SPOILER ALERT: Do not read on unless you’ve watched Wednesday night’s episode of Big Brother Canada.
In the final episode of the season, superfan Dane Rupert, underdog Kyra Shenker and mastermind Anthony Douglas were apprehended for the most important mission of the season: the highly anticipated three-part HOH competition.
Rupert won the final Head of Household, taking Douglas to the final two and solidifying the complete domination of the Pretty Boys alliance.
WATCH BELOW: Four ‘Big Brother Canada 7’ houseguests talk strategy and showmances
Rupert and Douglas both fielded questions from the jury about why they deserved to win the $100,000 grand prize, $25,000 home furnishing makeover from Leon’s, $10,000 worth of groceries courtesy of Summer Fresh, as well as a dream vacation for two anywhere in the world courtesy of Contiki Holidays.
READ MORE: ‘Big Brother Canada’ finale: Season 7 winner crowned
Rupert received all seven of the jury votes to secure his victory and Douglas came in second place, winning $20,000 cash.
Global News sat down with Douglas in Toronto and asked him about his time in the Big Brother Canada house after he won the second place title for Season 7.
READ MORE: ‘Big Brother Canada’: 12th evicted house guest is ‘proud of what I’ve done in that house’
Global News: Are you surprised that you didn’t receive a single vote in the end?
Anthony Douglas: Honestly, no. I played my heart out in that game. I think I played a very, very good social game. But at the end of the day Dane played one of the best games that’s ever been played — that’s the Prince of Kelowna. You have to remember it’s not so much how you played the game, it’s more of what the jury thinks. Sometimes the jury doesn’t know what’s going on. You’ve got to remember who sets the tone when they go in the jury house, who goes in after them, and conversations that are had. They only know what happened from their perspective of the game really. I’m happy that I got to make it that far. I tried my hardest. It was extremely difficult but I’m happy with number two and I deserve number two.
Did you think you were going to make it that far?
There are times I really thought these comps were going to slow me down and get me out. But I think my fitness game was top notch. I think I definitely worked well with others. I was extremely social, extremely likeable inside that house and that’s definitely the reason that got me that far. A lot of the guys talk about being loyal to the soil. I was loyal as long as people were loyal to me. As soon as I started to sense disloyalty that’s when I started to stray away. But I definitely made it as far as I think I could have.
That moment with Kyra when you chased them into the bedroom after they caught you and Dane speaking about them in the bathroom… why did you do that?
I did that because at the beginning Kyra had always had this thing where they knew what they’re talking, all the time. Always! They have played this game blind. I’m being honest when I tell you the pretty boys always knew what was going on. We were the ones in traffic. We were the ones coming out on both sides of the road, oncoming traffic, driving through different lanes. Kyra was just blindfold walking on the sidewalk, being guided. I appreciate everything that Kyra has done for me. They did a lot in the game and they were extremely strong. The most improved player goes to Kyra.
In my opinion, the best part of this season — and maybe even BBCAN histoy — was when you convinced Mark to go out into the kitchen and flirt with Sam in front of Adam. That plan was amazing because it really did work. Adam was instantly jealous. That was the ultimate finesse and I think that’s when everyone learned you were the king of finesse. How did you come up with that plan?
I realized that very early like I pay very close attention to people. I watched their mannerisms inside that house. All you have to do is judge, basically, and decide who can be loyal and who’s going to be disloyal. I saw very early that Mark was smooth man. I know people disliked his game a little bit and he maybe said some things that bothered a couple of people, but Mark was smooth and he’s very good-looking. So we had to split up Sam and Adam. The thing is I never had a problem with Sam. I had a problem with Sam and Adam, because why are we fighting so hard for Adam and Adam doesn’t even care about his game? So we’ve got to split this up. What better way than jealousy? So I told Mark ‘lick your lips a little bit, put on a fresh outfit and if we’ve got to cut your hair, we will.’
Do you feel bad about lying to anyone specifically?
Here’s the thing. The people that I lied to and the people that you saw me being disloyal to were people who were either disloyal to me or disloyal to my alliance. I’m definitely a person that if you’re not cool with my friends, then you’re not cool with me. So people are slandering my alliance members names people are throwing out their names and causing fingers to be pointed at them. Well then you’ve got to go because it’s not just about me. Especially in the Big Brother house you can’t just fight for yourself. You have to fight for the people that are fighting for you. I have Adam who’s incredible in comps and Dane doing very well in comps. I’ll be damned if I let you guys go and talk their name and talk about getting them out especially to me. You say a word to me, you’re gone the next week. And that’s the way that it had to happen or it would have been one of us.
What would you say is the biggest lie you told in the house?
I would say the biggest lie was that Dane could not have been involved in the backdoor. I knew that Corey was onto them. First of all, that was a horrible idea guys, you should at least brought me on board. I would’ve helped you out but it was just horrible from the get go. You ran around and told the entire house that Corey was the one who was supposed to go up. I couldn’t believe my ears when I found out that it was Dane and Adam and I suspected Sam. I suspected Kyra. I suspected some other players that were being very sneaky in the game but not my guys. So it took me a lot to basically not even have a conversation with Dane and Adam. I could have easily called them out and be like ‘What are you guys doing?’ I had to keep quiet because there’s no way the plan would’ve worked if I opened my mouth. I stayed quiet and I worked alongside with Corey and I built a story of why it was Sam. Even though I knew it was Dane.
Will you be seeing Corey outside of the house?
Corey is a beautiful soul man. That is definitely a great person. Corey stands for a lot. Corey’s from the East Coast as well. I look up to Corey and Corey was definitely one of my best friends in this house. Anybody watching the show will definitely see Corey as a role model, somebody who they can turn to for fitness and just advice. She’s a teacher for a reason. I think Corey is is a wonderful person and I’ll definitely look forward to being friends with her outside the house.
What was the hardest part about living in the house?
The hardest part about the house is not knowing that my mom is OK. I am a firm believer in God and my faith is everything but not being able to talk to her and I know my mom relies on me a lot. She doesn’t have very many friends. I spend a lot of time with my mom. That is ultimately my best friend. My mom has seen many of my tears, I’ve seen many of her tears and we are a unit. We move together so not being able to know if she’s OK was probably the most difficult thing.
How did you feel when you saw her in the house? The scene was very emotional.
I got really emotional. That was very, very emotional and on so many different levels. My mom suffers from social anxiety. It is very difficult for her to be around new groups of people and she stays to herself. She’s extremely independent and she does not have very many friends and even at a point in time my mom didn’t even like to go to restaurants. It was tough for her to be in big crowds. So for her to have the courage to come on a TV show and be social with people that she’s never even met before, that was the biggest part for me. I’m so proud of her. I can’t wait to tell her how proud of her I am. That was probably the biggest moment inside that house for me was seeing my mom grow out and take steps in the right direction of of getting out of this social anxiety.
Who was the hardest to live with? And you can be completely honest because I’ve been getting candid answers all season.
I would say… that’s a tough one though.
Who was the first person to pop into your head when I asked you that?
(Laughing) OK, OK the hardest person to live with overall — and most likely because I lived with them the longest — I’d have to say is Kyra. We had such deep conversations. We got in arguments. we had discussions. Kyra is very bitter about how things played out. But honestly and truly Kyra is like a sibling to me. And I’m proud of them. And if I had an opportunity who I would have voted for if Dane voted me out, it definitely would have been Kyra because Kyra definitely deserved to get that far. Even though it was very difficult to live with Kyra I love them and they were one of my favorite people in the house at the same time.
What do you think makes people go so crazy in the house?
There is nowhere to turn. They’re there everywhere you look. There is a camera in your face; everywhere you look there’s somebody looking at you and judging you and watching you. Every other second you’re hearing about people saying your name you have to remain calm. There’s no outlets. Some people like to hit the gym. Some people like to listen to music. Some people like to talk to their best friends. They like to watch TV movies. There’s none of that. All you have to do is talk to these people who ultimately are trying to get you out of the house. So it’s tough staying focused.
Would you do anything differently?
No I think I played the game to the best of my ability. I’m not a comp beast. I do not have the best memory. I’m not Dane-size and I’m not as as in shape as Adam. A lot of these competitors in the house all bring something to the table. I was able to finesse and be a very strong social player in the house and that’s why I made it as far in terms of alliances. I would have went to the people who felt like home. Adam definitely after getting to know him he feels like home, I have friends like Adam. Dane and I have been through the same things. That feels like home. And I was asked what would my strength be in the house and who would I lean towards and I said ‘well I have no idea because I get along really well with women. I get along really well with men. So I have to see who I can really relate to and ultimately who I can trust.’
What’s the first thing you’re going to do after you finish your press day and step into the real world again?
I want to call my mom and I want to say thank you. Thank you very much for supporting me. I got a quick second, I got to speak with my mom on finale day and that is my strength. My mom has always believed in me. My mom has always made sacrifices for me — the ones I know about and even the ones I don’t know about. She’s given up her entire life for me. And I’m so thankful that I have someone like that to support me. Canada is great for supporters, my friends back home are great for supporters but to hear that my mom is proud of me and she loves me and she can’t wait to be with me is amazing.
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(This interview has been edited and condensed.)
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