One of the season’s biggest players gets into why he volunteered to go up on T’kor HoH, saying she’s “a little afraid to play the game.”

Big Brother’s house is open once more! Every week, Parade.com’s Mike Bloom will be bringing you interviews with this season’s houseguests as they get evicted from the game.

Tucker Des Lauriers was the first to stride confidently through the doors of the Big Brother 26 house. It’s representative of the marketing and sales exec wanting to be the first of his kind in the game. Through six weeks, his uniqueness bore out, starting rivalries, putting himself on the block multiple times, crushing competitions, and making huge moves that shocked the house. Unfortunately for Tucker, he was the victim of the latter this past week. After getting put up as a pawn by his ally T’kor Clottey, Tucker spent the week sowing copyrighted chaos as the “AI Instigator.” But the chaos came for him in the end, as some of Tucker’s fiercest rivals flipped the house against him, sending him out with a crushed look on his face and an AI bodysuit.

On the first night, Tucker revealed he was a chef. And, game-wise, he immediately started to cook. He harbored personal grudges against Matt Hardeman and Lisa Weintraub, pushing hard to engineer their evictions. And he was usually doing this campaigning from the block, as he oftentimes volunteered to go up as a pawn to show himself as a loyal ally to the HoH. Even with his actions, he never faced the final vote, as he won a staggering six competitions in four weeks, becoming a master of the new “AI Arena” challenge. And he used that power to make huge moves and shake up the game even before he became the AI Instigator. In his first Veto win, for instance, he shocked nearly all of the house by using it on Angela Murray rather than himself, hoping Cedric Hodges would go along with his plan to backdoor Quinn Martin. When Cedric refused to do so, and Kimo Apaka told him about the “Pentagon” alliance that both Quinn and Cedric were part of, Tucker had a new mission.

After Tucker helped flip the house to protect his kindling showmance Rubina Bernabe and evict Cedric, he immediately won HoH and Veto the following week. And, naturally, he used it to take a bold stand, using the Veto to take off his own nominee in Quinn, and publicly declaring Brooklyn Rivera and Chelsie Baham were his targets, outing the Pentagon to the whole house. On her eviction night, Brooklyn responded with her own public statement, saying everyone was playing for second place to Tucker. When T’kor won the next HoH, Tucker felt great about “Sixth Avenue” continuing their reign, even begrudgingly offering himself up as a pawn yet again. He felt even better when he became the AI Instigator, using the anonymous power to sow disorder, and purposely out his showmance.

When Tucker confided in Angela about suspicions that she was the Instigator, it prompted a shocking move from the similarly-chaotic player, as she began to target her formerly-tightest ally. Her move got back to T’kor, and got her up on the block. But, behind the scenes, the wheels were turning for another flip. With two members of “Sixth Avenue” on the block, Chelsie and Quinn got the rest of the house together to pull off a Tucker-esque big move. Tucker lost both the Veto and AI Arena competitions, facing eviction for the first time. And, while he continually said he “had that dog” in him, every dog has its day. For Tucker, that was Day 45, as a close 5-3 vote sent him out with tears in their eyes and one more kiss with Rubina.

Now out of the house, Tucker talks with Parade.com about why he chose to volunteer for the block on T’kor’s HoH, how he looks back on his time as the AI Instigator, and why Quinn is “untrustworthy, but a great player.”

Hey, Tucker! How are you doing today?
Hey, Mike! It’s bittersweet, I’m still in shock. I hope Quinn gets put up on that block soon. [Laughs.] But yeah, I’m great. How are you?

I’m doing well! To your point, it’s bittersweet to talk with you. But I’m excited to get into it, because you packed a lot into six weeks. Let’s start with where things ended. As Julie pointed out, you clearly looked defeated after you lost the AI Arena. And you even told Angela that you would be going over her. So talk me through what was going through your head in those minutes before you walked out the door.
I had a very strong inkling that I was going out. I was being told that we got the votes. I really didn’t think we did. I know that I was a very appetizing target the whole time in there, and the second people would have a chance to strike, they would have been fools not to. But I did a lot in the house to keep people around and make them feel good. So I was hoping that would come back and repay me. But this is not a house to be a nice guy in, apparently. So I would have been I was expecting me to go. If it was a tie, I was hoping T’kor would have kept me. But I was not expecting it to be anything more than a tie. I was more so expecting the three that I got, Rubina, Kimo, and Joseph.

You talk about being an appetizing target. You tenderized that by telling T’kor you were find going up as a pawn for the third time. But, you had just watched Cedric offer himself up and go in a big house flip. And you had won both HoH and Veto the week before. Talk me through your logic in offering yourself up as a pawn again.
I was surprised that she actually did it, because there was a lot of other targets she could have gone after. I know that she was close with Chelsie, and they had an unspoken agreement until jury. But Leah had never been on the block; Kimo didn’t trust her that much. I would have been a good person to go in there. But I wanted to be a gentleman, and I offered it to two people that I was not in an alliance with. So I’m in an alliance with her. She has the most contagious, joyous, celebratory happiness. Even when we would play pool, and she would sink a ball, she’d jump up and down and be so excited. You can’t not feel warm in your heart. So I know how hard that HoH can be. I know that she’s a very empathetic person, and I just wanted to offer it so she knew she had that comfort padding if she needed it. I didn’t think she needed it. But, once the decision was made, I was ready to do what I did the last two weeks. Cedric didn’t have a winning streak like me. I was very comfortable in the AI Arena. And I love puzzles, even still! I just didn’t listen to the directions clearly. I thought the numbers had to face the other way, and they were supposed to face you when you put them up. So it got the best of me.

Despite not winning competitions this week, you did get some power in the form of the “AI Instigator.” You used that to anonymously out your showmance with Rubina. Not only did that prompt an adverse reaction from her, but it also distanced you from Leah and Makensy. The two of them had been forming a relationship with you last week, felt betrayed by you telling them Rubina was only like “a sister” to you, and the explicitness of your showmance is definitely a reason why you’re talking with me today. So talk me through your logic there.
First of all, Rubina, I’m so sorry that you got sad during that. That was not my intentions whatsoever. That was the hardest thing to do in this house. But it was also very hard to keep that secret going. There’s a lot of mental strain that goes on in there. There’s a lot of strategizing that has to happen. And so it wasn’t to put it in people’s faces. It was to ease our minds and to let us be us when we wanted. We had talks about how we were just going to be like, “Screw it. Let’s just tell people.” And it was to sort of put a target back on Quinn. Because he was there and did see it, and they weren’t trusting him, and they shouldn’t be trusting him in the game, obviously. But it was really to ease pressure on us, not put pressure on us. And I don’t think that worked out so well first few days. But in the end, I think it it did. I know showmances get targeted. But I knew all those targets wouldn’t really go to her; they would go to me. So I was down to be the human shield. And they broke the human shield, unfortunately. [Laughs.] But I kind of did it to myself. So that’s that’s a little relief that I could have in it. I don’t think anyone got me out but myself in this game. So I’m ready to run it back.

To finish, give your rapid-fire thoughts on each of the remaining houseguests. Starting with Angela.
Crazy, unloyal, paranoid.
Cam.
That’s my guy! Cam, smooth and steady.
Chelsie.
[Pause.] Very observant and calculated.
Joseph.
Oh, man, I love Joseph. For Joseph, it’s hilarious and incredibly smart.
Kimo.
One of the loveliest guys I’ve ever met. A bundle of joy and very observant.
Leah.
[Pause.] Sneaky.
Makensy.
Oh, that’s a tough one. Makensy, she’s adapting. She’s good at adapting. And a competitor.
Quinn.
Snake, ungrateful. But probably the most well thought out player in there, and deceiving. He knows what it takes, and he’s got all the qualities of it. Untrustworthy, but a great player.
Rubina.
Cute as a button! Amazing person, just as lovely as a human could possibly be. And she is incredibly strong and independent, and needs to trust in herself a little more, and she’ll witness.
And, finally, T’kor.
My artist buddy! She’s shy, a little afraid to play the game, for what it’s worth. But she is so creative and talented.

Well, I’m not sure if you’ve heard this yet. But I just want to prep you for the tidal wave of support that will be coming your way outside of the house. You brought so much chaos and entertainment to your time in the house. And though the chaos came for you eventually, the fans absolutely loved it. The houseguests were clearly upset to have you go, and that reflects even more so for the viewers.
Thank you very much. I can’t wait to do that. I appreciate all your words. I appreciate all the love everyone out there has been given me. And expect the unexpected and to thy own self be true! Life’s all about experience. So that’s how I was raised, and that’s how I was playing this game, and that’s how I live my life. So I’m glad you guys enjoyed it.