Cynthia Bailey’s first major TV gig after leaving “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” was also the strangest: CBS’s “Celebrity Big Brother.”
She thought that 11 years dealing with the shenanigans on “Real Housewives” would have prepared her in some way for this. “But it didn’t,” she said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution soon after leaving the Big Brother house last week. “Two different animals!”
On the bright side, Cynthia lasted far longer than she expected, surviving four weeks and landing in third place, ahead of more strategic players like ‘N Sync singer Chris Kirkpatrick and her best friend in the house Carson Kressley, the lovable “Queer Eye” vet.
“Big Brother was the hardest thing I’ve ever one,” she said. “They had us speak to a psychiatrist before you come in and then you speak to them afterwards. I was, like, ‘Why do I need to speak to a psychiatrist afterwards?’ I just want to be released into the world! But when it was actually over, I said, ‘Where’s the psychiatrist?’”
The fact she was not a threat in challenges and didn’t play an aggressive strategic game made her less of a target near the end compared to, say, Todd Bridges of “Diff’rent Strokes” fame.
“I got picked to play every competition,” Cynthia said. “I wish I could say I lost on purpose to keep a target off my back. I was trying! There were a couple where I actually did decent! Anything physical I didn’t come close to winning.”
In the end, a seemingly unlikely early alliance between mixed martial artist Miesha Tate and singer Todrick Hall proved too strong to overcome. Miesha was a challenge beast while Todrick played the other celebrities like a fiddle. Unfortunately, he alienated many of them in the process and easily lost the $250,000 grand prize to Miesha.
Cynthia watched the first two seasons of “Celebrity Big Brother” in preparation for the show but otherwise, her knowledge of the show was only skin deep. For instance, she had no idea she was supposed to keep her initial alliance a secret. “If there’s a book of things not to do on ‘Big Brother,’ I can write that book,” she said.
Credit: CBS
Credit: CBS
Todrick, on the other hand, was such a super fan he had past contestants stay at his house, a confession he only made when it was final three. “No wonder he’s so good at this game,” Cynthia marveled during the season finale last Wednesday.
For instance, he fooled her and Carson into believing their ally Shanna Moakler was trying to knock Carson out. So they took her out instead. “Carson was my ride or die,” Cynthia said. “The minute I felt like someone was coming for Carson, I went into protective mode. Now that I know we were duped, I definitely owe Shanna an apology. She’s a super fan, though, so I’m sure she understands the game.”
Still, she ended up being the only juror out of eight to vote for Todrick to win. “I didn’t have a problem with him,” she said. “I think people were more upset with what he said on the live feed than in the game.” (He was, fair to say, very opinionated.) She said he played a solid physical and social game, the puppet master behind every eviction.
Lamar Odom, the former NBA player who just moved to Atlanta, was even more clueless than Cynthia. “He’s like, ‘Who’s Julie Chen?’” Cynthia said. He finished fifth. (She did get to have some deep conversations with him and learned “he is still very much in love with his ex-wife,” Khloe Kardashian, she said. “He would love an opportunity to work it out.”)
The Big Brother house is truly a hermetically sealed world with no smartphone, no television, no books, no Internet. It means the primary means of entertainment is talking to the other castmates. It also means the only genuine escape, she noted, is sleep.
“I think I cooked and cleaned my way to the final three,” she said. “It’s a great time killer. You know how long it takes to make a brisket? That killed like three hours. And I have a mean solitaire game!”
One observation: “I can’t believe how dirty celebrities are. They don’t pick up after themselves!” (She declined to name the worst offenders.)
She also learned the personal habits of people she never otherwise would have cared to know. “Burping, farting, snoring, all of it,” she said.
Nonetheless, she made some lifelong friends. “It was a fun group of people,” she said.
Credit: CBS
Credit: CBS
She was a true fan girl of Bridges, having grown up with him on TV (she is 55, he’s 56). “I was the most excited when he walked in the door,” she said. She hopes to have lunch with him soon.
She said she did get in a couple of pointless arguments, blaming them on the “pressure cooker” that is the game and going through pre-menopause. “I had mood swings,” she said. “I had hot flashes. I had cold flashes. I was a mess.”
Now that she’s married to Black News Channel morning anchor Mike Hill, she has chosen to spend most of her time now in Los Angeles, where she has more acting and hosting options. She shot a Lifetime movie coming out in May “Cruel Instructions.”
“I’m excited about it and I have been hosting as well,” she said, with “E! Daily Pop” and filling in on “The Real.”
“I haven’t missed a beat,” she added. “L.A. is pretty great for me. Doors are really opening. My goal is get on a regular series. Hopefully I can do more work with Lifetime. I’d like to have a steady job. The thing with ‘Housewives’ is I had this base and I could do these other gigs. Now I’m just hustling for gigs.”
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