big Brother?
I would say myself, but now everyone thinks I do talk about myself a lot! But I would have been really great on the regular season. The competitions for BBOTT were a lot different than the typical competitions you see on a regular season of Big Brother and I think I would do really well in those competitions. If I went back a second time around, I would definitely talk a lot less. (Laughs.) Shelby would probably do really well on a regular season [too]. She's very smart and flew under the radar for a while and came out whenever she needed to, guns blazing. I respect that about her.
You think she's a waitress, right?
That's what she said, but I had my doubts! Because she said she has really weak wrists! How are you a waitress if you have weak wrists? She's definitely very intelligent so I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't her actual occupation.
She just finished law school and is about to be a lawyer.
Oh wow! I'm not surprised! She said she wanted to use the money for school and I was like, "I would be very interested to see what she wanted to go to school for." She seemed very interested in politics. I was like, "Who has a favorite Supreme Court Justice? I don't even know the names of them!" Right when we found out Donald Trump was elected, her reaction was the biggest. She knew a lot about court cases. More power to her! She played a great game. She was very smart. I mean she got classical music in her HoH! (Laughs.)
Do you remember her diary room leaked in the house? What did you hear because she talked about taking the LSATs in the audio leak, but I don't think anyone heard.
It was so brief! We didn't know who it was at first and we realized she was talking about the HoH comp and who it was so we totally missed that. I just remember she was very upset! She went into [the diary room] and complained. Now looking back on it, I understand why. But I really don't think anyone caught onto that. Everyone will be very surprised to hear that she's a lawyer.
Besides Jason, who has your vote to win the game?
It's so difficult because I adore Kryssie and for personal reasons I would vote for Kryssie to win...
No!
(Laughs.) Just because she's my friend, but to be honest I'm not only a Big Brother player, I'm a Big Brother fan and I usually root for the person who played a really good game even if I didn't like them personally. If it wasn't Jason, game-wise, I would definitely say Shelby. She played a really good game. She listened a lot and struck when she needed to. That girl is very smart! Obviously now I know she's practically a lawyer, but I definitely respect her gameplay. Her and I both emerged around the same time as big powerhouses in the house. I want Jason to win, but if it's not him then I would definitely vote for Shelby!
With that, if he's not in the final three will you urge your fans to vote for Shelby? We might have the most bitter jury yet with America voting.
If Jason's not in the final three I will definitely tell people to vote for Shelby! This is a game! There's no hard feelings towards Shelby, more power to her! I will definitely tell my fans to vote for Shelby because she played one hell of a game. That's what it's about. You have to respect a good game player.
Do you want to see Danielle play the game again? Does Shelby have your vote to win the game? Take THR's poll here. Shelby currently leads the poll. Sound off about your pick to win the game in the comments section below and stay tuned to The Live Feed for all things Big Brother.
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