Big Brother Canada 5 interview: Karen Singbeil talks second-place finish
This morning, Karen looked back on her time in the show in a new interview with CarterMatt, talking about some of the highs and lows of the game — plus, if she was frustrated at all by the jury vote at the end.
CarterMatt – What was the one thing about this season that surprised you the most?
Karen Singbeil – I had no idea how restricted we are, and how hard the comps were going to be and what times we’d be doing them. It was mentally and physically grueling.
Is it even harder that you’re in this weird spot with all of the cameras, the lights, you’re not sleeping in the same bed, your entire routine’s all over the place!
Totally. There are 10,000 lights, cameras, it’s overwhelming.
How pleased are you with your overall run this season? I know it’s only been a day, so that’s not the most perspective in the world.
I’m super-happy. I didn’t realize that anyone liked me, so I’m just overwhelmed.
I think one of the things that people really liked is that you shoot from the hip and say what’s on your mind. Was that ever strategy, or was that just Karen being Karen?
That is totally me, 100%. I am unfiltered in life.
Do you think that proved to help you in the game?
I think it did, honestly. That was a part of my thing. I thought I was going to have to come in and lie and be sneaky; but, I just started telling it like it is. That actually played in my favor! The people who liked me really liked me, and in the end my enemy took me to the final two. It worked out!
To quote Gary, let’s get the true tea going here. What did you really think about Kevin Martin?
Do you remember the hot tub Monday meltdown on day 45? The next day, I got up and said ‘I’m not apologizing to you,’ and he said ‘I’m not apologizing, either.’ I don’t know how much of the fight you saw, but it was both ways. From that day forward, we moved on. I still wanted him out and I gunned for him and tried to keep Ika and Demetres as my allies to take him out, but there was respect after that. He didn’t realize the game I was playing — he just thought that I wasn’t really playing at all, and when he realized the game I was playing and the moves I was making, he really respected me and vice-versa.
The guy was literally studying 5-6 hours a day, driving himself mental, and it paid off. I couldn’t do that. He was good in comps, he had a strategic mind, and he knew [what to do] as a vet. I started studying like ten days before the show ended.
So the big question now is this — is Kevin Martin getting a Christmas card?
Kevin Martin is probably going to visit me. He’s a good kid, he really is. He’s not a bad kid. He likes me and I like him. Some other people? Not so much (laughs).
Over the years so many of the older houseguests tend to find themselves voted out before the jury, and here you are in the final two. What did you do that some of them can learn from in the future?
Coming in, I said I had to win the first HoH, and Sindy helped me do that. I knew that if I had the opportunity where they would have to come to me and talk to me, I know people and I could figure out who was full of s–t and who I could trust. That helped set the pace for my game. I knew who I could work with and who were going to be liars. I was able to sum that up and that helped me out a lot.
What happened over the course of the game with Sindy to cause that relationship to deteriorate? When did it start to go south?
Five days in, it was gone. There was no relationship. Neither her nor Neda ever talked to me again the rest of the game. Ever. I was just dog s–t under their feet. They didn’t care about me and I knew it. I was just like ‘good,’ since I knew I would be taking them out. Ika and I said in the second week that as soon as Neda wasn’t safe, she was gone.
One other thing that surprised me was that unlike some of the other people who come in as big fans, you didn’t really get starstruck. How were you able to just recognize these returnees as threats so quickly?
Honestly, you saw when I said ‘this was why y’all lost’ the third day. My fanfare with them being returning players ended there. They all walked in with a bunch of egos — well, most of them — and things to prove from the game before. They were wearing it on their sleeve. Whenever they were comfortable, they were the next out.
Were you surprised that you didn’t get Dillon’s vote? That was probably the one thing I was surprised the most about.
No. I knew that I was probably going to get to the final two with either Demetres or Kevin, but I didn’t think that anyone was going to vote for me. They were convinced that they would and they were trying to make a deal to take each other, but I knew. They didn’t really know the game that I played, and they weren’t going to give me any votes. I don’t feel bad about that. I don’t really care because I have the check.
Do you envision being friends for life now with Ika and Demetres?
100%. For life, and Dillon too. And William and Gary and Cass. I have a lot of really good friends in the house.
Would you ever want to play Big Brother again?
I probably wouldn’t do it. I’d probably come back for a task next year to torture them and then, if I get asked, I’d probably play the US season. I don’t think I’d play in Canada again. I like new challenges.
More Big Brother Canada news
Interested in a little more insight from the various houseguests, including interviews with the final four? Then be sure to head over to the link here! (Photo: Global.)