‘Big Brother Canada 3’ exclusive: Winner Sarah Hanlon on victory, strong relationships, key votes

Early on this season on “Big Brother Canada,” it was clear that Sarah Hanlon was going to be one of the underdogs. She was never in a majority alliance through almost all of the game, she was not a competition beast, and her top ally in Brittnee was constantly on the block. She also saw potential pals in Johnny, Naeha, and Sindy all leave early, though the latter did eventually return.

Yet, despite the setbacks, she did an exemplary job making friends, subtly manipulating others, and getting herself in a position where she could win. She thought about the endgame long before getting there. Suffice it to say, we had a ton to talk about when it comes to Sarah in our lengthy exit interview Thursday. Unfortunately, we had some technical issues. We were not at the house this year, and there was something in between our phone signal and the HoH Room (where Sarah did some of her interviews) where things did not quite mesh.

CarterMatt – First of all, what has it been like knowing that you are the winner of the season?

Sarah Hanlon – It feels like I’m walking in a dream!

When it was you and Godfrey in the final two, did you feel like you had a really good chance at taking home the win?

Honestly, I didn’t. I guess I’m a huge self-doubter, and that is probably why I did well in the game. I never felt too comfortable; I was counting up votes, and I was very nervous, especially when I found out that Jordan, who we evicted from the jury, was one of many votes!

One of the things that you were really great at this season was being really vulnerable, and in turn that enabled people to get to know you and forge this strong relationships with you. How much of that was a strategic component to your game going in?

I was going to come in here and be myself, because it feels like ‘Big Brother’ is a microcosm in the world, and that is what gets me success in the world, my relationships in the outside world and being vulnerable and being not afraid to do that. I knew it worked for me in real life, it makes me that person people go to when they feel anxious or stressed-out or alone. I knew that if I did the same thing here, it would pan out the same way.

It’s interesting because you and Godfrey were almost polar opposites. He was more of an International Man of Mystery in there.

That’s a great way to put it. He was so under-the-radar, you could never tell what he was thinking or doing. [He was] always lying, always telling people what they wanted to hear. I told the truth. I didn’t want to BS people because I didn’t want them to think that I was stupid. The way I played the game was ‘assume the worst in people.’ If they were telling you one thing, assume the opposite. If I didn’t tell the truth, they would assume something worse. I’m pretty good at spinning the situation, so if I can talk myself out of a situation, it works in my favor!

I’m going to go back to the Naeha vote. While that may have stunk at the time to go through, did that help you in a way for her to go? It brought you and Brittnee closer together, and an alliance of two, while really powerful, is often not perceived in the same dangerous way as a [larger] alliance.

Naeha was a huge threat coming in. Everyone was pointing their finger at Naeha, and I got a lot of that backlash, as well. I was getting a finger pointed at me for being close to her. Yeah, I think it would have put a huge target on all of our backs! At the same time, though, she was going to be our comp beast. She didn’t get a chance to compete in anything really, and she could’ve really put that cherry on the top for us.

Let’s talk about Bruno, since I think getting rid of him was one of your best moves. He was probably more aware of how good of a player you were than the majority of the house. How important was it to get rid of him when you did?

Bruno was constantly throwing my name under [the bus], talking about how smart I was. I could not have that anymore. Absolutely. Also, it was about getting the Godfrey number, breaking up that large group. Bruno was the glue keeping the Zach / Ashleigh / Pili side and the Godfrey side. Brittnee knew that she was doing me a huge solid in that one, because she knew that Zach was gunning more after her more, and Bruno was gunning after me more.

—

So a little shorter than our other interviews, but hopefully we’ll get a chance to chat a little more with Sarah in the future minus some of the technical issues.

If you do want to get some other news and interviews when it comes to “Big Brother Canada,” just be sure to visit the link here! Also, you can sign up here to get some other TV updates on all we cover, courtesy of our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: Global.)