Big Brother Canada’s sixth season came to a close Thursday (May 10) night with Vancouver’s Paras Atashnak winning the final prize. Following the finale we got the chance to speak with Paras, second place Kaela Grant and third place Derek Kesseler.
In our interview with Paras, the winner chats about when she knew he had won the game, going back on her word to Alejandra and how it feels to make BBCAN history with the first-ever “all female finale two”!
Congratulations! When did you realize that you had this? You were gonna win.
Thank you so much! I think it was when we went down to final five. It was me, Maddy, Will, Derek and Kaela. That’s when I started to feel really good about it. At that point, I knew that Maddy was going home before I was and winning that final four HOH really confirmed that for me because I was going to be able to fight for my life in the final three HOH and of course, winning the final HOH really solidified it for me.
Can you share with us how you weighed the options of bringing either Derek or Kaela with you? Was there a lot of back and forth or did you know what you wanted to do going into that final HOH.
I knew exactly what I wanted to do even before winning that final HOH. I’m not sure how things were portrayed on TV but it was clear inside the house that anyone sitting beside Kaela was going to have a really good job at winning it. Kaela did a poor job at jury management and made a lot of enemies. When the jury heard her speech, I could tell that she wasn’t able to articulate herself very well on the spot. Derek on the other hand had made a lot of big moves but had a good relationship with the people that he did send home. I already had Maddy and Will’s vote and those are two people that Kaela had sent to the jury. I was trying to get Ryan, Olivia and Johnny’s vote and those are the people that Derek sent home, so by sending Derek home, I was able to get those three votes as well. So to me, it was clear that sitting next to Kaela was my option.
How did you prepare for the jury questions?
Honestly, I rehearsed so much! I thought that in my head I had the perfect answers. But when it came down to it, I had not said anything that I had rehearsed. It was so heated. Kaela started off really strong and I didn’t want to make it seem like I didn’t want this. We both just started screaming and saying how we felt! Honestly, it just came from the heart. I could not have prepared for those questions anyway. I just went for it! My preparation did not come in handy.
It seemed like that hardest part for you was voting Ali out, looking back was that something you could have avoided or was that the right move to make? Were you ever worried about how her jury vote would fall?
That was actually the most difficult call that I had made the entire season because I knew that from being a superfan, you do not keep a power duo inside the house. It’s something that I knew and told myself that if you get a chance to get one of these guys out, you do it. But on the other hand, Maddy being in the final five with me was really good for my game because she had made herself a really big target and had isolated herself. She was always going to go home before I did. It wasn’t really a final five for me at that point. Keeping Kaela and sending Alejandra home, made the final four for me.
Were you ever worried about how her jury vote would fall?
Oh, yes. Her vote was the most surprising for me because going into the finale, I really felt that I wasn’t going to have her vote unless she asked me a question where I gave her a really good response. She was the only person in the house whom I gave my word to and then went back on. I knew that it wasn’t going to be sitting well with her. I was very happy to hear that she was willing to hear me out and understand why I made the call that I made. I was happy to hear that she wasn’t bitter. Her and Olivia were probably the most surprising votes for me.
How do you feel about the all-female final two?
I love it. I would not have it any other way. There were really strong females in that house. We had a lot of bad ass girls in there. I’m happy to have been one of the ones to make history in that way. I’m really proud. I love it.
Any plans with the winnings yet?
I had my plans even before I came into the house. I knew I was going to be splitting it four ways. $25,000 is going to go towards my debt, tuition and law school. $25,000 is going to go towards a downpayment down the road. $25,000 will go to my family — however way they want to spend it. $25,000 will go to charity.
For more of The TV Watercooler’s Big Brother Canada coverage, click here.
