'Big Brother 25's Kirsten Elwin Reveals She Went on a Last-Minute "Rampage" During Her Eviction

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.

Kirsten Elwin got kicked in the butt on the first day of Big Brother 25. That was literally the case for her in the opening hours of the game, as she succumbed to the season's first twist and was automatically nominated for finishing in last in her competition. But that action carried over as the night continued. Feeling the heat on her immediately, Kirsten began to form alliances, between a "Phalanx Five" inside the gym, as well as a coalition to protect the older houseguests. What she didn't bank on, however, was a secret relationship comparing notes. In one of their first clandestine meetings of the season, mother and son duo Cirie Fields and Jared Fields came together at the end of the night, both realizing that Kirsten was already making multiple deals.

When Phalanx member Reilly Smedley won the first HoH, giving her the power to remove two existing nominees, Kirsten was thrilled, figuring her scrambling off the bat would help her. But the exact opposite proved to be true. Word got back to Reilly of Kirsten's double dipping, leaving her stunned and on the block. The first week only picked up from there, as two sides quickly assembled (and one basically disintegrated) in a matter of days. But throughout the chaos, one thing was constant between the other houseguests: Kirsten wasn't a part of their plans. Despite how divided the cast was, they unanimously chose to evict her, ending a week of the molecular biologist feeling like the most distant electron in the house.

Now out of the house, Kirsten talks with Parade.com about everything that went down on her last day in the game, the strategizing that led to her gaming so much on the first night, and the mood of the house following Luke Valentine's removal after saying a racial slur.

Related: Everything to Know About Big Brother 25

So the feeds were down during your last day in the house. Can you enlighten us on what happened? You talked about how Reilly’s side was promising you their vote, and Jared slipping up when referring to a nickname of his that connected him to Cirie in retrospect.
Oh, my goodness. Okay. Literally right before the vote, I woke up that morning feeling better than I felt the previous morning. And I kind of just was double checking, dotting my I's, crossing my T's with everyone I had already spoken with in the house. I think my last conversation might have been Cameron; that didn't really go anywhere encouraging. But Matt and I had spoken, and he said, "Hey, I definitely want you on my team. You're definitely somebody I want to work with." Cory stated he knows that I'd be good for his game. And if I have Reilly, Cameron, Matt, Jag, then I've got him.

So while the live show was going on, I'm constantly running back and forth to the bathroom trying to find my water. But at the same time, while people are in the bathroom, [I'm] just confirming with them, making sure everyone in the house has the same information. Jag and I had spoken right before, and he said, "Hey, how are you feeling? There's some type of way that you may stay in the house." And I asked him, "Are you saying that you don't think we have it in the vote?" He said, "I talked to Reilly. I talked to Matt. I talked to Blue, America. Everyone wants to work with you. But I don't think we have it in the vote because we still need votes on the other side of the house."

So I then went on a rampage. I spoke with Jared. I whisper to him on the couch. He didn't hear me. So we went to the bathroom together. I spoke with Mecole as well in the bathroom. I spoke with Cory. And then there was a scenario where we were all pretty much in the bathroom. So Jag was there, Matt was there, Reilly was there. And I was like, "Listen, Matt's telling me we're good. Jag came to me and told me, 'You've got the numbers.' Reilly, you're right here. I want to make sure that everyone knows everything." I spoke with Mecole, "Hey, will you let the other side of the house know? Because I don't want anyone on the wrong side of the vote."

So everyone was one-on-one accord. Cory was like, "Yeah, if you've got them, you got me. We're good." So I'm sitting pretty in the nom chair at this point. No matter what, my goal in this house was to campaign until the bitter end. I wanted to make sure I left no stone unturned. And that if I did go home, I wouldn't regret it, to say, "Hey, I didn't push hard enough." I don't know if it showed, but there wasn't one person in that house I hadn't spoken with numerous times on gameplay. These people were all divulging information. I feel like there are a lot of reasons why things could have gone the way that they did. But at the end of the day, I was a target, probably the hottest one, so it had to happen.

You speak about gameplay. Let's get back to the first night that got you in hot water in the first place. You go around making the Phalanx 5, and then go to Cirie and Felicia and promising protection. And it's this immediate strategizing that gets you in trouble and evicted. What was your intention behind this?
Yeah, so I actually didn't start the Phalanx 5 at all. I was not the originator. I didn't even know where that name came from. I think Matt, Reilly, and I were like, "Where's this from?" And then one of the houseguests goes, "Oh, it's a Roman thing." I'm like, "Okay, whatever." He's like, "You guys weren't even gonna say it." So I did not start the Phalanx 5 at all.

[So] everyone was socializing. And I remember I was around the island in the kitchen, and Jared was in the bathroom, and he stated, "Hey, I know that you're having fun, but I just walked in on something in the Have-Not room. I just want to let you know that the game is going on." So I'm like, "Well, what does that mean?" Felicia, Mecole, and I, very early, coming into the house, had a conversation that we would be working together. America, Blue, and myself were like, "Oh, we can be called the City Girls," in my room super early. I mean, Cory is still in the Nether Region at this point. And all of this is going on. So Phalanx 5 was towards the end of the night, we'll get back to that.

Nevertheless, after Jared lets me know, this might be around 10:30 p.m., something around that. I go to the room where Felicia is, Cirie is, Mecole is, America is--who I know, in my head, I'm working with. Red, wildcard. Bowie's in there. And I don't know if I mentioned Jared. We're talking about Cory having a power or not having a power. And I said I believe it to be unfair if he was taken from the game for two hours and missed that period. And he didn't get any special power. And now that Jared had just told me that they are working together, I'm more gung-ho. "Cory has to have power. There's no way all of the comp beasts are gonna be like, 'Hey, I want to work with you' for no reason." And Red is adamant, "No, he's not." And then I go, "Red, honestly, these people, they're pretty strong at competing in teams. If they would want to work with anyone, it would be you, Red." He says, "Okay, but if anyone should go home this week, it's that Nether feller, Cory." That was the end of the conversation. I don't know where it went to after that. But that was the start of the conversation.

Later on, in the gym, the Phalanx 5, to me, it was more of a fitness thing. Now this is about 1:30 in the morning. This must have been the fourth group conversation of the evening, Night One. And Luke brings up the Phalanx 5. So I think it's Jared, myself, Reilly, and Matt. And it's just a gym kick. The following day or so, I'm like, "Hey, this is B.S. We didn't even get up and work out. There's no point." I think it was starting as a gym workout together thing. But I think, obviously, we all assumed that over time, it would be some sort of work together angle.

Obviously we need to talk about the situation involving Luke and his removal from the house. We were not privy to conversations about the incident due to the feeds being down. Can you talk to me about what the atmosphere was like in the house after that?
It was pretty heavy. Obviously, people were hurt. I think part of it is we were concerned about each other's feelings. It was more of just a, "Hey, we all love each other, despite any factors that differentiate us." We were hugging. We were crying. We were sharing experiences. People shared experiences where, in the past, they [should have] stood up for certain things. So it was just more of a coming together moment for us. I honestly would call it a family moment. And that was it. It was full of a lot of love.

To finish things off, give me your rapid-fire thoughts on each of the houseguests. Starting with America.
I love America. America's favorite. She's gorgeous. Gorgeous, that's what I would say.
Blue.
Feisty, bubbly.
Bowie Jane.
Calculated.
Cameron.
[Pauses, then laughs.] Wait a minute. I don't know. I think "chameleon."
Cirie.
She's dynamic.
Cory.
Very smart. I can tell his grandfather taught him how to play chess.
Felicia.
[Laughs.] She's good. She's good.
Hisam.
The winner in my heart.
Izzy.
Smart.
Jag.
Loving, honest, kind.
Jared.
I think he's got all his cards on the table. Determined, for sure.
Matt.
Athletic.
Mecole.
I would say I would call her smart too, but I want to use a different word. I want her to win. Honestly, I want to see her go really far in the competition. She's strategic. She's analytical. I think she's concealing a lot of her intelligence, which she should, so I think she's playing a great game. So I would say all those words.
Red.
He's smart. [Laughs.] Red is hiding. He's hiding how amazing of a player that he's going to be in this game when the moment is great. So I would say calculated.
And finally, someone I'm sure you have a lot of words for, Reilly.
[Laughs.] Oh. I hope it gets better for ReiRei. [Laughs.] I really do.  I think she's smart as well. That's one of the first things I noticed about Reilly. When we had our first one-on-one, I was like, "Oh, she's actually intelligent. She's an intelligent woman." So I hope it pans out well for her.

Next, read about why Big Brother 25 houseguest Luke Valentine was ejected from the game.