‘Big Brother 28’: Haley Thogmartin Talks Being Alone in the Game & the Mental Toll It Took on Her

What was your whole reaction to the medieval twist?

Man, expect the unexpected for sure. It was a lot, too, because you knew there was going to be multiple games, so you knew just mentally you just had to stay locked in, and so my cards didn’t go right, so it just was what it was.

Looking back at how it turned out, would you still have wanted to go first and have more chances, or would you have wanted to play it in for fewer games?

I would have wanted to give myself the most chances possible because I knew that Dee and Devens were already safe. Our biggest plan was to save Angela and then kind of battle out the rest. So, I would have been bummed if I looked back at it and hadn’t given myself all the chances. The games were really hard. It’s not like anyone could go in and you knew automatically would win, but I’m happy. It sucks that I volunteered, but I knew it was the right move for myself to give myself the most chances.

When you saw Yash walk out in the last game and he won, did you know then that your game was going to end?

Oh yeah, 100 percent. I mean, he’s a great competitor. It would have been the same thing that I would have done, too, just because he is incredible with comps. He has a great social game, too, and I knew he wanted to kind of get the icons out. And since I was still working with him, too, and not fully over on the other end, I was kind of in the middle at that point. I was honestly like a little lone island, but I knew for a fact if he won, I was gone.

You mentioned being alone. You lost Kamu. You lost Chuk. So who would you have really liked to align with if you had won and gotten power?

Well, I would have stayed true to the icons. I was working with them since the very beginning. I know that we had the flip that had happened, but at that point, we made up. We talked about everything. I understood their side, so I wanted to just kind of keep true to my word, like “I’m still gonna stick by you guys. I’ve been here.” Things happen. It is part of the game, but I still trusted them.

Speaking of the Lyric flip, did you have any idea that that was gonna happen?

No, no, no, no, no. And I just kept reassuring her. I was like, “You’re good. Like, relax. You’re fine.” Yeah, I had no idea. No idea.

You looked genuinely shocked.

Yeah, and I just felt bad because she is an incredible person, and I just, I generally just felt bad because I just reassured her all day long, and then that happened.

Did you ever find out who the three votes were to keep Lyric?

I did, I did. Chuk, Kamu, and Yash.

So then the next week, were you surprised when Kamu didn’t use the veto on you or Chuk?

Well, we kind of didn’t talk for a couple of days. [Laughs.] And it was just awkward tension. We would always check in with each other, but we were both a little bit skeptical. But even before the veto, I was very true to the alliance. I was like, “Listen, if I win it, I won’t use it. So we don’t have all three of us up on the block. We have the best chance to save all of us.” That was not the best move for the BB game. Nope, I know that now, but I just was so true to the alliance, and so him not using the veto, it sucked. But I had confidence in just being able to win it, too, because I know I’m a good competitor, or at least I would give a really good fight. I wouldn’t give up. But I was hurt by it. But we were able to chat after, and we kind of squashed everything.

The week you put up Lyric, you promised her in the HOH comp that you wouldn’t put her up, but then you wound up putting her up. Why did you go back on your word?

So, my wording got kind of messed up. I said, “I wouldn’t put you up,” but I never said as a renom, and that’s the way that I kind of skated by that one. But I also had Mallory. I thought she was an incredible competitor, too, but just because other people wanted her up in my alliance doesn’t mean that I did. I truly just wanted to give her a break. I wanted to extend that offer to her. Maybe if we could work together later on, but she’s been burned, and I just didn’t want to do that. And so Lyric seemed like the easier point because I did skate by with, “Well, I didn’t say would wouldn’t put you up as a renom.” I hated going back on my word. I truly did, but I skated by with saying it that way.

As sad as you probably are to be eliminated, are you glad that you don’t have to sit in the jury house for a week alone, or would you rather be there?

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[Laughs.] I really don’t like to be alone. Honestly, I’d rather be there, still competing. It’s a huge money prize at the end of it. I think, being in the middle, I think I still had a good shot, but I would obviously want to have a say in who wins it at the end of it, so I think I just freaked myself out a lot. Again, it was more mental with me, like, “I don’t want to be alone in there. I don’t want to get evicted and have to sit in there by myself.” So I had a lot more of the mental side that affected me in the Big Brother house than anything.

You’ve said a few times that you had a tough time in the house. What made it so tough for you?

Again, it had nothing to do with the game. It all had to do with just the mental side of it. I really, truly didn’t think how hard it was going to be going in there. Having to feel everyone’s energy, and you also have to try to make all these connections with people, and then you’re at the back of it. You’re like, “I don’t know if this is truly it.” I had some stuff that happened with a couple of the people in the house, and I just took a lot of things personally. And I didn’t see it as just the game. I took it personally a lot harder. But no, I wasn’t on the block for the first couple of weeks. I understand that that’s where the flip of it went. But I was saying that it was hard for me because of the mental side and just emotionally, just trying to deal with everything and still try to keep your composure and stay just true to yourself or true to who you are.

You played with like three reality TV icons. What was your reaction to them coming into the game? Did you want to align yourself with them from the beginning? 

So, I never watched Survivor. I didn’t know Dee had won. I didn’t know that Devens had been on it a couple of times. It was cool to be able to hear their experiences, but from the jump, I did watch Angela’s season, so I wanted to make sure I was good with her right off the bat. Her first actual comment to me was, “You don’t talk much,” and then I’m thinking, “Oh my gosh, she hates me.” We talked about that, and she goes, “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I did that.” But Dee is very personable. She is somebody that I see myself hanging out with outside of the house, and so that was kind of like a gravitational connection. And then Devens again, just socially, and talking to him, he just felt like a safe spot. So, I don’t really think it was work with the icons because they’ve played games before. I think all of them just had an incredible personality. We had a great connection, and so I think I just steamrolled with that, not because they were icons in general.

I don’t know if you’ve seen how this week has played out, but at this point in the game, who do you think is in the best position to win?

Well, I only watched one episode. It was last night. I want Devens to win. I truly do. However, I know now he’s on the block. But I think Dee has really set herself up to be in a good spot to at least make it to the final two. Some of me still really wants Drew [Campbell] to win. I know that he’s on both sides of it, but I hope that Devens pulls it out.

I have to talk about the flannel that you wore. It went viral. You wore it all the time. Was that like a comfort in the house for you? 

It was cold in there! I brought a lot of workout sets, so I don’t want to be walking around in a sports bra, in spandex. But it’s actually my stepdad’s, and he and I have an incredible relationship. It was like a 3X [size], and yes, I washed it every time I could, but it was a comfort thing. It made me feel like I was at home. It meant a lot to me because it was my stepdad’s, too, and he means the world to me. And it was really cold in the house, so I didn’t care if I was wearing it every two seconds because I was shivering.

Do you have any regrets or anything that you would change about your time in the house?

I definitely wish I had made some more personal connections. And instead, I really just clung to the connection with Chuk and Angela. It was great with Kamu. It took me a lot to get out of that comfort zone to make more connections later on down the road. I got a lot closer with Drew and Barrett [Pfeiffer] and Devens. However, I just wish I had done a little bit more of that at the beginning.

Would you come back if you were ever asked to?

I would. I would. I feel like this is a game all about learning, too, and I wish I had watched a lot more seasons before coming. In, but now I feel like I know what I’m doing now, so I would love to come back.

Would you want to play with the same cast or a different cast?

Probably a different cast. I mean, you see all these different personalities, and it’s really cool to kind of see how you navigate through it, so I would probably want to put myself in a position with you people.

You kind of went out in the game, like Rachel Reilly did last year, where you didn’t really get evicted or anything. How hard was it to not say goodbye to the other houseguests when you were when you left?

Oh, it was hard because I made some incredible connections with these people, and at least just being able to tell them, like, “Hey, you got this. Stay strong. Stay true to who you are. Keep showing your light.” Just give them that goodbye. And “Hey, I’ll see you in a month. You’re gonna be great.” So it was hard. I think the hardest one, not being able to say goodbye to Angela, was the toughest.

Big Brother, Season 28, Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 8/7c, CBS