Big Brother 10's Steven: "I Didn't Agree with My Nomination"

After the majority of the house evicted mastermind Brian, the houseguests set their sights on those loyal to him. Unfortunately for gay rodeo star Steven Daigle, that put him on the nomination block and, ultimately, out the door. We chatted with Steven to talk about how stressful it was in the house, what he thought of Jessie's self-centered goodbye message and who he thinks is ruling the house.

TVGuide.com: Even though you were bummed, you seemed also happy to be out of the house….
Steven Daigle: Absolutely. I would have loved to go further in the game, but that house is very stressful, very intense. I have a very happy life to go back to, so I'm OK with leaving.

TVGuide.com: Were you expecting the house to be less stressful or intense than it was?
Steven: I think the hardest thing about the house was the down time, the time that everyone at home doesn't see. You only sleep maybe three or four hours every night because there are always people talking or doing something. So you have 20 hours a day to fill with nothing. When you take every single luxury away, you spend that 20 hours a day just sitting around. Everyone thinks it's a dream come true to lay around and do nothing, but it becomes the most stressful aspect of your life.

TVGuide.com: What was your strategy coming into the house?
Steven: I planned to use my sexual orientation to my benefit. I knew I'd become close to the girls because women always love gay men, but I also have a macho, masculine aspect to myself that I could use to pull the straight men on my side as well. And I really think it worked the first couple of days. I just made one really bad decision when it came to Brian and standing by his side, and I think that pulled me down.

TVGuide.com: But you said early on you wanted to keep your sexuality a secret at first. How long did that last?
Steven: I did not want to lie about who I was, and I absolutely had every intention of letting everyone know I was gay. I wanted to come across as a guy from Dallas who rides bulls, and that's all I wanted them to know. If anyone asked me, and Libra did the first night, I would tell them. I didn't want to be the liar of the house, but I just didn't want my sexuality to be the only way I was seen in the house. I just wanted them to meet me.

TVGuide.com: You said standing beside Brian brought you down, and that's one of the main reasons you were nominated. Did that upset you?
Steven: I really didn't agree with it at all, and that was one of the biggest arguments I had with everyone in the house. I tried to show everyone that I was agreeing with the house by voting to evict Brian, and I thought that was like handing an olive branch out and saying, "Look, I'm doing what you've asked. Let's move past this." Dan was the only person that voted to evict Renny, but they saw it as a chance to get me out. They saw me as a threat and fierce competitor, and I really had no choice. The damage was done.

TVGuide.com: When we saw you make that argument, it seemed like the house was receptive to it. But judging by your pre-vote speech, it seemed like you were prepared to go. Did you ever think you had changed their minds?
Steven: It was touch and go. There was one minute where I thought I had a small window of opportunity, basically immediately before the POV meeting started. I was frantically running around the house, and I had Jessie and Michelle in the HOH room. Michelle was waffling back and forth about whether or not to take me off the block. She told me to find people who would agree to evict Libra, so I went to April and Ollie, who believe it or not, were talking about how much they wanted Libra out of the house. So, I tried — I went to every person in the house — but it all fell apart right before we sat down before the meeting. And I knew once I remained on the block that it was pretty much over.

TVGuide.com: You mentioned the house slowly turning against Libra, and it seems she's pulling as many strings as Brian was. Why do you think the house is so afraid to put her out?
Steven: The way you described it is exactly how I felt about it. I thought she and Ollie and April were extremely tight, and that Libra was running around and saying what she wanted and that people were going with it. But I couldn't figure out what she was offering these people that was keeping them on her side. I mean, they don't even like her and talk about not liking her, but yet, they do everything she wants.

TVGuide.com: What did you think of Jessie's goodbye message to you last night? It definitely did nothing to prove to viewers who think he's in love with himself that it's untrue….
Steven: Oh, it's definitely true. But, to be honest, I was so emotional when I was watching those that I really didn’t hear everything he said. I don't want it to come across that I don't like Jessie. I actually do really like him, but he's just really young and has a lot of immature qualities. He's a great workout partner and is great at motivating and showing new techniques. But honestly, I need to rewatch the episode to see exactly what he said.

TVGuide.com: Who do you think is running the house right now?
Steven: I think it's the big three: Libra, April and Ollie. I really feel like they are running the show and the puppet master is telling everyone what to do and what not to do. I could be wrong, but from my point of view, I believe they are the three to really watch out for.

TVGuide.com: Do you think they will be able to stick together until the end?
Steven: My hope is that Keesha breaks them up. I've heard that looks like it might not happen, but I told her right before the eviction that if she wanted to make it far in this game, she would have to get one of them out of the house.

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