'Big Brother 24's' Brittany Hoopes Talks Knowing She Couldn't Win and Calls Taylor a "Lifelong Friend"

The 32-year-old hypnotherapist also gives her perspective behind outing Kyle's BIPOC alliance comments and her reaction to Michael throwing her under the bus.

Big Brother's house is open once more! Every week, Parade.com's Mike Bloom will be bringing you interviews with this season's houseguests as they get evicted from the game.

In a game like Big Brother, you can blink your eyes and go from the outs to the inner circle of the house and back again. That indeed happened behind the zingable eyes of Brittany Hoopes. The hypnotherapist found herself on the backstage backfoot immediately, only to eventually get brought into one of the most major alliances of the season. But she didn't rest on her laurels, constantly making deals to secure her safety. Unfortunately, that wheeling and dealing did not play well for Monte Taylor, who did not feel secure in her loyalty to take her to finale night.

Hoopes was thrown for a loop when she was put "backstage" by Joe "Pooch" Pucciarelli, making her ineligible to compete or vote. She, unfortunately, failed to make social inroads early on, save a critical relationship with fellow outsider Michael Bruner. But Brittany also made a costly error in telling Pooch that the women were coming for him, the first of many not-so-clean moves she would make in the game. She soon got into the "Leftovers" counteralliance, which proceeded to run the house for the next month. Now in a position of safety, she used the opportunity to get closer with Taylor Hale. Simultaneously, her closest ally Michael continued to steamroll in competitions. And not only did that have Brittany doubting her strategy of going to the end with him, but it also made her worried that she could be targeted in the event Michael would be safe.

So Brittany put in the work. She began making deals outside her main duo, namely a women's alliance and a Final Two deal with Matthew Turner. Unfortunately, the transparency made the moves hurt her more than help. And that hurt bore out emotionally on double eviction night when a desperate Michael threw her under the bus in his speech to affirm his loyalty to the rest of the house. In an instant, he was gone, and she felt flummoxed and vulnerable. After winning a crucial veto at the Final Five, Brittany tried to make another big move, trying to convince Turner to throw a sympathy vote to his friend Alyssa Snider so they could vote Taylor out instead. But when Turner chose not to do that, she was sent into scramble mode to recover her relationships. Despite getting so close to winning both HoH and veto, Brittany hoped Monte would want to keep her as less of a jury threat than Turner. But ultimately, Monte felt more solid in his relationship with Turner, ending Brittany's chaotic 79 days in the house.

On her way to the jury house, Brittany talks with Parade.com about how an epiphany about her winning odds affected the way she played, her reaction to Michael throwing her under the bus, and how she looks back on her and Michael's choice to out Kyle's suspicions of a BIPOC alliance when her back was against the wall.

Related: Everything to Know About Big Brother 24 (Including Who's Been Evicted)

In the middle of the game, you vocalized that you didn't think you were able to win if you had made it to the end. How did you come to that conclusion, and how did that mentality inform how you played the rest of your season after that?
There are a couple of things at play. I fully intended on going to the end with Michael. And we all know that Michael is a comp beast and an iconic BB player already. So I knew if I was going to go to the Final Two with him, I would most likely get second at the very least. I feel like, as part of the Leftovers, I was very happy to be part of that alliance that ruled the season. But I realized that I got blood on my hands in terms of jury management, especially with the girls. So I knew by being a part of that alliance and doing what I needed to do to be a part of that alliance, that my relationships, especially compared to other people in the alliance, were probably most in jeopardy.

A few weeks ago, you revealed Kyle's suspicions about an alliance between the BIPOC houseguests to get him nominated. And while it accomplished that goal, you did get pushback on sitting on that information for a couple of weeks. How do you look back on your choice and the situation that unfolded?
When it came to Kyle, I just absolutely wanted to make sure that the facts were correct. It was an impossible situation to be in. And the only thing that would be any worse than the actual situation was if I was going to spread any sort of misinformation. I wanted to make sure that I didn't mishear what Kyle was saying, that I didn't misunderstand what he was saying, and to do my due diligence. Then, of course, you have the twists like Dyre Fest that pops up. And I just wanted to be absolutely confident before I brought this to the house.

In his eviction speech, Michael said that you had leaked information and had made various deals, which obviously shocked you. How did it feel to see your closest ally do that to you, and how did you try to rally after having your game called out?
I was definitely shocked. A lot of those conversations--pretty much all those conversations--that I had were to further Michael and I's game. It was kind of a strategy that we had. I would go in, and I would say, "I'm okay with Michael leaving," just to get some more information. And I would bring that information directly back to Michael so he could know where people's heads were at so we could both move forward together.

So it shocked me that he was bringing this up because he was well aware of it, especially from me. I also didn't ever think when we were on the block together that he would say anything to throw my game under the bus. I thought he understood his placement in the house. There was nothing he could say or do that would keep him from going home, should he ever find himself on the block. So that was surprising to me. And it definitely hurt. He definitely shared a lot of things that I trusted him with and confidence. And I am excited to have the opportunity to ask him some questions about that and just clear the air.

Last week, you tried to orchestrate evicting Taylor over Alyssa, only for Turner to force the tie. And this past week, you denied being the Taylor vote, only to tell her hours before you were evicted. How do you look back on your effort to keep Alyssa, and what made you decide to come clean to Taylor about the vote?
So in terms of keeping Alyssa, it was kind of hard, to tell you the truth. I didn't really think that it would go through; I knew there was a chance. And if there was a chance that Taylor would go, she is a strong competitor. And I knew competing in that next stage--which I lost in that tiebreaker against Taylor--I'd have a better chance of winning than should I be competing against Alyssa. I also knew that Turner was probably going to evict Alyssa anyway.

So mostly, I wanted to just create a little suspicion on the flip vote, thinking the next week, if Taylor is still there, maybe Taylor and Monte might have a little suspicion with Turner. I also just wanted to put Monte in the position where he'd have to break the tie. If he's going to make those kinds of decisions, he should have to get a little bit of blood on his hands. I'm not going to do all his work for him. So I knew I was the target. I couldn't be any more targeted than I already was. So might as well shake things up. As far as telling Taylor, I definitely wanted to let her know and clear the air. I consider her a lifelong friend. And I knew she would understand, given the position that I was in.

To finish, let's get your rapid-fire thoughts on the remaining houseguest. Starting with Monte.
Set in his ways.
Taylor.
Lifelong friends.
Finally, Turner.
With peace and love, loose lips.

Next, check out our interview with Alyssa Snider, who was evicted in Big Brother 24 Week 10.