Jared Fields on his “Big Brother” exit: 'A big part of my downfall was myself'

Dalton Ross
·11 min read
17

After he was voted out in a live double eviction episode, Jared Fields thought his Big Brother game was over. But a new zombie twist gave Jared a second life — allowing him and Cameron Hardin to reenter the house and compete to stay. However, Jared's time back was short-lived.  After he lost the Resurrection Rumble, all Jared could do was watch as Cameron successfully navigated the Do or Die competition, meaning the self-proclaimed space cowboy got to remain, while the 25-year-old exterminator from Norwalk, Conn., once again had to walk out the front door.

What does Jared have to say about his game? What does he make of his big fight with Cory? Is he still upset at Blue for not clueing him in that he was the target? And what was it like being in the house with his mom (Survivor legend Cirie Fields). We spoke with Jared the morning after his televised ouster and asked him all that and more. (You can watch the entire interview above or read it below.)

Big Brother
Big Brother

CBS Jared Fields on 'Big Brother' season 25

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You were super emotional when you sat down to talk with Julie after your second time walking out of the house. The tears were flowing. What was going on there?

JARED FIELDS: Just walking into that house was a new experience for me, and obviously leaving the house wasn't so new. It was my second time doing it. I'm not sure if anybody pulled that off, but walking out for the second time, it was just bittersweet. You leave the house, you figure that it's all over for you. And more than anything, just knowing that I'm leaving my mom behind really, really just got to me.

Let's go back into the big blow-up with Cory. As that was happening and other people were talking and putting things together, could you feel your game slipping away?

Oh, for sure. I knew that almost immediately after that, if I wasn't to win the next comp, I would've been out the door that week regardless. I knew from that conversation on, my game was going to be an uphill battle. But it's what I prepared myself for. I honestly was happy that it started later in the game rather than earlier. I felt like I had a decent road moving up until that point and then after, at that point, the game is really on now because one slip up and I knew I was out the door.

Jared Fields on 'Big Brother' season 25
Jared Fields on 'Big Brother' season 25

CBS Jared Fields on 'Big Brother' season 25

So the game starts to unravel a little bit at that point because other people are starting to put things together now. You get voted out, and you get back in the house. What was your plan if you had stayed? Let's just play it out and say Cameron can't get that ball in that zombie hand and you're in the house right now. What's your plan moving forward?

Oh man, I was going to gun for that next HOH with everything I had, and the moment that I was to secure it, I knew that I had four targets in mind. That being Cory, Jag, Matt, and definitely Mama Felicia. As much as I love them, I feel like they played a huge part in the downfall of my game. Obviously, Jag and Matt pretty much were the Knights to secure that loss for me at the end. But without Mama Felicia and Cory driving that into their heads, I don't think that my game would've went that way.

Tell me about the big argument you, Felicia, and your mom all had together and where you all stood after that.

Yeah, it was a weird argument for me because obviously I couldn't explain my exact reason for wanting to keep Izzy over Mama Felicia. And I know Mama Felicia had a really special bond with me, so, but I made a real special promise to Izzy very early on when she told me that she knew who I was and knew that I was Cirie's son. And I told her that as long as she kept that secret, I'll keep her as long as possible, even if it's to the detriment of my game.

And I think I followed that all the way through to the end. And getting into that arguing with Mama Felicia, I just wanted to make sure to stay composed regardless. I had too much love for Mama Felicia to get into a screaming match with her, and I understood where she was coming from. I try to be very understanding through it all and realize that people have their own perspectives of what's going on in here, and to an extent I understand why she did what she did.

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Big Brother

CBS Jared Fields on 'Big Brother' season 25

You were pretty upset with Blue for not giving you a heads up that you would be the target if Cory won HOH. Did that change your relationship with her a bit?

If anything, I feel like it probably just made our relationship a bit stronger. It definitely felt in the moment it was hard for me not to feel jaded by last-minute information. Not only was it just last-minute information, but it's finding out and walking out at the same time was kind of just one of those things that just hit home a little different. But I was blessed enough to walk back in and be able to have conversations where to figure out exactly where this was coming from.

And like I said, I try to be understanding and I try to find my part in it. I don't really want to sit here and try to point fingers at anybody because I know that a big part of my downfall was myself, and obviously I had certain secrets in here that I just couldn't divulge to anybody, and I felt like that also hindered my game a little bit, but it is what it is.

You're not the first couple to have a showmance in the house, but it was interesting that you guys were working with different people. So have you and Blue discussed any potential future outside the house? What does that look like?

Oh yeah, for sure. I was supposed to be moving to L.A. and Blue is definitely telling me she can't wait to get out and see me in L.A. and take me to all of her fun spots, and she wants me to go meet her mom. Like I said, I never like to jinx the future or anything, so I always leave it open, but I'm looking forward to seeing her on the outside of here for sure.

Let's talk about other people outside the house. Cory said in his goodbye message he wanted to be friends outside the house. Where are you at with that?

For sure. As I told Julie last night, between anybody in that house, it was hard. While you're in that house, it's very hard to separate gaming and personal. And as much as I said this whole season that I wanted to, it was a hard task for me to do on a daily basis. But now that I'm finally out, I'm released from the pressure cooker of a house. I love absolutely every soul in that house and I can't wait to see them, honestly.

You mentioned four targets if you had stayed, America's name was not on that list, but she seemed pretty giddy to see you go in that goodbye message. What did you make of that?

In my eyes, America just wasn't a big factor for my game. I wasn't really too worried about America making a big move against me. I knew that any move that she was going to make was probably going to be through Cory. So therefore, I think if I was to neutralize Cory in the game, that America wasn't going to be somebody I had to worry about too much moving forward. So that's why she wasn't necessarily on that list. But if I had a fifth or even a sixth at that point, she'll definitely be taking that spot.

Cirie Fields and Jared Fields on 'Big Brother' season 25
Cirie Fields and Jared Fields on 'Big Brother' season 25

CBS Cirie Fields and Jared Fields on 'Big Brother' season 25

What was it like playing the game with your mom? A huge asset obviously to have someone with a lot of experience in this type of game there, but also… your mom. And sometimes maybe people need a little space to do their own thing — especially when romance might be involved. So what was that whole experience like in terms of both game and personal?

Tell me about it. Honestly, it was a bit easier to separate from my mom than I thought it was just because once again, her experience, she knew exactly how people would feel. She knew how people would perceive things and she had foreseen things that I just would not have been able to see on my own. So very early on, she made sure to separate from me and she did a really good job at doing it, almost to the point where I was just screaming at her sometimes like, "Mom, we can have one conversation!"

But like I said, I really trust her intuition in this game and she's a legend after all, and I just followed her lead. And most of the times we were really separated. For the few times that we did get to click together, it was always one of those beautiful moments, and I felt like I was back at home. But I quickly had to realize that I had to snap out of that feeling because you can't get too comfortable in there. I would've just been sleeping in the comic room since day one and just kicking it with her and just having fun. So she really helped me separate the game from our personal for sure.

Who has played the best game in the house so far? Not who you want to win, because I think we all know that answer, but who has played the best?

Honestly, it is funny because that was a conversation I was having with a lot of the houseguests this past week, and I was just trying to get a feel for how people felt about where everybody was and how everybody was playing a game. And not to be cocky here, but my name came up a lot, and also Cameron's name came up a lot.

Personally, I always put Cameron ahead of me. Cameron was a competitor and Cameron was also able to see a lot of things before they happened. I'm sure everybody caught some conversations where he told me exactly what was going to happen to me after him. And me just being a little naive and thinking that my move was the safest move to do — obviously I didn't follow his advice, but I truly do feel like if I was to follow Cameron's advice, I would probably still be in the house right now.

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Big Brother

CBS Cameron Hardin and Jared Fields on 'Big Brother' season 25

Well, then maybe that's the answer or maybe it's something else, but If you could go back and change one thing about your game that maybe would have put you on a different path, what would it be?

It's really only one thing that comes to mind when I think about changing my game for the better. Obviously, everything that happened in my game made me into the player who I was, and I was happy and grateful to be that player, and I was content with the player that I was. But if I could change absolutely one thing, it would be not using Cameron as a replacement nominee.

Cory was taken down at that point, so I knew it was going to be someone versus America. And once again, I think my lack of knowledge of the game and just underestimating Cory and America's relationship was to my fault, and I should have put somebody next to America to pretty much guarantee her way out the door. Therefore, even if I did follow her up and get evicted after that, America was the one I would be battling in this resurrection.

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