'Big Brother 24's' Indy Santos Talks the Leftovers Reveal and "Defending" Taylor

The corporate flight attendant also gets into the madcap action hours before her eviction, and her thoughts on the remaining houseguests as she goes to jury.

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.

Indy Santos is no stranger to new situations, having immigrated to the United States from Brazil when she was 22. But when it came to yet another change of location into the Big Brother house, the corporate flight attendant's game was never able to truly get off the ground. After a week of constantly shifting plans and alliance infighting, she became the latest victim of the majority "Leftovers" alliance, sent off to the jury wearing pink but not seeing red.

On her first night in the house, Indy told her fellow houseguests she wanted to be a sex coach. But strategically, she saw little action in the game. She became part of a couple of notable alliances, though others noted how she was not one to strategize actively. So when the Leftovers formed, she was left in the dark and watched her allies begin to get taken out. And the trend continued when Taylor Hale became the newest Head of Household. Taylor went back on her promise not to nominate Indy, claiming she was a pawn against Terrance Higgins. But once on the block, the Leftovers switched their target onto her, feeling she was a greater threat to him. And when a new dramatic plan to backdoor Alyssa Snider was squashed, like a bowl of hot soup, Indy's game was cooked. She was near-unanimously evicted and went out with kind words about her fellow houseguests. Of course, that was before Michael Bruner revealed the Leftovers to her in his goodbye message.

On her way to the jury house, Indy talks with Parade.com about her reaction to Michael's reveal, what went down in the hours before her eviction, and how her relationship with Taylor grew and changed over the summer.

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

We have to start with Michael's reveal of the alliance he's been working with in his goodbye message. What's your reaction to that, and does that make you view him or the people in it differently?
I kind of called that when Monte was HoH, when he put me on the block as a pawn. My reaction was like, "Come on, you knew that girl! And you didn't do anything about it." I don't see him in a different way. I still love and adore him. But that makes me feel better about my game and myself. I know that I didn't leave the house because I was not great enough or was not a good player. It was basically because I was not part of their alliance, that that's what they're doing right now.

You gave a big speech on the way out about how you were leaving because "something else happened," and they would regret getting rid of you. What was your intention in that?
Clearly, I didn't know about their alliance. My intention is always to enter and leave a place in a loving and honest way. My intention was to tell them to be themselves, to make a choice based on themselves. Only one person is going to win the game. And I hope that everyone that's still in the house, when they leave, they're proud of who they are. Because there's not a lot that you can fake. So if you are faking too much, you're probably pretty fake in the outside world. And I don't think your parents, family or friends will be proud of you.

I believe the money comes anyway. And $750,000 is a lot. But nobody can buy my heart. Nobody can buy who I am. Nobody can buy my honesty, my loyalty, how amazing I am. And I hope people in the house realize that. Don't put a price tag on who you are. Because at the end of the day, you're still going to get you, no matter how far you go. So my speech was pretty much like, "Be the best version of yourself. So you're proud of yourself if you get the 750, or even if you don't get it." So it was my intention to leave them with peace, love, and a quiet little advice.

In the lead-up to the eviction vote, you had several houseguests approach you with information, including arguments between Brittany and Joseph about the Five Swatters being outed. What was your reaction to all that action hours before your elimination?
I was super frustrated because the Five Swatters was never my intention, especially when Kyle didn't use the veto on me. So at that moment, I saw that was the reason my game was being messed up. It was pretty sad; I was pretty frustrated. It was a lot for me at the moment. Now I know that there's a lot of stuff behind the scenes that unfortunately, I couldn't see. But when you were in a house with ten other people, I'm sure there were a lot of things that I couldn't see.

I was at peace. My heart told me all the time, "No matter what happens, you're going to be okay." And I live my life in that way. I always want to be the center, and even if bad moments are happening around me, I will be in peace. So even if everyone was going around out and about before, crying and screaming, I believe you guys could see that I was trying to be mature and keep my peace. That's the most important thing in my life.

You were clearly not happy to be nominated by Taylor, claiming that you constantly defended her throughout your time in the house. How do you look back on your relationship and her HoH reign?
Taylor and I didn't have a really big connection in the first weeks. But even then, I always defended her. And I hope you guys know that. The first week when she got nominated, I approached Daniel, and I told him that I was not going to vote her out. Because I would feel super bad if I left the house in the first week with 12 votes. I defended her so many other times in so many other ways. I don't think anyone's 100% good or 100% bad. So even if my connection with her in the first week was not the best, I believe we have a better relationship now.

I was not happy with the nomination because nobody's happy if you get nominated, guys! If you get nominated, you are not happy at all. It's impossible for you to be happy. I was not happy about it. But at the same time, I got her. I was like, "You know what? I know your game. I trust you. And I really want to give us an opportunity to get to know each other more and to enjoy when you are not HoH anymore." I repeated that to her so many times. And I really did defend her so many times.

I brought up information to Monte when he was the HoH to show that maybe Nicole and Daniel were riskier for his game than Taylor because they had no idea that he and Taylor had an alliance. But there were so many different ways in different moments that I call in my mind that I was on her side, even if it was not her closest friend. And I hope when she's out, she can see that, and she can see that I gave my best to each of them. Not just her, Jasmine, or Alyssa. I'm super proud of her right now that I recall all these things. I really feel that she's a really good player. I'm really proud of her. I hope this game goes as she planned.

To finish, let's get your rapid-fire thoughts on the remaining houseguest. Starting with Alyssa.
Kind, sweet, super emotional.
Brittany.
(Pause. Laughs.) Right now, I'm really frustrated about Brittany. So I have no words for her.
Jasmine.
Strong, beautiful, powerful. Literally a badass.
Joseph.
Oh my gosh. Sweet. He is my best friend. I can't wait to see him! (Laughs.) If I want anyone to join me in the jury house, it's going to be him. Kind, strong. A really, really, really nice guy.
Kyle.
Sweet. (Pause.) At this moment, I see him as a person I can't trust. I see him in a weak way right now. I don't know if my mind will change or if things will change in my heart. But right now, it's hurtful to think about how things happened with me.
Michael.
Brave, amazing. I adore Michael. So strong. He's the person you do not expect. He's the perfect player for this game. You cannot touch him. There are no words for him. He is amazing in every single thing that he does.
Monte.
Strong. Really good friend. Peaceful. He's the one person that always helped bring me back to who I am. He gave me a speech about how he was proud of who I am. And even if things went in a different direction, he would make sure he was the best friend to make sure I know who I am. I think he's really loyal. Even though all that happened in the game, I think he's a really good friend.
Taylor.
Strong, powerful. Badass as well. Beautiful. This last week, as I said, we connected differently. I think she's a really lovely person.
Terrance.
Sweetie, as the name says! He's so sweet. He is strong. He is brave. And I love him so much.
Finally, Turner.
Super cool. (Laughs.) I adore Turner. I really thought we wouldn't be friends because I thought they were so different. But we're not. I had so much fun with him. I learned so much about him. I think his life story and every single thing that he approaches in his life are amazing. He's going to be able to help so many based on who he is.

Next, check out our interview with Daniel Durston, who was evicted in Big Brother 24 Week 5.