So Xavier, let’s talk about the Big Brother of it all. You faced a special dynamic in not only having fellow houseguests, but specifically a chunk of people from your cast. Was there some unspoken agreement you would look out for each other?Xavier: Not a damn thing was unspoken! (Laughs.) There was a group chat with everyone on BB23 where people said, “We need to look out for each other.” People were primarily concerned about Kyland I and whether we were going to be able to work together. But I don’t care to take a shot at Kyland. I’d rather face Kyland in the final than Tyson! I can take him in a final; then he can get his Batman/Superman moment. There you go, buddy. Generally, we were going to try to stick together. That was a conversation. But two of the six of us were like, “No, we gotta get the rest of them out.” And it just is what it is. I don’t know how beneficial that’s going to be for them. But that was kind of the case. Personally, I was trying to win. The way I viewed the game was, “Okay, with Big Brother, there’s nine of us. It’s a lot of us.” And everyone knows the general gist. Even if they haven’t seen Big Brother, they know we’re different. And so for me, I’m like, “No one trusts us outside of this. So it makes sense that we have to work together. We’re on the outs with anybody else. So we have to work together.“So how does that tie into what happened with Tiffany a couple of episodes ago, when you and Alyssa end up being part of the group to pitch her going into elimination?Xavier: It’s funny, because everyone’s always hearing everyone else’s side. People think Alyssa just batted her eyelashes with me, and I was like, “Oh, let me get up and come to Tyson.” No, that’s not what happened! Alyssa and I actually got into it. When I found out about Tiffany’s name being brought up, I didn’t throw Tiffany under the bus. She and I got into probably the most intense discussion we’ve ever had on the shows. I didn’t throw Tiffany under the bus when I heard Tiffany’s name. Ultimately, what pushed me to say Tiffany’s name, which everyone forgets, is that Azah and I were an option. Like you go back to the episode. The first two names that are said are Alyssa and Enzo and Azah and Xavier. Just because Tyson said we’re good, I’m not good until he says a name out of elimination that isn’t me. And so we were still very much an option. I was obviously closer personally with Alyssa than Tiffany. But for Big Brother as a whole, we can either lose two of our numbers, or we can lose one. And it’s not even guaranteed that we lose that one. Tiffany can go into elimination and come back, and then I just have to make sure Big Brother is still on the same page. I don’t care if she hates Tyson. Good. Let’s go get them. But it makes sense for us to risk one number as opposed to two. Unfortunately, that number is Tiffany just because her name got brought up. But I was even surprised that her name got brought up. The easy decision was Alyssa and Enzo. But James was Jamesing! He was playing that game. I was like, “Go ahead, boy. Show us what Amazing Race got.” (Laughs.)Finally, in honor of the infamous “[expletive] They Should Have Shown” episode of the old-school days of The Challenge, what’s one moment from your time on the show that you wish had made the edit?Xavier: Again, my conversation with Alyssa. People think she just batted her eyelashes and are like, “Oh, Xavier’s a simp.” No the [expletive] he is not! We got into it because I didn’t immediately throw Tiffany under the bus. And then she guilt tripped me, saying, “Oh, it feels like you’re doing it to me again.” I approached it similarly to how I did when SB and Christian were on the block in Big Brother. You two duke it out because I honestly care about both of y’all.Shan: There’s this moment where I’m sharing with Sarah Lacina how Tiffany’s gameplay was going. The edit made it seem like I was pouring everything out to Lacina. I couldn’t stand Lacina. In fact, she and I got into a big heated fight over that, because she wanted to know so much more. But I didn’t rock with her on the show. I made nice with her because Survivor players needed to stick together. But Sarah wasn’t my favorite player watching Survivor. Politically I don’t really align with her. So I wish that was shown. There was a lot more division there than there actually was unity.Xavier: If I could offer up one more, Mike. There was that conversation with Tyson where it looked like I said I was 100% up for doing damage control if he put Tiffany in. That was a completely separate part of the conversation. You notice the camera angles switch. Because when he first starts, he says, “Will you help me with damage control?” I say, “Exactly.” Because I’m trying to make sure there’s not a war between Big Brother and Survivor because we don’t want that smoke. “100%” was talking about keeping like sides at bay until there’s no one else left. But they threw that clip in there, and I was like, “What the hell?” It seems like I was overly eager to throw Tiffany under the bus. That’s not what happened.Next, read our interview with Tasha Fox and James Wallington, who were eliminated in The Challenge: USA Episode 3.
