Two months ago, Alyssa Lopez sat on the block next to Kyland Young, being told she was the target. Last night, Alyssa sat on the block next to Kyland, being told she was a pawn. But a lot has changed in that time between nominations, as the swimwear designer’s tenure in the house has been far from a day at the beach. While her first nomination marked the beginning of the “Cookout” alliance, her last one and subsequent eviction marked a milestone achievement, with the sixsome guaranteeing a Black winner this season. Alyssa came into the game a hungry fan, looking to feast on a summer of deception. What she, and many in the house, didn’t expect was Brandon “Frenchie” French. Among his flurry of targets during Week 1, he nominated Alyssa to take a shot at her teammate Christian Birkenberger, who he had framed as a possible showmance. This devastated and perplexed her, though she was able to survive when Frenchie’s “meathead” thirst was slaked with Travis Long. Luckily she stayed off the block from then on out, thanks to the competition dominance of her Kings team. And perhaps bringing Frenchie’s prophecy to fruition, she began to become more intimate with Christian. Week 5 was when things began to unravel for Alyssa. Derek Xiao went through with a plan to backdoor Christian, despite Alyssa’s last-minute pitch. With the “Royal Flush” flushed, she found herself with only one main ally left in Xavier Prather, who was keeping her as a +1 in the Cookout’s grand plan. Despite not being in power, she made up for it in competitions, winning two vetoes and the “Chopping Block Roulette,” the latter of which ironically led to Xavier hitting the block for the first time. This past week, Alyssa was able to stay her execution in a big way by winning a very tiny veto, sending Claire Rehfuss out by her own ally’s hand. But alas, Alyssa could not escape the first double eviction night of the season. Hannah Chaddha won HoH and nominated her, promising she was a pawn for Xavier, then Kyland Young. But once again, Alyssa was seen as bait to catch a “bigger fish,” this time the allure of the Cookout making it to the final six and making Big Brother history. Now on the way to the jury house, Alyssa talks with Parade.com about her reaction to the double eviction, how much being nominated changed her gameplay, and the struggles she had in the house following Christian’s eviction. You were nominated by Frenchie in the first week, who claimed he was using you to catch “big fish” Christian. How much did being targeted so early on affect the way you approached the game? Being targeted early on, especially with Frenchie, who said he wasn’t nominating me three different times, made me realize I needed to start working and strategizing much harder than most people. Laying low was what I was going to start with, and I had to change my whole strategy. Speaking of Christian, you two end up forming a tight bond during your time in the house. What caused you to become so close, and how much did it stem from what happened in Week 1? I definitely think Christian and I got close because we were on the same team together. We were both Have-Nots, so we had to eat slop and share a room. I do think Frenchie kind of pitched the idea of a showmance before it was anything, and maybe that helped it become a showmance. At the end of Week 1, we realized people were going to associate us together anyway. So we might as well work together. You made a Final 2 deal with Hannah this past week, yet she nominated you, saying you were a pawn to evict Xavier and Kyland. What are your feelings about your relationship this past week? I do think Hannah genuinely wanted to have a Final 2 with me. I do genuinely believe I was a pawn. I may be crazy and be wrong. But I don’t think she realized a lot of people are close with X in this game. Even though I was sitting next to Kyland, clearly, he has a lot of connections as well. So even though Hannah didn’t want me out, the house did. You mentioned you had difficulty making up any ground once Christian was evicted, except for your relationship with Xavier. Why do you think you struggled during the past month? I think I struggled once Christian left because it was a complete blindside for me. I think everyone was just BSing him this past week. And any time anyone said anything to me, they were BSing me as well. So it’s really hard to trust and believe people when they don’t have their best interests for your back. I felt my best strategy was to lay low and not talk a lot of game with people. I felt very excluded from a lot of game talk. Let’s finish with some rapid-fire thoughts about your fellow houseguests. Starting with Azah. Stunning and hilarious.Derek F. Cuddly and loud.Hannah. Intelligent and sneaky.Kyland. Talkative and boring.Tiffany. Blunt and honest.And finally, Xavier. Trustworthy and loyal. Next, check out our interview with Claire Rehfuss, who was evicted in Week 9 as part of the double eviction.
