‘Big Brother’: Zach Cornell on Eviction, Rylie & Kat’s Relationship, & Rachel HOH Predictions

Zach Cornell might not have been the primary target of the Big Brother house at first, but he still found himself on the chopping block on Thursday’s (August 14) live eviction night. After the week’s Head of Household winner Ava Pearl nominated him, alongside repeat nominee Keanu Soto and house favorite Vince Panaro, Zach had to decide whether to use the special power he gained in the first competition — a $10,000 prize that he could trade to the HOH to remove himself from the block — and he declined to do so. He later revealed in his exit interview with host Julie Chen Moonves that he decided not to use it because he didn’t want Ava to put his ally Morgan Pope up for elimination in his stead, but Morgan was one of the eight votes against him in the end. The only two who rooted for him to stay were Rachel Reilly, whom he brought along for the day’s punishment to get splatted in the face by blue goo, and Cliffton “Will” Williams, who he gave his London vacation prize to in the veto challenge but who previously helped to orchestrate his nomination in the first place to protect Ashley Hollis.

So how does Zach feel about becoming the house vote under Ava’s reign? Did he know about Will’s involvement in his nomination? And what does he think is going to happen as the Big Brother season continues? TV Insider caught up with Zach Cornell to find out the answer to those questions and more!

How are you doing?

Zach Cornell: I am numb is the best way to describe it because it’s still kind of like, “What the heck just happened this week?” But I’m still in high spirits. I was still able to experience it, so I’m blessed with that.

Did you get some sleep last night?  

I got maybe two hours of sleep… When you’re in the house, it’s non-stop game thoughts, game social strategy, and I’m literally laying in bed thinking of all the different ways that we can still get some people out. And I’m thinking, “Oh, okay, wait, I’m still actually out of the house right now.” And so you really just engulf yourself in that moment when you’re in the Big Brother house, and being out of it is still kind of like eye opening, like, “Wow, I’m really out of the Big Brother house right now.”

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Yeah, surreal. So going into last night, did you see this coming at all, or were you completely surprised?

The perception of me had changed for sure. I had the opportunity, obviously, to use my power, but in that moment, I still thought that the house was on my side. Ava had made it known, in her speech, that she was really kind of gunning for Vince is what it felt like. And I thought everyone else would kind of see it that way as well. And people had told me that I was good in that moment. So heading into the last night, the perception of me did change. It was literally to the point of, “Zach, I don’t know, between you and Vince, who’s gonna go home.” And I’m like, “Okay, I am legitimately fighting for my life right now in this blockbuster [challenge].” But I kept telling Vince, I’m like, “One of us just has to win, and we’re both in this game, and we’re both in a fantastic position to really run it in this house and make some waves.” So yeah, I mean, I wasn’t expecting it until we got after the blockbuster, and people were literally hugging me, saying, “Good job.” And I’m like, “Wow, I am screwed in this moment.” And so in that moment, it was very shocking, but yeah, like I said, I still had a great experience. It’s an incredible time. And so, yeah, it really didn’t dawn on me until the live show is the best way to describe it.

Interesting. So I know why you didn’t use your power. But do you have any regrets now?

I don’t have any regrets. I’ve had multiple people tell me that I’m an idiot, and I understand that people are going to be upset in my game decision, but people don’t understand or maybe they don’t realize that without Morgan and without Vince in that house with me, I would have had to pivot to people that already had standing relations with other people, and so I would have realized that I would have been at the bottom of their tier of people that they care about in this game. And so for that reason, I could not afford to lose Morgan. And so I still stand by that decision. I knew that it was be a better option for us to use that power together in an upcoming week.

I just found out that Rachel won HOH, so if we were all in the game together, this would have been the perfect week to use that power 100%. There’s no doubt in my mind. And so for that reason, I still stand by what I did because of this exact situation. What’s happening in the house right now, America, I’ve become a fan. I’m literally gonna be watching this week. I was planning on taking a week off just to give myself a break, but, like, cinema is about to happen in that house, and I’m excited for it.

So speaking of Rachel’s HOH, what are you expecting to happen? I mean, I know you said what would happen if you were there, but.. 

Okay, Vince number one, Morgan number two, Mickey number three, that’s what’s going to happen. I am dead set on that. If I was in the house as well, she was trying to get close to me. She literally volunteered to do that punishment with me. I don’t know if y’all had seen that, but behind the scenes, she was literally pointing. She’s like, “Pick me, pick me.” And so she told me, she’s like, “Zach, I just want to get to know you. I want to have a relationship with you. I want to do something with you in this game.” And I’m talking to Morgan and Mickey, and she is literally calling out Morgan on the sidelines, how she wanted to take out Morgan and her friends. And she was definitely hinting at me in that moment. And so I really, 100% would have been the third number, the fourth nom. And so I would be praying right now, in this moment, that I was in the initial nomination, so that I could use that power.

Moving back a little bit, you gave Will the London trip. Did you know that he was behind your nomination in a way?

I didn’t know that. I really didn’t. That’s actually news to me, but I still stand by it’s a game, everyone has to make those decisions. And he really was a father figure to me in that house. He reminded me a bunch of my dad, and in that moment, I’m like, “Yeah, I think Will deserves this the most out of anybody.” And if he was one of the main reasons why I’m on the block, no hard feelings because it is a game. And truth be told, I was 50/50 between he and Adrian, and I could have easily voted him out in that moment. So it’s a game. I understand that, and we’re going to be the best of friends once he leaves that house. And so I was honestly thinking when I got that London trip, it would have been an even bigger target on my back. And so for that reason, I could not have afforded to keep that trip. I had to give it to somebody else and that was Will.

When it came to the decision between you and Vince, why do you think it went the way it did?

Multiple reasons. Number one, the morning of — I don’t know if you all saw this — Rachel was pushing really hard to get Vince out. So people were perceiving Rachel to be very close to me, and so for that reason, they didn’t want to strengthen Rachel’s game plan by keeping me in the house. That was number one. Number two, people have said that I’m a bigger threat when it comes to competitions. The thing about it is, Vince and I had both won only one competition up to that point. So I’m like, I understand where they’re coming from, but then again, it’s like, that seems like more of an excuse more than anything else, to me. And the third reason is that there was a rumor coming around of me and Lauren were a perceived two. And for that reason, I feel like they were like, “He’s never gonna vote out Lauren, no matter what, this, that, and the other.” And I think it was just a conglomerate of all of that. And I feel like there was four people in the middle, and they were all gonna vote together. So I knew it was gonna be a landslide, one way or another. So that’s really what I thought at the moment.

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Do you think there’s any kind of future between you and Lauren outside of the show?

She’s fantastic. She is exactly my type. I told her, it’s like when she first walked into the house, it was like a comedic, cartoon jaw drop is exactly how I described when I first saw her. And she’s a fantastic person, fantastic girl, and I told her, once she’s out of the house, I’m going to reach out to her, and I’m gonna book a flight to New Orleans, and we’re gonna we’re gonna see what happens. … I really think the biggest thing was that she’s never been in a relationship before, and if she ever tried to do something on camera, it would have been a bit awkward. I know for a fact my mom would have beat me upside the head if I’d even kiss the girl on camera in the Big Brother house, but yeah. No, I’m hopeful. It’s the best way I can describe that.

So people that did kiss on camera were obviously Rylie and Katherine. How do people in the house feel about that whole situation?

Oh, my gosh, Amanda, it was frustrating is the best way to describe it, for me personally, because Kat was somebody that a lot of people were trying to put on the block, right? But when you saw the crash out that Rylie had with Mickey and her HOH, it’s like, if you put Kat up, you know for a fact what you’re about to get that week with Rylie. So like that was so frustrating in a game sense. From a relationship sense, I’m really happy for them. I truly am. Rylie is one of my good friends in that house. I’ve got nothing against at and so for that reason, I’m really thrilled for them. But from a game sense, it was frustrating to me, because a lot of my allies were afraid to put Kat up if they had ever won HOH. Kat and Rylie, truth be told, I don’t think they were playing the game until week three. And I gotta say that openly. Rylie never — we had the Heavy Hitters [alliance], and he was afraid to meet with us because he’s doesn’t want people to see all of us together. And I’m like, “Brother, if you’re not going to play the game…” People are threatening to take him out, like week two, because he wasn’t doing anything. And so that’s my thought on all of it. He obviously started playing the game once he won HOH, and I’m really happy for him. I want to see him do well in the game, but yeah, that’s my thought on both Riley and Kat. I wish them nothing but the best, I want to be very clear about that.

Going out of the house, who are you rooting for the most? And who do you think has the best chance of winning at this point?

Okay, I want Morgan or Vince to win 100%. However, I think Mickey has the best chance right now. If the game ended right now, with the moves that she made — taking Jimmy out of the house was huge — and I really think that she is in the best position because it feels like her hand truly is in every single pot. We were laying out M&Ms of all the different groups in the house, and it felt like she had really good relationships with everybody. But I do know that Rachel won HOH, and for that reason, I think there’s a very good chance she could be on the block this week. So it could be the same situation as me. If she ends up in that final two, she could be sent home because she’s in such a good position. So that’s what’s crazy about Big Brother. And obviously it’s a realization that I have after the fact right now.

Who are you most looking forward to seeing outside of the house? 

Well, Mickey is 20 minutes away from me in real life, so me and Mickey, once she gets out of the house, I’m gonna be that annoying little brother. I am going to be sending her voice notes. I’m going to be Facetiming her constantly. And I’m really excited to see her outside of the house. I’m really excited to meet up with Rylie because he is just a crazy lunatic, and I think that’s how he is in his everyday life. Like I said, I really love Lauren. I really love Morgan and Vince. And Morgan and Vince, it’s funny because they’re 20 minutes away in California. So it’s gonna be the type of situation where I’m gonna be able to visit frequently. I’ve got family in California as well, and so those are my people in the house. I want to see them outside of the house, and everybody else I love too. So if there’s a way that I can rent an RV and just travel the world and then go see everybody, that’d be the perfect scenario.

Big Brother, Season 27, Wednesdays, Thursdays & Sundays, 8/7c, CBS

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