Following the finale of Big Brother Canada’s ninth season, we had the opportunity to speak with third-place runner up Tera Gillen-Petrozzi and second-place runner up Breydon White about being part of such a diverse cast, the hardest moves they had to make, and the biggest lesson learned inside the house.
Were you both Big Brother fans? How long have you been watching?
Breydon: So, I’ve been a Big Brother fan since I was younger. I watched a lot of the U.S. seasons. I haven’t been that much of a superfan for the Canadian seasons, but I think I’m a changed man.
Tera: I’m a superfan and I love Big Brother Canada more than the U.S. version. I watch both, I love me some Big Brother.
This was of course a very important season of the show regarding representation. How does it feel being part of such a historic television run?
Breydon: It feels really good being on a season that has so much representation and diversity. It’s really showing the world and mainstream media that representation really does matter. I think it’s such a big thing. I’m really glad that I got to be part of such a historical season.
Tera: I agree. When I knew that this was going to be the most diverse cast ever, I was like “Sign me up for all of that!” It was a beautiful thing to be part of. Who everyone represented, I think they did it amazingly. It was a really cool element to the house.
How do you feel about the women this season? The ladies were also making some big moves…
Tera: I mean, who run the world? Girls! [Laughs] Last time I checked, all the girls made all the big moves. Just saying… There were some very big moves. Honestly, I feel that if the women could have joined forces together, it would have been incredible. There were some powerful women in that house.
You both played the first half of the game as duos – Tera with Tina and Breydon with Austin. Did each of their evictions force you to re-evaluate how you were going to play the game going forward?
Breydon: Oh, one hundred percent. Because when you go through the game with one person that you solely trust and want to work to the end with, as soon as that person goes, you are left almost naked, and you have to figure out “Who am I going to work with now? Who am I going to trust? How is this going to work? How do I secure my safety moving forward?” Definitely losing your duo partner can flip your whole game upside down and make you start working hard.
Tera: I obviously loved Tina so much in the house but being part of a duo was a big target. As much as I didn’t want to see her go, I knew that it would maybe be better for my game because we were always seen as two votes. When you are a duo, people are always looking at you. So, as much as you don’t want to see them leave, you know that it’s just a matter of time where it’s either them or you.
Tera, what went through your mind when you found out you were still in the game?
Tera: When I found out I was still in the game, I was like “I can’t go back in there!” [Laughs] “I can’t!” We had just pulled off this whole epic trap door. We came together as a team. We had a mission to get Beth next, so to know that I would have to go back with the people who stabbed me in the back, it was really difficult. I was excited, like “Oh, I’m going to try and do my best!” But I was nervous going back into that house.
Was it strategy when you told Jedson everything or were you just relieved you could finally talk to someone?
Tera: It was definitely a strategy because I felt like my people had just snaked me so hard, that if Jed won, I wanted him going back with fire! If I wasn’t going back, I told Jed, “You have to go after Kiefer, you have to go after Tychon. Get them out!” It was definitely strategy. If I wasn’t going back, then it was going to be him going back with a vengeance!
Breydon, what went through your mind when you found out that either Jedson or Tera was coming back. You had just voted them out – at the time, who did you want to return?
Breydon: Oh, one hundred percent I wanted Tera to come back! There’s no way I wanted Jedson to come back through those doors! All week I had to mop around because I thought I was going to go home. I laid out in the rain and pretended to cry… So when I saw that Jedson was potentially coming back, I was like “Tera has to pull this one out!” I was rooting for her as soon as I saw her on the screen. I also felt really bad and that I needed to explain to her what had happened because [her eviction] was such a blindside. I knew that if she potentially could be coming back, I’d be relieved in a sense.
What do you think was the hardest move for each of you?
Tera: The hardest move for me, for sure, was voting out Kiefer. He was somebody that I was very close to early on in the house. He was somebody that I loved and respected, but coming back into the house, I had the biggest vendetta against him because I felt that he did me the dirtiest. It was still hard really hard being the only [other] parent in the house to take that away from him, but I knew he’d do that to me… It was very hard to do.
Breydon: I think that with Beth, I did just genuinely really feel bad because I know that we have such a good personal relationship that I was turning on a friend. Genuinely, I knew how much it meant to her and it’s hard knowing that you are the one crushing someone else’s dreams.
Tera: Yes!
Breydon: Anytime you are HOH, although you have secured your safety and you have a power, knowing that at the end of the week, someone is going to go home and you’re going to be ruining their dreams of winning this game is obviously the hardest part.
Who was the easiest to get along with inside the house?
Tera: Obviously, I’d say Tina.
Breydon: Tina!
Tera: Or Breydon. I will say it until I’m blue in the face. I could not believe I was the only one to vote for Breydon [to win]. His social game! He is just a super nice and caring person. I was shocked that I was the only one who voted for him.
Who was the hardest to connect with?
Breydon: Ooh, I would say that at the beginning, the hardest person for me to connect with was probably Jed. Just because we are so different. We lead such different lives and lifestyles. We have such different interests that at the very beginning, it was very hard to find something that we both related to.
Tera: I would say the same too. I tried to connect with Jedson but I thought that it was more like he had his own people from early on and if you weren’t one of them in the game, it didn’t matter to him. I would try to have conversations with him and try to pick his brain but he wouldn’t give me much because he was so set with who he had that he didn’t need to.
How has the game changed you?
Tera: I think that for me, I thought I was strong before this, but now if I can do that, then I can anything. This game is so much harder that I thought it was. I feel like a much stronger person because of it, for sure.
Breydon: I agree. In my real life, I’m a very passive person so coming into this game and you have to pitch why you are good for someone’s game rather than someone else. I think that what I really learned in this game is having tough conversations with people like “I’m not keeping you [in the house] and this is why. I know it’s going to hurt your feelings.” I think that having difficult conversations and pitch yourself to someone else is really what I learned. It’s very hard place to be in and having to navigate everything on your mind – a lot of paranoia – I do think I’ve learned a lot in the house.
Tera: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!
Check out the rest of The TV Watercooler’s Big Brother Canada coverage here.
