00:00I'm a little upset to see you this early in the season, but it's okay.
00:05Trust me, the feeling's mutual.
00:07I'm very upset to be talking to people this early in the season.
00:10Yeah, but it was a good elimination.
00:13You put up a good fight, and it was your first time back after a few seasons away.
00:17So why was now kind of the right time for you to come back?
00:21There's a lot of things that played into it.
00:24Timing-wise, it was the perfect time.
00:27In the time off, I mean, obviously, it's been four years, right?
00:31But like with four seasons, four years, however you want to cut it.
00:35But with that, like, you know, there was COVID, which spread out the filming, you know, processes and everything.
00:42And in that time, I started building a business.
00:46I built that business.
00:48I tried out for the Winter Olympics.
00:50So from a timing standpoint, it didn't really work out, I would say, on the latter part of the four years.
00:56So like the past thing, those first two years, you know, a little bit of like me having to take a little bit of a break in terms of some of some things that I, you know, did to myself, essentially, to get myself removed from Total Madness and Double Agents.
01:12And then factor in the whole COVID, spreading out those.
01:18So instead of only having like a one-year break, it's like one season film per year.
01:22And then the latter two years were just craziness.
01:25But I finally was able to get everything settled and be able to kind of come back for this.
01:29And I was really excited for it.
01:30And it's been a long time coming.
01:32And the support when my name got announced was amazing.
01:35I was so disappointed that I wasn't able to kind of go further with how much everybody was wanting to see me succeed.
01:41You know, but the good news is I'll be back and we'll definitely run it back at some point.
01:48And I can hopefully erase this early exit from my memory.
01:51Well, this was such an interesting way for you to come back because you obviously were on the CBS side of it with the Big Brother.
01:58But then, you know, you know the vets so well from playing with them so many times.
02:01So where was your loyalty lying more when you came in?
02:07Honestly, I kind of was like seeing where all the chips fell, if I'm being honest, because I didn't really know the people on the CBS side.
02:16I've spoken to a couple of them.
02:17And I knew the vets, but, you know, I wasn't allies with them on previous seasons that we played.
02:25So I think when I came in, I was I was trying to ride the middle for as long as I could.
02:31But obviously, like I guess the CBS people were looking at me as a as a competitor, rightfully so.
02:36The vets were looking at me as a competitor, but they kind of you know, they it seemed like they needed me a little bit more, which is why I started leaning that way.
02:45Whereas in the beginning, I was having conversations with everybody and just kind of seeing where the where everybody's heads were at, you know, and I had my alliances on the CBS side that I wanted to kind of keep and keep them protected.
02:57And then I wanted to pull in the vets to try and kind of create like, I think what, you know, we've seen after this past episode on Sunday is kind of starting to all happen here.
03:10So, you know, it was it was scary, man, coming back like I had no ties.
03:15It's not like I was back there with people who I've worked with in the past.
03:18Right. Car wasn't there. Cam wasn't there.
03:22You know, Rogan, Joss, Ninja, like Ashley, like all these people who I've worked with in the past, not there.
03:29Turbo, not there. You know what I mean?
03:31So like I was there kind of on an island alone, you know, Kaylee, not there.
03:36So it's like all these people that I've done seasons with gone, you know, but it was good.
03:41It was challenging. And I like that challenge because it teaches you something about like your gameplay.
03:46And to be honest, if it wasn't for the hopper, I mean, I was sitting in a pretty good spot.
03:50I mean, three votes out of an entire house and not even being considered once to kind of be the nomination to go to be the person down there.
03:59You know, if it wasn't for that twist, which, you know, TJ loves his twist.
04:04I think I could have really made a run.
04:06Yeah, they're always coming up with new ways to keep you on your toes.
04:09That's for sure. Yeah.
04:11I feel like as much as like the competition was obviously important to you this season,
04:14it seemed very important to you to want to like mend fences with Josh and Bananas and whoever else maybe you weren't on such good terms with.
04:21So why was that at the forefront of your mind so much?
04:26You know, I just feel like it's been like it's been, like I said, four years, four seasons off.
04:31And even though there was a lot of animosity and there was a lot of hatred,
04:34it's almost like one of those things where it's like you come in, it's a fresh start.
04:38Us being put on a team, us being in a room together definitely helped mend those.
04:44But you don't really want to be that person that's holding on to too many things.
04:47And it's kind of clouding you from like that ultimate goal of yours.
04:49Right. And like my ultimate goal is to just win.
04:52You know, so if I'm focusing on them, I'm not focusing on winning.
04:55And I think that because I came in with that mindset, I was able to kind of be in that middle position
05:02and like kind of understand like where people were lying and being able to pick up things faster than I maybe would have
05:07if I came in just focusing on, oh, my God, are Johnny and Josh trying to get me out?
05:11You know what I mean? Because then I would have missed certain things and I wouldn't have been paying attention
05:14to certain conversations that I was paying attention to, you know, because my guard would have been down,
05:20but my guard was up with everybody. So I think that that helps.
05:24And, you know, even moving forward, it's one of those things like, you know,
05:29I can't say if I would mend things with all people that I had rivalries with.
05:33But, you know, after four years, it's almost like I feel like new rivalries will pop up out of nowhere.
05:39I had no problem getting everybody to be a rival of mine when I played the first three times around.
05:44I'm sure, you know, you have me keep coming back like people will pop up out of the woodwork season
05:48after season that may not be the old rivalries, but they'll definitely be the new rivalries.
05:53Right. Right. It's hard to avoid it on this show. That's for sure.
05:56Yeah. When you saw what the elimination was going to be and that you were going up against Johnny,
06:00how did you think of like what did you think your chances were?
06:03How are you feeling going into it?
06:06Well, I mean, I have a lot of belief in myself, so I always believed that I could win no matter what.
06:10Um, you know, I knew it was going to be tough. So like from a mental aspect, I just kind of like
06:16groomed my mind to be like, your arm has to stay up for eight hours because like last time he did
06:21something like this, his arm was up for like seven hours. So I was like eight hours, just start killing
06:27all these nerves right here. Like they don't exist. You're not going to feel anything. You know,
06:31let's just, this is all dead. Like just kind of go. Um, I was nervous about the throwing aspect.
06:36You know, I'm not a, uh, I've never done a sport, uh, with throwing. I was a wrestler and a soccer
06:40player. So, uh, you know, I was shocked at how well I did with hitting the target. Um, and yeah,
06:46I mean, I could go over all like things in my head, like, oh man, I wish it was physical. I wish it
06:50was this. I wish it was a puzzle. I wish I got to use my agility, but you know, that's the beauty of
06:55the challenges. You never know what's going to be down there in the sand and you just have to roll with
06:58it. And if you want to be good, you have to kind of be able to pull wins like that out of your,
07:02out of your ass. Um, but unfortunately I was not able to do that against,
07:05uh, you know, the seven time champ. Not, it's not, it's not very easy. That's for sure.
07:10Yeah. It makes it a little bit harder that he, you know, that he's got that much experience.
07:15Exactly. Exactly. Um, well, obviously on top of all this, you had that great conversation with
07:20Tori where you came out and you were just like very raw vulnerable. Um, were you expecting for that
07:26to kind of make air? Like, were you even expecting to come in and have a conversation like that so
07:31publicly, like where did that come from? It was like, so on the fence, um, as to like, whether
07:39I, you know, cause like season after season, I'd come in and like, I had always been on the fence
07:45about, uh, talking about it. And I like recall on earlier seasons, um, you know, producers would
07:52kind of be like, like, why, uh, why are you so like, where is this like, kind of like anger coming
07:57from? Like, where's this chip on your shoulder coming from? Like, why is it so, um, like, why
08:01does it seem so like aggressive and passionate and everything? Um, and it's always been like on the
08:06tip of my tongue, but I always kind of like, you know, worked around it just being like, oh, you know,
08:10like growing up, like just, you know, super competitive, getting picked on, blah, blah, blah, blah,
08:14all that stuff. And I never really like hit the nail on the head. And it was always just kind of
08:18like, I just said what I needed to say to get the conversation and not take place, um, you know,
08:22in the confessional, um, interviews, um, and let alone have that conversation in the house where,
08:28you know, I was trying to like break down the walls of like coming from athletics and, you know,
08:34you just don't really talk about those things, right. Cause you don't want people, uh, looking
08:37at you as weak or finding a vulnerability to try and use against you, try and get under your skin in
08:41the game. Um, so I think like all these years of therapy kind of helped me just come to grips with
08:46like, it's all right to have that conversation. You can still be this and you can still be a beast
08:51and you can still show this vulnerable side because you're in control of whether you let,
08:55you know, somebody use a vulnerability against you at the end of the day. Um, so I think once I
09:00came to grips with that, it was much easier for me to have that conversation. But once again,
09:04I was like on the fence again. And it was one of those things where it was like, all right,
09:08rip the bandaid off. I'm just going to blurt it out. This is what it is. I'm just going to blurt it out
09:12and I'm going to talk through it. I don't know how it's going to sound. I don't know how it's
09:15going to come across, but I'm just going to say, and if I come across as awkward, so be it. If it
09:20comes out smooth, also, so be it, um, hope for the best in this situation. And, uh, and it came out
09:26exactly the way that I wanted it to come out and it was delivered the way that I, you know, wanted it
09:33delivered. Um, it was, my heart was pounding the whole time. Um, but it's out there now and now it's
09:39a weight lifted off of my, my, my back, so to speak. And just, I think that was definitely such a
09:44great moment. I think it was so nice that you were able to share that with Tori and it kind of just
09:49felt like you were only talking to her. Like it didn't even feel like you knew that the cameras
09:52were around. So it was, it was such a special moment to, for you to share for sure. Um, well,
09:57now that this season's under your belt, how would you feel about returning in the future? And like,
10:01will we get to see you and Cara together on the show again in the future? Like, where do you guys
10:05stand with that? Um, yeah, I mean, I'm ready. Uh, we're ready. Uh, whether we're on season solo or
10:11we're together, um, you know, we're just ready. We're ready to come back. Uh, we're ready to be
10:16dominant. Um, you know, we're ready to kind of pick up where we left off, uh, war of the worlds
10:21one and war of the worlds two, um, from a competitive, like dominance standpoint. Um, you know,
10:27and I think that we're also both, uh, in a place where, you know, we're not looking to,
10:31you know, let certain things be taken too personally on our side. Like we're, we're really focused on just,
10:38uh, securing ourself as like one of the most, two of the most dominant players to ever play the
10:43game, but also from a couple standpoint, like the most dominant couple to ever like come from that
10:49show. Sure. Sure. Well, yeah, very excited for what the future holds. And I appreciate you having
10:54on here today, um, to chat about this. Yeah, no, thank you so much. I appreciate you working with
10:59the, with the schedule. Yeah, no, thank you. Cause I was, I wasn't here on Friday, so this worked out
11:04well. So thank you so much. It's all good. It's all good. All right. Thanks, Polly. Bye. All right.
11:09No problem. Bye.
Comments