Isaiah “Zae” Frederich, the 23-year-old salesperson originally from Paducah, KY, was the first houseguest to be evicted on the 27th season of Big Brother.
The TV Watercooler has the opportunity to speak with Zae following his eviction, where he reflects on being an “easy target” due to a late connection with Vince and expresses understanding for Riley’s eviction vote as a strategic game move. He confirms Amy as the “accomplice” and discusses his genuine conflict with Rachel, stating he didn’t initially target her, but their rivalry escalated. Zae also predicts Kelley or Keanu as likely next targets and highlights his strong bond with Zach.
Do you think you were put on the bloc because Rylie thought you were the “accomplice”?
I don’t think so. I don’t think that it had much to play to into it. I think it was just the fact that Vince was the last one that I had made a connection with in the house. I had met everybody and I thought I was good – that I was cool, but then I looked over and saw Vince, and I was like “Woah – we didn’t even chat yet, bro.” I made a late connection, and I think it was just kind of the way we were sitting in the house. We didn’t make that connection until later, so I was an easy target for him. I understood in the moment that it was the best vision for his game, and so I kind of just accepted it.
I guess that it’s better reason to be up on the bloc versus having a two-hour shower in the HOH’s room like Ashley did?
A better reason! I would be known for not talking to Vince early on enough than the Showergate Scandal, or whatever they’re calling it!
Having had more time to reflect, how surprised were you that fellow Burger Boy, Riley voted to evict you?
You know, at the end of the day, it’s a game. If he felt like it’s better for his game, then I can’t blame him. Obviously, I did trust him, so I didn’t expect that at all. If he views me as a threat, then he and a lot of other people thought that this was their chance to take me out of the game and they capitalized on that.
I can’t blame him. I was a threat going into this game, and if I had lasted longer, I do think I would have started getting in a groove of winning competitions. I do think I would have started strategizing and making plays.
So honestly, I really can’t blame them for getting me out this early.
Amy was the accomplice — are you still surprised by that?
Honestly, looking back, it makes total sense! She’s a mom figure like Rachel, and most seasons don’t have two “mom figures.” It kind of made sense! I didn’t expect it in the moment that Amy was a mom. She looks a lot younger than she is. None of us realized that, and so we didn’t predict it.
It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out.
Did you ever think of taking a different strategy with Rachel at all before going after her? Like maybe trying to see if she’d work with you, or were you certain she’d continue to back Amy over you?
I mean, hindsight is 20/20. Maybe there’s some alternate universe where it works out for me and Rachel, and we work together! She’s not somebody that I planned on working with long-term.
I didn’t watch her seasons, so I didn’t know too much about her. But I had heard through the grapevine that she was a very strategic player and was known for making for making plays that really blindsided people. It was something that I was scared of and it was on my radar.
I didn’t want to work with her. I wanted her out. I would rather work with people that I knew I could trust long-term and who weren’t going to blindside me at any possible moment. Obviously, everyone on Big Brother gets blindsided at some point, but when I saw Rachel, I knew I would rather have her out of the house than in the house.
We only got to see some of your rivalry with Rachel in last night’s episode versus what was on the live feeds — did you play up any of that rivalry between you two or were you genuine in going after her?
Honestly, I wasn’t going after her. I tried to make it very clear to her, like – “Rachel, I am not targeting you. If I win H.O.H., I’m going to put up people that voted against me while I was on the block.” I was trying to say that I wasn’t even sure if I was going to put her on the block. Obviously after, our encounter, I definitely would have! But in that moment, she wasn’t even for sure getting put up on the block if I won H.O.H., she just kept asking, “Are you targeting me?”
It just kind of blew out of proportion. I don’t like conflict and I don’t like those kinds of arguments, but I felt like it was almost inescapable. She stormed off! I tried to chat with her, adult to adult after that, and she wanted to make a big scene in front of everybody. I think that in a way, it was her way to make me blow up to pin more votes against me and get me out of the house easier. But I didn’t blow up. I tried to talk to her one-on-one but she called me a child and all this stuff. But she showed that she was the real child by saying “I’m bored, I’m bored,” during that conversation.
It kind of showed her real intention by having a big blow up and trying to make me slip up and say something that I’d regret – which I didn’t.
Jimmy won HOH, how do you see this next week going? Who do you think he’ll target?
I think Kelley will go on the block. She went on the block last week because people wanted her out. I think she’s an easy one to go because she doesn’t really have many close alliances in the house. She was kind of telling lies a little bit – going around telling everybody that she has their back, and it’s just not how you can play this game.
I think Kelley will go pretty soon. If not this week, then it’ll be in the next couple of weeks. I know Jimmy and Kelley had a little bit of friction, but they kind of worked it out. I also still think that I could see Keanu going up because they’re not aligned, and a lot of the houseguests want Keanu out because of the way he was stirring things up and trying to play every side. I don’t think people trust him that much.
I think those two are the most likely ones to see the block soon. I could maybe potentially see Jimmy throwing Zach up just because he views Zach as a threat. But I also think it might be a little bit too early for that right now.
Who do you miss the most?
Zach. I love Zach!
Was Zach the easiest to connect with?
100%. I think Zach, Keanu and I had the most in common. Fitness is a big part of my life, and they’re both into fitness. They’re both super-chill guys. We just have very similar personalities.
They’re both really smart. By playing chess with Zach, I felt that intellectually, he was on the same playing field as me. I felt that we were on the same vibe. I just love Zach, all around. I hope to be friends with him for life!
Who will you miss the least?
Rachel. [Laughs] Rachel and I butted heads. I don’t think we hugged when I left the house. She was very clear that she didn’t like me very much and wanted me out. She didn’t try to hide it, so I didn’t try to hide it either. I didn’t think too much of her as a person. I thought she was an arrogant person who was always talking about herself. That’s not really my vibe. I don’t like people that are like that. And so, on a personal level, we didn’t really connect. And on a game level, we didn’t really connect either.
She’s not somebody that I would be super close with outside of the house, but obviously anything can change. I’m sure she has good intentions and is a good person at heart, but we kind of butted heads with a little bit!
Other than Rachel, who was the hardest person to connect with?
Oh, that’s a good one! I think I actually had really good connections with everyone else in the house. I would say, initially, Ava, because we have very different personalities, but after getting to know her, she’s actually super funny and super sick. I think Kelley was a little bit different. She really tried to mesh with the group, but you could tell she was out of place in a lot of conversations and thinks, but she did try her best to connect – you can tell she was just kind of on the outs, so that’s why I think she’s very soon to go.
What was the hardest part about adjusting to life inside the house?
Obviously, living with a lot of people I’ve never met, sleeping in a bed with a bunch of people where my bed is tucked underneath in like a little cubby – so that was different!
There was a ton of light being flashed on us! The microphones for sure – I’d forget and take it off and replace the batteries, but I did get used to it pretty fast. There were a lot of things that were a little bit hard to get used to, like sharing a bathroom with 16 other people!
But honestly, it wasn’t as bad as people probably make it seem – for me, at least.
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