Rachel Reilly breaks silence on shocking ‘Big Brother’ exit: ‘I never expected for my game to come down to that’
Rachel Reilly, the self-proclaimed BB Queen, is still processing her stunning exit from Big Brother 27. “I never expected to be eliminated from Big Brother without receiving a single vote — or even being nominated,” she tells Gold Derby after Tuesday night’s historic episode.
In an unprecedented White Locust twist, houseguests were forced to fight for their lives by completing the “Mastermind’s Maniacal Maze.” The first player selected had six-and-a-half minutes to finish the maze. If successful, they could choose the next player — but that person would have one less minute than the player before them.
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The first houseguest to fail would automatically be “sacrificed” to the Mastermind and eliminated on the spot. After Vince Panaro, Lauren Domingue, and Morgan Pope all completed the maze, Rachel stepped up — but couldn’t maneuver the ball quickly enough. Just like that, the queen was dethroned without ever touching the block this season.
“The twist this season got twisty,” Reilly says. “I wish I would have had a little more time in the game to talk my way out or use the ‘Rachel Reilly charm.’ You have to always expect the unexpected in Big Brother. I wasn’t able to save myself when my back was up against the wall. I have no one to blame but myself for not winning that competition — but I never expected for my game to come down to that.”
The stunning elimination provoked immediate backlash among show fans. CBS has yet to respond to Gold Derby’s request for comment on the outsized reaction, but the topic is sure to come up when Reilly sits down with Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves on Thursday’s live episode.
When Reilly entered the BB27 house, she hoped to show a new side of her gameplay after her runs on BB12 and BB13 — the latter of which she won.
“I wanted to play a strong, strategic, and social game,” she explains. “I wanted to show the fans and the Big Brother community that I had evolved as a player. From being a fan, to a Big Brother winner, I wanted to come back into the game and play flawlessly. It is very hard to play a flawless Big Brother game.”
The BB legend admits she has regrets but feels proud of her effort. “It’s such a different game from when I played 15 years ago. Big Brother has evolved as a game. The players have evolved. It’s a totally different Big Brother than what we watched 15 years ago. At the end of the day, I think I played a good game. I was able to adapt and evolve when I needed to. I was able to strategically form relationships and alliances — to work with people that I didn’t always get along with. I hope everyone enjoyed watching it.”
Despite her elimination, Rachel believes she could have gone all the way. “I saw myself winning Big Brother 27,” she says. “Since I’m not in the game the biggest target is now Keanu Soto, just because he’s such a competitive player. I don’t think his social game was where it needed to be, but he was obviously forming relationships and doing what he needed to do. He might be able to pull out a win. I don’t know that he will be in the final two chairs, but he’s playing a game that could win. Socially, he’s messy — but he’s the biggest target. If the biggest target makes it to the end, they’re probably going to win the game.”
Looking back, Rachel says her dream final two scenario involved Ashley Hollis.
“Not only because I think I could have beaten her, but because we had such a great relationship,” she says. “We were in an alliance from Week 1. She was my friend in the game. I would have loved to sit next to her. I think that the jury would have voted for me to win and I would have loved to have a friend sitting next to me.”
