Devin Shepherd on Eviction, Bomb Squad
David Craig [WARNING: Spoilers from Thursday’s live eviction episode of Big Brother.]
Big Brother evicted its third houseguest of the season — and it’s fair to say he expected his ouster.
After ruffling feathers the week before while he was on his Head of Household reign, 26-year-old Devin Shepherd, a former baseball player and current motorcycle salesman, was evicted by a unanimous 11-0 vote July 17. The single father of one was the common enemy for the house this week and though he tried to turn the script and play the “lone wolf” card, the damage was already done. Shepherd — previously unaware of Team America and the Ariana Grande factor — was a pot-stirrer, holding a house meeting and later going against his own alliance by putting up a member on the nomination block.
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In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Shepherd discusses the two biggest mistakes he made in the game, why his time in the house was limited and why he was going after Donny.
It’s fair to say your time in the house was dramatic.
It was tough. My time in the house was amazing. I loved the experience. I definitely wasn’t prepared for the mental side of being in the house and the downtime. As a fan of the show, all you see is competition, competition, competition, banter and more competitions. Going into the house, the downtime is where everything was stirred up and that wasn’t something I wasn’t prepared for.
Looking back, should you have had a different strategy?
My strategy heading into the game was I wanted to play as honest as possible and I said that to some people. I wanted to potentially be more honest and loyal more so than anybody who played the game. And I knew that by doing that I wouldn’t be in the game for very long so when I walked through the front door, that hit me. My favorite players were Dan, Boogie and Rachel and they didn’t get to the winners’ circle by always being as honest as possible. It hit me that I might have to do some things in the house I’m not proud of, but at the end of the day I would have played hard and gone out Week 3 like I did than having floated and then gone out Week 3 and not have an opportunity to have played. All in all, I was very happy with the way I played. I played hard and I have no regrets with that.
You helped form a big alliance early on with the Bomb Squad. I know the numbers played into why it was an eight-person alliance. Why go with a big swing so early in the game, especially when you don’t know who these players are?
100 percent. That was my biggest mistake. If I could have gone back and do anything differently, it would be that. That would be one of two things I would have done differently in the house. You don’t get to know anybody until Day 28, which was my eviction day, and you get to understand the mood swings of people. Forming an alliance on Day 2 probably wasn’t the best idea. The rationale behind that was strength in numbers and control the house votes and make it to jury. Obviously I had already been playing hard. We wanted to [by jury], at that point, look at each other, “Nothing personal. We have a group of people here who came to play. So let’s get these floaters out of the house.” I thought that was the best strategy.
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Who would you have wanted to form a true alliance had you taken the time to really think about the group?
I would have loved to have formed up with Derrick, Donny and Brittany. Even Brittany up to Day 28, it was hard to figure her game out, but I got to know her as a person by Day 28. I think she’s an amazing person. I think Derrick and Donny are going to go very, very far in this game.
You mentioned Brittany. Explain why you put her on the block and then harbored a crush. Is that real?
Brittany coming into the house, she was very guarded, and once I got to know how it helped me understand her story. I’m a product of a single mother so I get what [raising three kids] can do on a single mother. I’m a single father as well. With Brittany I put her up for personal reasons because I didn’t like some of her gameplay and because she was guarded, I didn’t know her intentions in the house and that scared me and saw her as a huge threat. When she divulged who she is, I really could not do anything but have compassion for her and that was the sensitive side of me coming out. I look at Brittany as a great friend and a great person. I had a crush on the person that she was more so than the physical. I didn’t have the heart to send her out to send her out with nothing to show for it, I wanted to make sure to be in there to fight for her kids.
In the house meeting that you had, you said that you weren’t going to play personal. Yet when you put Brittany up, it was mainly personal. Do you see how you didn’t stay 100 percent true to your declaration?
100 percent. Part of it is game and part of it is my heart. When my daughter looks at this 20 years from now that she’s able to be proud of me. But in this game, people don’t win this game being honest and truthful all the time. I wanted to make sure that people could trust me or try to trust me and look at me and say hey, this guy made a mistake and admitted his faults and that’s admirable and maybe we can work with him. That was my reasoning behind it. For me, it was damned if I do, damned if I don’t. I was a target from Day 1 because of what I look like and because of my physical abilities.
The veto meeting was explosive when you put Zach up on the block. Is that a move you also regret?
The second thing that I regret is putting Zach up on the block. I put him up on the block for personal reasons. There were some things going on in the house that as a father of a young daughter I didn’t want to have to justify if I had to save him later in the game — there were some things he said about the women in the house. I wanted to make it clear that I didn’t condone some things that he said and in my opinion, he needed to leave the house that week regardless if we had an alliance or not. I should have put up Victoria on the block, next to Paola, and in my opinion Victoria would have gone home instead of Paola and Paola would have gone home in Week 3 instead of myself.
Were you aware of a three-person alliance called Team America that Donny was a part?
(Laughs.) No, I was not aware of it! If I had to guess, it would have been Donny, Jocasta and somebody else.
It’s Donny, Derrick and Frankie.
Good for Donny and Frankie man, that’s awesome. I had no clue. That’s fantastic. I like that.
Their first mission was to spread the rumor that Zach was Amanda Zuckerman’s cousin.
(Laughs.) That’s awesome! I didn’t know where they’re going to get with that one because that’s comical in the house. That’s a great strategy. At what point did that form?
It’s been going on since Week 2 I believe.
That’s awesome! Sometimes you gotta double align and that’s proven with winning strategy, especially with season 14 winner Ian. Good for Frankie. He pulled the wool over my eyes.
Who would you be gunning for if you were to enter the house again this season?
Still Donny! He’s playing the spy game. The irony in that is that I wanted to put him in Week 1 and wanted him gone and he ended up being a reason why I’m gone with me losing the veto. Still Donny. (Laughs.)
Were you aware that Frankie is also Ariana Grande’s brother?
Oh my god! Get out of here! I did not know that! I’m actually a huge fan of hers. That kid is a amazing! Frankie, Frankie, Frankie… wow, man of mystery. I don’t even know what to say to that. Obviously no one’s aware of that.
Any guesses on who the undercover cop is?
Please do not tell me it’s Victoria or Hayden. There’s no chance in hell.
It’s Derrick.
Oh my god. (Laughs.) Wow, I love this game. I have this newfound love for Big Brother. And he’s the one who sat there and said, “Devin’s probably a cop or a PO (parole officer).” He’s the cop!
What’s next for you?
I hope to be a great ambassador for the Big Brother game. I want to 100 percent be the most amazing father that I can be and that’s all I can see right now in the future.
Big Brother next airs 8 p.m. Sunday on CBS.
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