No matter what the reality show is, one thing is true: Loose lips sink ships. Though information is currency, it’s possible to bankrupt yourself by revealing the wrong thing to the wrong person. It’s a lesson Khat Bell learned well in her time in The Circle. Though a latecomer to the game, she received a gift-wrapped package of intel via the “Joker” (actually Courtney Revolution). She used that to make a great first impression, making close bonds with Terilisha, “Trevor” (aka Deleesa Carrasquillo), and Chloe Veitch. As a result, she wound up in second place in her very first ratings, a testament to how well she wove her way into the group. That would be the high point in her time on The Circle, unfortunately. At one point, Khat decided to take the game into her own hands and took aim at Chloe. She went to Courtney and “River” (aka Lee Swift) to stir the pot. The volleyball player hoped to bump and set a coup against the Brit, only to have things spiked back in her face. Courtney and River took her pitch right back to Chloe, who was furious at Khat’s betrayal. And when she and Trevor wound up as influencers, the writing was on the wall. Khat’s scheming blew up her spot, and she found herself walking out of the Circle for good. Read on to hear Khat’s thoughts on her time in the game. And check out Parade.com throughout The Circle season 2 with the various players and catfishes alike. Next, read our chat with Mitchell Eason, who was eliminated fifth on The Circle season 2. What made you decide to enter The Circle? I’m a big people person; I get along with everybody. I think one awesome thing about doing my job is I get to go to different cultures and meet different girls and coaches. I had some friends who saw season 1 of The Circle and were like, “Hey, you know what, you’d be really good at this. You could try it out.” So I ended up watching the first season. And while I was watching, I was making critiques about the other contestants. “You should have done this; this could have gone better.” I wondered if the application was online, and I saw the application is free. And free is good! The rest is history. You were a latecomer to The Circle this season. Did coming into an already-formed group affect your strategy at all? Not really. I think everyone knows that it’s kind of hard to win if you’re not a part of the first eight that go into the Circle. Honestly, going into the game, my goal was never to win. That was just icing on the cake. Obviously, being on a huge platform like Netflix is amazing; it’s a blessing. So I was just honored to be able to get to be a part of the show. When it got to me being blocked, of course, it sucks. I’m an athlete; I hate to lose. But even though I’m great when I win, I’m even greater when I lose. But I felt like I took my best game that I could, and I did what I came to do. I put my face on the TV screen; I entertained. And I had a great time. You enter The Circle alongside Mitchell, and you two end up working together until you’re blocked. Talk to me about your dynamic. Initially, it was just an automatic alliance since we were coming in together. But right off the bat. I already knew that Mitch and I could get along. At that point, I quite frankly didn’t care whether Mitch was a catfish or not. It wasn’t shown, but we actually chatted with each other pretty quickly. And our friendship blossomed from there. You also connected with Terilisha and Trevor right off the bat. What was that relationship, and how were you affected by Terilisha being blocked so early on during your time on the show? They didn’t show this, but Trevor and I both figured after talking with Terilisha that she was at the bottom of the group. So I knew she couldn’t help my game. So even though we linked up because she’s from Dallas, she was going to go home regardless of my vote. But we continue to be friends. She’s a great girl; I love her to death. Is there anyone else you kept up with from the season? Lisa! I love her. I talked to her yesterday. During my time there, I kept going back and forth as to whether she was a male or a female. But at the end of the day, our relationship really mattered. Man or woman, it was ultimately about the connection. Let’s talk about your relationship with Chloe. Things get off to a good note when you chat her up, talking about how much you loved her on Too Hot to Handle. Talk to me about building that dynamic, given what happens next. One of my major strategies was playing into people’s character. For example, Lance was there as the player, but I knew that it wasn’t him. But communicating with him, I was saying, “I’m a big *NSYNC fan!” I mean, I’m not that big of a fan. I’m not 12 years old anymore. So this was me again playing into the character. The whole time I was actually talking to production about Chloe. Because I knew The Circle had a UK edition. So I couldn’t quite figure out why Chloe would be on the US Circle when they have a UK one. I was also thrown off when “Emily” came on screen and revealed herself as Jack. All of us were saying, “He had to go see Chloe because they were best friends. So why doesn’t she own up to it?” I was the one who vocalized that and was eager to take that route to see if Chloe was who she said she was. So from there, I wanted to ruffle some feathers. And obviously, look what happened! I got blocked. And I love Chloe; we talked yesterday too. We have a great friendship. But it was just part of the game. You wind up in the top 2 of your first ratings. And you decide the day after to start “playing it risky” and go after Chloe. What made you decide to do that, especially after finishing so high in the ratings? So Mitch and I had figured out Courtney was the Joker early on, even before the episode was filmed. And when we were doing those ratings [for the double blocking], we knew two people would go, just not the bottom two people. So after the ratings, I was like, “Hey, I know Courtney and River are running the game right now. They’re the head of the snake. If we take the head off, everyone has an even playing field to win the money.” But when they survived the double blocking, I knew I couldn’t go after them right away. I think my downfall was talking to River and Courtney. What I should have done was talk to Chloe. I should have told her what my thoughts on the Joker situation were and say, “Hey, let’s investigate. Let’s see if we can find out who the Joker was and compare notes.” I was right in going to that three-person alliance, but I went to the wrong people. I should have gone to Chloe, and instead, I went to the #MessyQueens. After you realize that Courtney and River weren’t on board with your plan, you then go to Chloe and try to spin that you were baiting them for her. How did you plan your approach there? So again, I knew Courtney was the Joker. But I didn’t know if what he told us were actually his intentions or if he was just throwing [expletive] out there. So when I talked to him, I saw that he didn’t really speak up about suspicions against Chloe. I realized from our conversation that nothing that he had said was true. And so, knowing Courtney and River, I knew they would go back to Chloe. So when I came to her, I wanted to make a clean slate. But even when I was talking to her, I wasn’t sure they had told her. I was trying to tell myself, “Obviously, I went the wrong way. Maybe if I can get Chloe back on my route, I can redo this and set it back up.” I was trying to get Courtney and River out, to be honest, and it obviously backfired. Why did you choose to rate Chloe 2nd, given you had believed River and Courtney told her about what you were doing? So I figured that Trevor would be there. Knowing the bond that he and Chloe had and how close he was with me, I thought Trevor would push for me more. After watching the episodes, Deleesa did what she absolutely could. But also keeping me would make things worse for her case. I rated Chloe #2 because my game wasn’t trying to get her out. I was trying to get Courtney and River out. How surprised are you when you find out you’re the one blocked? So once I saw Chloe and Trevor were the influencers, I figured Trevor would have to send home Courtney or River. He knew he had to bring up that alliance. I knew that Trevor knew River and Courtney were in on something together. But once I saw my name come up, I said, “Okay, Trevor and Chloe are really, really tight. Whatever she said to him was more important than keeping me. I’m not surprised because their bond is together.” You choose to visit Trevor on your way out. What went behind that decision, and why did you choose to give Deleesa the advice you did? It took me a little bit to figure out who I wanted to see. I definitely knew why Chloe blocked me. But I wanted to say that I didn’t know so that production might be swayed to let me visit her. Because if I did, I would have come at her saying, “I came to you humbling myself. That was me being genuine. This is what you’re facing right now.” I wanted to get information to her. With Trevor, I knew even if I couldn’t get to Chloe, the information would still get to her. Of course, watching the episodes back, it seemed like she still had a tough time believing. I was like, “Dammit Chloe, what the [expletive]?! Mitch and Trevor are both trying to tell you the same thing I was telling you! But you still ain’t listening.” I’m just glad I didn’t see Courtney. After watching the show this morning, I’m like, “I should have gone to go see his ass.” (Laughs.) But ultimately, I felt like that wouldn’t be anything for anybody. I wanted to get Courtney and River out. So I wanted to go to someone who could potentially get them out because I knew they had gone back and talked to Chloe after I talked with them. What was your reaction to seeing Trevor was actually Deleesa? For a while, I was going back and forth in my head as to whether Trevor was a male or a female. She got me off the scent with answering that sports question right; I didn’t realize it was a lucky guess! But one time, we were talking about how Trevor felt about Chloe, and I was thinking, “A man wouldn’t really express himself like that.” Then we got to the “glammequin” challenge, which I should have won! (Laughs.) But I’m fine. Again, I’m a good winner and a better loser. But that challenge gave more away. But I didn’t want to take that away from him. I thought, “Maybe he’s just really artistic and paints in his free time.” So when I walked to the door, I was about 50/50 between whether it was a man or a woman. When I entered, I could smell it. I was like, “She’s a girl.” And I hit the corner and saw her. And from there, it was awesome. Obviously, she looks beautiful. She’s just this shining light that takes over a room. We automatically became friends right after that. We hugged, and I was like, “Girl, we gotta spill the tea because I’ve gotta get you to the finals!” You furthered that agenda in your final message when you outright mention the “messy queens” and talk about a snake with two heads. What was your strategy behind the words you chose? With the “two messy queens” comment, there’s there were only two or potentially three gay men in The Circle. But I wanted to make sure I put “messy” in there because everyone knows what messy means. I wanted everyone to know “two heads are better than one” and that River and Courtney are sticking through this game together. I wanted to tarnish their reputations. As much as I couldn’t say, I figured it was enough. And then watching back this morning, Chloe didn’t know who I was talking about! And I’m like, “Damn, girl!” Next, read our chat with Mitchell Eason, who was eliminated fifth on The Circle season 2.
