‘Big Brother Canada 2’ full interview: Sarah Miller on First Five, Jon alliance, and nicknames

After a day off, we’re back now once again with our “Big Brother Canada 2” interview series, and we have today one of the last full solo interviews we conducted at the finale last week! (There are some interviews coming that were done in pairs.) Talking to Sarah Miller was especially fun, mostly because she was one of those players this season we felt a few weeks in was destined to go very far, only to be surprisingly cut at the start of a double eviction. She had a mind for the game, and it was interesting to get her perspective on everything.

If you want to see the rest of our interviews, including exclusive photos and more, you can do so over here. Now, let’s dive right in to the Sarah chat.

CarterMatt – Let’s start with the origins of the First Five, since making an alliance the first day is obviously a big move. Did you feel backed into a corner in a way?

Sarah Miller – Well you obviously can’t say no when someone approaches you within the first five minutes, and to be honest it does give you at least something. You wake up the next morning thinking that you have something to look forward to. ‘Let’s strengthen this alliance and see where it goes.’

Maybe it was my demise in the end, I don’t know. Maybe I was playing both sides of the house. I still haven’t pinpointed exactly where it went wrong, but the cool thing is that we were part of something that will forever change ‘Big Brother.’ Who knows? Maybe whoever comes into the house now, the first five people, they’ll stagger it differently. I think that’s kind of cool.

Did you ever get a sense that people were catching on to [the alliance]? A lot of people are saying now ‘oh we knew it existed,’ but did you feel that way?

I really don’t think that people knew it existed for real. I mean, Kenny had a slip-up at the beginning of the game, but he kind of covered his tracks. I don’t think people really knew it existed until Canada’s HoH week when things started really coming out. I think we did a really good job hiding it. I think they knew we were working with the guys, but they didn’t know exactly who and exactly how it was formed.

I know this may be a tough memory, but I think Canada’s HoH really hurt your [long-term chances] more than any other player. I know Andrew went home, [but that probably would’ve happened at some point]. But it got rid of a shield for you in Andrew, and then you were put up when Kenny won the Veto.

I feel like it was a combination of things that really sealed my fate. I tried to turn it around, but I really just couldn’t. Neda was too smart; she wouldn’t bite on anything that I was giving her.

Here’s the thing. I know I should be angry, it should be a sore spot, and I know that’s where things went wrong for me. But I do love that it’s a part of the game, I do think that it’s really cool that fans got to interact that way, and I think as a viewer it was awesome.

Do you think you would have been able to figure something else out had you been able to survive that double-eviction?

Had I survived that double-eviction, my fate would’ve been very different. Jon and Neda, we had formed a relationship and had formed bonds. I was in this makeshift alliance with them, and I think the only thing that was worrying them was my loyalty to Kenny. Had they been able to get rid of him I would’ve been with them. I told them a million times … Just because I’m with him, doesn’t mean that I don’t have your backs, as well.

Since you bring up Jon and Neda, let’s talk about the finale! What did you think of what happened?

I adore Jon and Neda, I love them both. I wanted to work with them so badly from week 3 on. I really wanted to see a Jon and Neda final 2, and when Jon was winning, I thought that was best-case scenario because there was that inkling that Neda would cut him, but I didn’t think that Jon would be able to do it [to her]. And so I thought ‘if Jon wins, it’s going to be [them] in finale two.’ Then collectively I think the ‘Big Brother’ community had one collective gasp when she was cut. But it was [the right move], it solidified the game for him.

What was the process like for you decompressing after being in that house?

Decompressing was crazy! The first morning I woke up in my own bed I had a panic attack, screaming ‘where I am I?’ It’s still a process. I’m back to normal, but it’s a new normal. People recognize who you are, and it’s going to take some adjusting for sure. Hopefully now that the finale’s done, everyone can take a sigh and we can move forward.

Is is cool for you to be recognized, or is it weird that someone you don’t know is like ‘hey, Sarah’?

It’s definitely strange because it’s just me. Six months ago nobody cared to take a picture with me (laughs), and now people recognize you and want to take photos with you.

Is this going to change the way you watch ‘Big Brother’ and other shows?

Oh for sure. Literally the second week I was in the house, I was lying there thinking ‘I’m sorry for anything I’ve ever said about any ‘Big Brother’ player ever,’ because it’s so much harder than you can ever imagine.

So if you were able to get back in this game, would you do it?

Yes, that’s the easiest yes.

And it is for a lot of people!

It wasn’t while I was in here! I was up here yelling ‘don’t call me for All-Stars, I hate this place,’ but of course the moment I left [I missed it].

Would you try to play the same game? I feel like you could.

To be honest, I would. I knew when I left the house that I wasn’t able to be someone different than I am. I might try to be a little sneakier, but I think ultimately I would end up playing the same game.

Let’s talk a couple of funny things. First of all, the nickname ‘Mumsie.’ Love it?

I love the nickname. It came up because we were talking about nicknames, and I told them that my eight-year old called me ‘Mumsie with a Big Bumsie’ literally two weeks before I got into the house, and even when I got home it was still my BBM status. So I told them that, it stuck.

Did you guys buy anything that Adel was trying to sell with that crazy Veto power?

This is why Adel was so brilliant. We [at one point] had said ‘forget this bloody Veto, we don’t know what it does. It one point it had a prize’ … but he actually had some strategy behind it, and it was amazing.

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Photo: Slice