Hannah Chaddha is a student through and through. In the first scene we saw of her on Big Brother 23, the grad student said she loved going to school. And over the course of 71 days, we saw the season’s youngest houseguest come into her own as she went through the Big Brother syllabus with a solid report card. Unfortunately for Chaddha, she wasn’t able to graduate with that $750,000 BB B.A., getting expelled from the house as a victim of a surprise back-to-back double eviction. Chaddha started the game as part of the Aces team, where she was both receiving and giving attention. With the former, Brent Champagne’s hopes of getting with her were sky-high, but she sent them into a nosedive with glee as she helped lead the house-wide initiative to evict him. Meanwhile, she was showing some interest in her teammate Derek Xiao, a personal bond that became strategic when they ended up being the last two Aces remaining. Though she had seemingly found a low-key spot in the game, she pinged on the radar of Sarah Beth Steagall, who encouraged Christian Birkenberger to target her as a stealthy threat in his HoH. She was able to survive due to a convincing pitch to Christian that she should be a pawn and the protection of the majority “Cookout” alliance. And it was that alliance she was loyal to first and foremost, and as we reached the pointy end of the game, some backstabs had to occur. Most notably, she convinced Derek X. not to play for his safety in the “Chopping Block Roulette,” despite knowing a backdoor plan was in place for him. But even as allies left her side, she continued to approach the game analytically. When the Cookout made history and reached the final six, Chaddha thought she was safe with the finale deal she made with Tiffany Mitchell and Kyland Young. But Kyland’s HoH left them with egg on their face, as they were nominated, and she saw his preference of working with Xavier Prather. Though Chaddha survived that eviction, she would not survive the night. A surprise second double eviction–the first back-to-back in the show’s history–put Azah Awasum in power, and she told Chaddha that she would go up as a pawn next to Xavier. It’s a story she fed Alyssa Lopez during her HoH the week before, and it had the same ending: With the “pawn” being evicted. Now on the way to the jury house, Chaddha talks with Parade.com about how she attempted to save herself during the double eviction, the difficulty of balancing an individual game as a member of the Cookout, and playing a crucial part in Derek X.’s elimination. During the double eviction, after Azah tells you that you’re going up but Xavier and Kyland are the targets, were there any conversations or pitches you attempted to make to try to save yourself from eviction? The double eviction was a blur. I’m not actually sure what came out of my mouth. Everything was happening so rapidly. But what I tried to communicate to Azah was that the guys do not have her back, and she should have put Kyland next to one of them. I knew she probably wasn’t going to touch Big D based on how tight they were. And I guess she made a deal with Kyland last week that if she won HoH this week, she wouldn’t put him up, and I would be the target. As soon as she told me I was going up, I knew there wasn’t much I could do about that. I think she and everyone else had their sights set on sending me home right after Tiff. I did hope she would put up Kyland and Xavier to guarantee one of them would have gone home. I would have voted to keep Big D in this game if one of them won the veto. But there wasn’t much I could do besides win HoH or veto, and I failed to do that. So here I am. All Cookout members had to balance servicing the alliance while also having individual relationships and deals with non-Cookout members. How difficult was it for you to personally manage that? The Cookout members were each playing three different games. Everyone else was playing one. We were playing the games we were expected to play, such as thinking I was playing with DX, Claire, and Tiff. Then you had the game we were really playing, which was to get the Cookout to the final six. Then you had to also figure out how to set yourself up within the Cookout for when we got down to six, how our dynamic would change and how to work around that for your longevity. It was very hard to balance the three. There were so many fake plotlines, and you have to remember what you told DX or Claire or this person or that person. It was a lot to juggle. But I love thinking; I love strategizing. I love using my brain. So it was all fun for me! The Big Brother fan in me had a blast this summer. You and Derek X. built a tight relationship. But in the service of the Cookout, you had to do difficult things like convincing him not to play in the roulette. Talk to me about your dynamic. DX is wonderful. He’s amazing; he’s hilarious. He’s an all-around stand-up guy. I felt so guilty that week. You had people in the Cookout who wanted to keep DX. But for the benefit of the Cookout, we had to send him home that week. He was being handed to us on a silver platter. We were somehow able to get him out, despite him playing in the HoH, being able to play Veto, and being able to save himself in the roulette. It was so imperative that myself and other members of the Cookout convince him to save his money for “Coin of Destiny” when he actually needed that power. It was an emotionally turbulent week. I knew I was sealing his fate, despite him considering me to be a close ally. He didn’t play the roulette because he felt I was in more danger of going home than he was, even though he was the target that week, and he just didn’t know. It crushed me, and that’s why I sobbed hysterically right after he walked out of the house. And I do not cry at all. But I can’t remember the last time I’ve felt that much guilt. It was rough balancing my personal game with the game that benefited the Cookout. But I think that’s just a testament to how committed we were to getting to the final six. We were willing to make so many sacrifices to see that group. Let’s finish with some rapid-fire thoughts about your fellow houseguests. Starting with Azah. Empathetic, yet naive.Derek F. A character.Kyland. Manipulative and came to play Big Brother for himself.And finally, Xavier. Safe. My big brother. Next, check out our interview with Tiffany Mitchell, who was evicted in Week 10 as part of the second double eviction of the season.
