Unfortunately for Tiffany, she was clipped first from the group, as nobody wanted her in her endgame plans. But she entered the jury, who were incredibly welcoming, receptive, and admiring of what she was able to accomplish. And so was America, as she won the title of America’s Favorite Houseguest for the season and received the highest prize ever for the title: $50,000. Shortly after Big Brother 23 wrapped, Parade.com spoke with Tiffany about the reaction to her winning America’s Favorite Houseguest, how her mood and relationships shifted in the jury house, and how she looks back on Big Brother 23 now that all is said and done. First off, I have to congratulate you on winning America’s Favorite Houseguest! It clearly surprised you when it was announced. What was your reaction at the moment? It was unbelievable. I love Derek, and I know America loves Derek. You couldn’t have told me Derek didn’t have this in the bag. But when Julie said it was between Derek and myself, I was definitely thinking, “Come on, America, I need the money!” (Laughs.) I did not think that I would beat out Derek because who doesn’t love him? But the fact that America loves me, I am so appreciative of that because I talked to America every single day. America was the only person I was loyal to. I’m actually going to show you something. (Pulls out phone.) I’m on Twitter right now, and I want you to see how many people changed their username to be “Text TIFFANY to 97979.” Get out of here! I’m serious! A lot of fans felt that, because of what you brought to the season across the board, you should be rewarded. So that super close vote came after a big push from the fandom. Wow, that means so much to me. I really did feel accomplished making a contribution to the Cookout. The contribution that I made was really just a gift that was passed through me that I shared. And I’m so glad that we all welcomed the master plan. It feels great to be acknowledged in that way for what my contribution was. I just cannot say thank you enough. It means a lot to me that I was acknowledged in that way by America. Let’s talk about the finale. It’s clear you and a lot of the jury were going to vote for Xavier no matter what if he made it to the end. Did anything about how the finale shook out surprise you? When I was on the block, getting ready to leave, I was pitching to Kyland. I thought, “Listen, the fact that no one else thinks that it is wise to send Xavier home first out of the Cookout lets me know that he’s getting a check for $750,000.” And when he didn’t follow me out of that house, which I did not expect him to, I told Kyland, “If Xavier makes it to four, just find a highlighter or somebody’s eyeliner pencil and just wrote ‘$750,000’ and give it to Xavier.” I was not surprised. Several times throughout last night’s episode, people like Xavier and Big D were claiming credit for creating the Cookout. Considering the large role you played in it, what was your reaction to others creating a bigger part for themselves in the narrative? We all walked in that door and saw five other individuals relative to ourselves. We decided unanimously and unspokenly that we would not target one another. Big D did make it a point to go around to each of us and say to us, “Hey, listen, we’re all working together. We’re going to make sure we all work together to get to the end.” He kind of formalized it, but it was something that we all collectively knew we would not do. We would not go against each other. Xavier did put the name on it of the Cookout; then, I came up with the master plan. So essentially, we all had a role in the Cookout to get to where we got to. But of course, men with egos love to take credit. So you know they’ll all say, “I did this.” Big D wants to get a Joker tattoo holding the Aces, Kings, and Queens cards in his hand like he carried us along the way. Big D didn’t win one competition! (Laughs.) Talk to me about the mood when you entered the jury house. As the first member of the Cookout to go there, you stood the chance of facing a group of people who were angry they got shut out in favor of your alliance. At first, it was welcoming, the fact that we established this alliance on day one, and it got us all the way to the end. However, I could tell that, although they respected what we did for the movement, I think that there was some disappointment. Realizing that they did not have a chance to win and thinking, “Was I used to further your game?” But that is the game of Big Brother! Someone is always used to further someone’s game because there can only be one winner. But collectively, everyone truly respected and admired us for the movement, for the statement that we made, for the unity. It was genuinely all love. Sarah Beth was someone you were actively targeting throughout your time in the house. But watching jury videos this past week, it seems like you two are thick as thieves. How did that relationship change once you both were on the jury? I fully respect Sarah Beth as a player in the game. I was the most scared of her in the house, which was actually a compliment to her because she threatened my game more than anyone. She’s a Leo like me, and I knew, if she ever got our eye on me, then I was going home. So I definitely wanted her out of the house. We weren’t the best of friends in the house, but we also were not enemies. In the jury house, though, we got to shed that layer of playing the game, and we got to be just regular people with each other. I realized that this girl really is sweet. She really is who she says she is. She opened up, and I welcomed that. I owed her apologies for however, I may have made her feel or whatever would be revealed to her when she watches the show back. I genuinely do care about her. She is really a sweet, wonderful person, and I would never want her to feel any kind of way watching this show back that I may have made her feel negative. That’s my girl! I will visit her in Florida; we will hang out. It’s really weird; I joked about it in the house, saying, “Y’all sending me to the jury with Sarah Beth?!” But I love her. I know Big Brother 23 is only slightly in the rearview mirror. But how do you look back on the season as a whole and your involvement in it? I am honored to have been a part of this cast. It’s such a wonderful loving cast. Whoever cast us found the best of the best 16 people to put in the house. We all became family; we all became friends. With the Cookout, I have never been a part of something so memorable and monumental in my life. I have a lot of ideas I come up with my friends, and we make contributions, and we talk about charities and things like that. But our season was not just about us, and it wasn’t just about us having to win the money. It was about us sticking together to do something to show America that we could set the money and the prize aside and show them that together we could accomplish this goal. I am very honored to be a part of that. I love what we did. I love the response that I’m hearing that we’re receiving. And for people who don’t understand it, that’s unfortunate. But I would never take it back. I am glad to have been on BB23. I’ve always wanted to be on all the other seasons. I am so glad that I was on this season because of what we did; I am truly proud. It was more than just winning the money. I would have liked to win the money, but I did win some money! Next, check out our interview with Kyland Young, who was evicted in Week 11.
