Fans of Big Brother yearned for for many seasons to have a super fan, rather than a reruit, win Big Brother. Well earlier this week, they got their wish! Ian Terry, the student from Louisiana, was crowned the winner of Big Brother Wednesday night in what can only be called an upset against a vet, previous winner, true all-star and diabolical player Dan Gheesling. Ian walks away from his Big Brother summer $500,000 richer and the title of Big Brother 14 winner. What’s next for Ian? The Yak had the opportunity to sit down with Ian after the show and glean just a bit of what Ian was thinking after his amazing triumph. Keep reading to see what he had to say!
Ian began by filling us all in on how surreal and unreal this whole thing is. Still in shock from his win (and being able to see other faces than the ones he had been living with for the past 3 months) he is looking forward to watching the entire season play out on television, which he admitted will probably drive him crazy.
Ian was proud of how he played the game. Very proud, in face. He knows, now, that had he not won the veto at certain points in the game, his Big Brother journey more than likely would have been over, so pulling out the win at those key points saved him. He admits that Dan played a better game in the house than he did, but feels that Dan just forgot about the jury votes.
Ian Terry with Big Brother Hose, Julie ChenIan most definitely has more respect for the game of Big Brother. He found the game inside the house to be much more difficult than sitting at home and watching the show and the feeds. He said that when you watch from home, you have all the information about what everyone is doing around the house, but inside, your knowledge is a lot more limited, He admits that he was a bit star struck with the returning players, but that faded quickly as he began to see them as just other players in the game. He admits that he wasn’t happy in the house with Boogie and Frank thinking they just had him wrapped around their fingers. Lying to Boogie about voting to keep him, he admits, was one of the hardest things he had to do in the house, but he had no regrets and needed to do what he had to do. In fact, he did note that he had never promised to keep Boogie or Frank that late in the game, but said they just assumed he would.
As far as game play and Dan, he says he is over the backstabbing. At the end of the day, it’s a game. Yes, he was disappointed to learn that had he not won the last HOH, he wouldn’t have been taken to the end as promised and was disappointed in the “swearing on the cross” bit that Dan waved in his face; but it is a game show and he holds no hard feelings. Heck, he won!
Ian Terry, Big Brother 14 “Quack Packer”
What does Ian plan on doing now that the game is over? He mentioned a few things he wants to do with the money. Since he is unable to drive, he plans on getting himself a top of the line bicycle to ride around, purchase a few pairs of sunglasses and use some of the money for his education. He plans on going back to school to get his degree in Chemical Engineering. He also mentioned that he may be getting himself his own personal hammock to swing on, claiming that it relieved a lot of stress for him. Hopefully he has some WD40 in the cupboard at home. In the meantime, would Ian come back to Big Brother for an All Stars season? Absolutely he said. He would, however, like to finish up with his degree though. Ian was extremely humble and down to earth during out chat, as evident by his future plans and sticking true to his educational goals.
All and all, Ian does not regret any move he made, or any move anyone else made in the game this season. Why would he? Whatever happened in there must have happened for a reason to have Ian sitting there in the final two chairs and getting the votes from the jury to win the game. A big congrats to Ian on his win and a thank you for taking the time to talk to us!
Winner Ian Terry, Host Julie Chen, and Runner-Up Dan Gheesling
The mastermind of Big Brother, Dan Gheesling, ALMOST took the win for the second time on Big Brother Wednesday night… almost. Dan, who easily won season 10, receiving all seven jury votes in his season over his pal (that we got to hear a lot about this season, Memphis), was just not able to scrape out the win over Ian Terry this year. Dan did however play the game much more ruthless this year which cost him the jury in the long run. Had Dan won that final HOH and taken Danielle with him to the end, this may have ended much differently, but alas, that wasn’t meant to be. The Yak got the chance to chat with Dan this morning on his almost victory to see what he thought of the season, becoming the runner up and his fellow house guests. Keep reading to see what he had to say!
Dan admits that he knew the jury had already made up their mind and he had no chance of winning this season. Had he won that final Head of Household and took Danielle, things may have turned out different… however, even if he had won, he planned on taking Ian anyway. He said both Ian and himself believed that Danielle had too many friends on the jury and that neither had a chance to win against her. In hindsight however, that may not have been true, considering what Britney said on the live show, that she hopes Danielle is the last one evicted so the two that “deserve” to be the final two, are.
On his “Funeral” Dan said he knew he could get away with it once he saw how the people in the house treated him when he came out of solitary, claiming that he felt ill. Everyone hovered over him, worried about what that room had done to him. He knew then that his “funeral” plan would work. He played a ruthless backstabbing game this season for sure, but says that if you are going to play the ruthless game, then you have to go all the way through. He said when he turned that corner (into a ruthless game) you can’t just stab half the people, you have to stab them all. He had to go all the way! Anything he does, he says he does it 110% and he was hoping the jury would see that.
Instead, he admits that he believes the jury voted emotionally. Not to take anything away from Ian, who Dan thinks played a solid game, he just believes his game was better. He knew that he would have a hard time convincing the jury but still blames himself and his speech. Had he said something different maybe in that last 90 seconds, maybe he could have changed their minds… but again, he thinks the jury had their minds made up. In fact, he overheard Britney in a backyard interview after the show say that anyone up against Dan would have won the game. If he had his dream final two, he would have hoped to be able to take Jenn with him, thinking he could beat her.
Dan Gheesling with Danielle after her eviction
About scum bagging Shane, he knew that he had to get rid of him at that point in the game. Had the final three at that point been himself, Shane and Danielle, he knew for sure that Shane would take Danielle to the final two. He contradicted himself about Danielle at one point in the interview however, saying that Danielle would never have done anything against him in the game and taken him. He then stated that he knew she would take Shane, so my feeling from the conversation was he was just unsure what she would have ended up doing so he got rid of Shane to remove any doubt if she had won. He did regret about deceiving Danielle throughout the game, but still noted that he had to do what he had to do to get to the end.
When called out on his over-the-top grandfather’s necklace and Bible use, again he mentioned that because he had played a ruthless game up to that point, he had to follow through. He couldn’t just play a half ruthless game and get by. It was all or nothing.
In his season, the final time with the jury played out differently. The final two house guests had a lot more time to make their case to the jury and have the jury ask questions. Dan admits that this season was a lot harder because of that. Now, you get 90 seconds to prove your case. He believes that had he had the extra time to “mist” the jury, he could have won the game. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.
The Big Brother 14 Final 3
Dan is hoping to be able to re-connect with his former house guests now that the show is over. Even Jodi, who he says he cut because he didn’t believe she gave the 110% he was looking for in that first competition and that somehow, in that 8 hours she was in there, she stirred a lot of emotions from other house guests and they wanted her out. (Not sure we buy that, but ok.) He says it’s hard getting back into the real world and was hoping he can help his fellow contestants with the transition. He has no harsh feelings against a single one of them, and hopes they can all separate game play from real life. He loved being able to play against some major competitors from past seasons and thought Britney played a great game. He did say though that he enjoyed his season, Season 10, much better than this one, saying he didn’t have the need to play such a hard core game then.
Our good friends at Big Brother Network mentioned to Dan that they had posted a poll after the show asking “Who Should Have Won? Ian or Dan?” and with over 5000 votes, Dan took it with 58% of the vote at the time of this interview. Dan responded that at least that is a moral victory, but at the end of the day, Ian played a solid game and deserved to win. He is happy for Ian and believes he will do good things with the money.
All in all, Dan seemed satisfied with his runner-up status. He would have loved the win, of course, but still, a one time winner making it into the final 2 a second time is not too shabby. From a fan’s perspective, I for one am so glad that Dan was in the house this season. Had he not been, this season would have been really boring for me. All his scum bagging aside, he played a hard, entertaining game and many of us here at the Yak are so glad he agreed to go back. Would he do it again? You bet. Dan has a love for this game and we love him for it. Of course, Dan is writing yet another book, so be on the look out! We thank Dan for taking the time to talk to us!
Before Big Brother 14 could reveal the Final 2, there was one more eviction and one more Houseguest to add to the Jury. That eviction happened to Danielle Murphree, who was ousted by Ian after his win during Part 3 of the Final HOH competition. Danielle took some time out of her busy post-Big Brother life and held an interview session with the Yak and other press to answer some burning questions from the fans about Shane, her regrets in the game and, of course, putting all her trust in Dan. Here is a what Danielle had to say to all the questions posed! Let us know your thoughts below!
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Q: Hey, Danielle, thanks for talking with us! You sound like you’re doing much better today? Danielle: Thanks! Yeah, I wasn’t doing too hot last night or this morning either.
Q: Shane didn’t seem to return your affection a whole lot until the very last week when you won the HOH and Veto. Knowing what you know now, do you think his feelings were to secure his safety or do you think they were genuine? Danielle: I think Shane’s feelings are genuine and I think he was so afraid of having a showmance because of exactly what happened.
Q: Everything that Dan did and said this summer, the one thing that got me the most was when he told Shane that you were playing him (Shane) all along. Have you had a chance to discuss that win Dan and how did you feel about that final lie? Danielle: When I found that out, I was livid. I’m still mad about it. Why would Dan even do that to me? I talked to Shane about it and I said it was totally, one hundred percent not true. I was never playing him. Dan was just trying to run me under the bus for whatever reason. Dan and I haven’t talked about it. Dan and I are not on speaking terms.
Q: Do you think that will change in the future? Danielle: I don’t know. I found out a lot of stuff last night after the finale that I’m just really not happy with at all. Right now, I can really answer that question. I’m too mad.
Q: One thing that a lot of your neigh Sayers wanted to know about was when you were telling stories about yourself; you embellished your life resume a lot, including talking about your breasts and being Miss Alabama. Danielle: I never said I was Miss Alabama. My best friend was Miss Alabama. When we talked about Miss Alabama, it was a joke. They were making fun of my Memory Wall picture because they said it looked like Miss Alabama, like a pageant photo. They knew I was never Miss Alabama. I said I did pageant back in high school. About my boobs, I do have a capsule on my right breast, like a scar tissue mass, and I do have to have it removed. It’s nothing serious, but it does need to be changed.
Q: As the season unfolded, it seems like people underestimated you, so are you underestimated in your daily life? Danielle: I guess people underestimate me because some people might think I’m too sweet or naïve, where I don’t really know what’s going on. It doesn’t really bother me because I know who I am.
Big Brother 14’s Dan Gheesling & Danielle Murphree
Q: Going back to Dan, you said you’re not talking to him right now, but how long do you think it’ll take you to get over it? Danielle: I have no idea. Some of the comments he’s made during the interviews since the show ended are worse then some of the things that actually happened on the show.
Q: What did he say? What have you heard? Danielle: I didn’t hear this directly from his mouth, but that he was really going to take Ian into the Final 2 and that the last speech at the finale was all for show. Whether it’s true or not, I’ll have to wait to see.
Q: As you now know, Dan used you during the whole game to further himself. Even towards the end when you used your Veto to save Dan and put Shane on the block, which compromised your position in the game. Did you know that Shane would possibly be evicted? Danielle: I truly believed that Dan was going to save Shane. Dan had made a Final 3 with Shane and I. Dan swore to me, and even said to me in my HOH room, “I’ll do whatever you want if you’re HOH.” He was getting a little paranoid and I didn’t want him to pull any more antics on me. I didn’t want Shane to be the one to evict Ian to where Ian wouldn’t vote for Shane [to win]. I regret that decision wholeheartedly.
Q: Did you not think that this could have been another antic of his? Danielle: He swore up and down to me, and I laugh about it now, about how he would never, ever do it again. His antics were over. He swore on everything, like 5 minutes before we had to sit down for that live show, that Shane was safe. I had no idea about him and Ian.
Q: With that being said, do you agree with what Wil had said during the Finale about how you should take responsibility for believing in Dan’s lies? Danielle: Yeah, it’s my fault. He fooled me several times. It’s definitely my fault.
Q: After you sat down with the Jury, you appeared to lean over to say something to someone off camera, but the microphones didn’t pick up what you said. What were you trying to tell the Jury at that point? Danielle: I was just asking Jenn what was going on. I wanted to know what the feeling was because when I sat down there was just a very awkward vibe in the Jury. Plus, I had just heard Britney’s comment before [about hoping she was the last Jury member], so I was just confused.
Q: Going back to some of the stories you told the other Houseguests that didn’t really seem accurate, was that a strategy you had or were you just playing with the other Houseguests? For example, when you came back and said that Janelle was yelling at you when we saw it was a very calm conversation or you said you made Ian cry. Danielle: Ian did tear up. I did make him cry. I guess I exaggerated that a little bit. Yeah, Janelle didn’t yell at me. Janelle was very sweet with me. I guess it was more game play because I was more trying to test the waters with Dan to see, since I thought that him and Janelle might have some kind of deal. I exaggerated it a bit. It was poor game play. I shouldn’t have. I do apologize, but it wasn’t to maliciously hurt anybody.
Q: Despite everything that Dan kept doing to you, you kept going back to him. Why were you so willing to forgive him and try again? Danielle: Dan would make the comment that he hadn’t done anything to hurt me in the game. When I would try to recall, he hadn’t hurt my game and he had never voted to evict me. I wanted to believe that he was a good person because I kept thinking back to season 10 and how he was a good guy. I was completely mystified by him.
Danielle sits with host Julie Chen
Q: Talking about Part 1 of the final HOH competition where you threw it to Dan after he proved his point with Ian jumping off, do you regret doing that now and if you hadn’t thrown it, do you think you could have outlasted him? Danielle: I knew I had to make a decision up there. I knew if I hung on longer, I would lose his trust, and then even if I threw it, it wouldn’t matter since he’d be upset with me. Looking back, yes, I regret it. Yes, I wish I would have hung on. He said that he would have beat me in that competition, but I don’t know. I had a lot of will power and I was so mad that Shane walked out that door.
Q: With all the anger you feel toward Dan, if it had been you, Dan and Shane in the Final 3 and you had the choice, who were you going to take to the Final 2? Danielle: I would have gone with my heart and could have never wronged Shane since he never wronged me, I would have taken Shane. However, I wouldn’t have let myself get into that position to have to decide. I did not want to decide. I probably would have just let the guys duke it out.
Q: Why do you think you were the only one that voted for Dan? Danielle: Because I think everyone in the Jury talked about how Dan treated people and what Dan had said to everybody. I think the way you treat people is really important in this game and I think that they were just so mad at how it all went down and how everybody left. I don’t blame them.
Q: Do you think it was that or were they jealous that he might be a 2-time winner? That’s part of the game of Big Brother. Danielle: Since I wasn’t sitting in Jury, I have no idea. After the show, I only hung out with Wil, Kara, Janelle and Shane. Jojo and I didn’t talk. Dan waved at me from afar.
Q: If you had been able to get into the Final 2, how good do you think your chances were to win? Danielle: If I would have been against Dan, I think I would have won. I think if I was against Ian, he still would have won cause Ian deserved to win.
Q: You didn’t get to hear this because you were still in the House last night, but the Jury got together to discuss the Final 3 and what they thought of each of you. When she was still in the House, you were pretty close with Britney and you developed a great friendship, but when it came to discussing you with the Jury, she sided with Ian and said that she thought you really didn’t deserve to win. Do you take that personally or are you able to separate the personal from the game? Danielle: I did take it personal. It did hurt my feelings, but it doesn’t change my outlook on Britney. I didn’t get to defend myself. I didn’t get to say anything, so she’s just going off of he-said/she-said stuff in the Jury. I don’t take it personally, and I still love her to death.
Q: If Big Brother decided to do another twist in the future where player’s return, which obviously is quite common, would you ever be interested in playing again? Danielle: I wouldn’t say I would never go back, but I’m not going to say it’s a definite possibility. It all depends on who’s playing. At this moment, I really don’t think that I would ever want to play with Dan again because emotionally I can’t go through that stress. I think that if Dan wasn’t coming back with all his antics, I might do it again.
Q: What was your favorite moment of the summer? Danielle: I loved the Wil impersonations! I loved when Wil would look at the Memory Wall and joke around. Wil definitely made the House more fun!
Q: Will you be going to the Wrap Party in Vegas or the one tonight? Danielle: I will not be going to the party in Vegas, but it’s possible I’ll attend the one tonight.
Q: Will you be going on Twitter any time soon? Danielle: Maybe. I don’t know. I really don’t like the negative stuff. It gets to me, so I try not to look at it.
Q: What’s in the future for Danielle? What do you plan on doing now – going back to nursing, staying in Alabama, moving to Hollywood? Danielle: I’m not moving to Hollywood. I’ll definitely stay in Alabama. I will go back to nursing as soon as some of this stuff dies down.
Q: As it worked out, you ended up being the last woman in the House. Was this part of your strategy or was it just how things worked out? Danielle: It was just how things worked out. It was never my intention to be the last woman. I’m very proud and flattered to be the last woman, but it would have been nice to have another female presence in the House.
Final 3 – Danielle, Ian, and Dan
Q: You mentioned that it’ll take some time to work up to being friends with Dan again, but looking at how Ian and Dan played the game, do you regret your vote for Dan? Danielle: I don’t like to play the “Would of/Could of/Should of” or the “What if?” game, but I am glad that Ian won. I think it would have been nice for Ian to win 7-0 because I think he does deserve it, but I did give my word to Dan. I did say I would vote for him, so in that sense, I didn’t want to break my word. I just wish I never would have told Dan that I would have voted for him.
Q: When you first got out of the House and sat down with Julie, it looked like there was a crowd reaction that maybe you saw something going on between Dan and Ian in the House. Did you see anything? Danielle: Yeah, I saw them jump around and I saw Dan was laughing and giggling when he did the “Suck It” move. I was thinking, “Are you serious?”
Q: For a long time, Dan was going to take you to the Final 2. It was near the end where he panicked and thought he was going to lose to you, so he switched to Ian, so don’t feel too bad. Danielle: He switched to never take me, even after he got rid of Shane?
Q: It was after he realized that Ian was not going to throw the final part of the HOH. Danielle: It’s just kind of disappointing, when he did say over and over again that his goal the whole game was to get him and his player to the end and he didn’t have any intention of doing that.
Q: So, what’s the future hold between you and Shane? Danielle: I guess just to see what happens, but I’m definitely not going to not pursue something. We’re definitely hanging out later today. I think we can make it work, for sure. I know we’re both going to pursue something and try it out. We’ll hope for the best.
Q: What are the obstacles for the two of you? Danielle: The distance. Alabama and Vermont are a long way away, but he is such a great guy and an amazing, amazing person, that I’m not going to let the distance get between us.
Q: Do you think that you’re in love with him? Danielle: Mm-hmmm. I could be.
Thanks for taking time to talk with us today, Danielle. Danielle: Thank you!
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What do you think about what Danielle had to say? Leave us a comment below, then come on in and join us in the forum!
