Big Brother Canada Season 12 got even more shocking this week when Dinis Freitas was put up on the block by his closest ally and then evicted from the house. Reality Tea Managing Editor, Daniel Falconer, got the chance to catch up with Dinis and talk all about his time in the BBCAN12 house. Dinis revealed why he’s struggling to see a future friendship with Vivek, what he should have done to save his game, and more!
Dinis on his Big Brother Canada eviction
Daniel Falconer: Now that you’ve had a little bit of time to reflect on everything, how are you feeling?
Dinis Freitas: I’m okay. This week I will admit was a little rough, just because I felt like I lost agency in the game. As a 48-year-old man, as you get older you keep that agency, it’s so important to you, and to lose it and not understand why is very devastating.
Daniel: This was a heartbreaking episode to watch. You’re very clearly a huge fan of this game. Can you tell us a little bit about why Big Brother Canada means so much to you?
Dinis: My sister introduced Big Brother Canada to me a very long time ago. It was just people being themselves, working towards something. Whatever it was, different personalities needed to be together. It was very gameboard-y.
For me, it’s like surrounding a gameboard and different people working towards a goal, and [trying to] understand, ‘What are you doing? Why are you doing it, and what does this mean about you?’ and just the interactions between people that were beautiful.
Then you have this competition that pushes you to this other level; I loved it. You can’t do this anywhere. You are pushed, and I love that.
Playing BBCAN12 with two All-Stars
Daniel: Going back to the beginning of the season, you’re prepped for your first competition, and then two All-Stars walk through the door. What was going through your mind in that moment?
Dinis: Well, my gameplay is out the door immediately! This is gonna be something new, but what does it mean and what is their power? Do they have safety for a week, are they just gonna be regular people, are they gonna be hidden away in a different room? How are they gonna effect the game?
I know that they have an advantage over all of us. They have experience, they know how to navigate this game a little bit more now because they’ve already played it, and they’re either learning from the mistakes from their season, or bringing their strengths back and making them even stronger. So, however you want to quantify it, we are at a disadvantage.
Daniel: You weren’t afraid to try and take a shot at Anthony. Do you think there are any other players in the game who are willing to get their hands dirty and target him?
Dinis: Currently, no. And that was the role that was not thrust upon me, that I begrudgingly had to take and try to create cohesion. People were vaguely talking about it; I’m like, ‘Alright guys, let’s not dilly-dally over it, let’s do it. If we have similar mindsets, let’s accomplish this goal.’ And I don’t know what happened. I feel like there’s a mole somewhere, just spilling tea.
Dinis’ final pitch, and Vivek’s betrayal
Daniel: Your pitch with some of the women was great; what more do you think it would have taken to turn the vote in your favor?
Dinis: I tried to do that at the end, and I think I should have started from the beginning, which was, ‘Alright, if you’re not gonna vote for me, that means you’re against me, so I’m gonna pitch to the other side and see if they would vote for me, knowing you won’t vote for me, and use that against you.’ I should’ve done that earlier; I should’ve realized that.
Daniel: Your final speech was from the heart, do you think you’ll be able to move forward in having a friendship with Vivek outside of the game?
Dinis: I think I left it in that speech. I want to, and I’m sad to think that I won’t be able to. How we connected was very genuine. I don’t know what he can bring to me if I feel like he’s an impressionable person. Only time will tell.
Daniel: Vivek said he was sorry on a personal level but not on a game level. How do you see his game going over the rest of the course of this game?
Dinis: He is gonna be dragged, beaten, and – he is known as a liar and a betrayer now. What do you think you’re doing? Whatever group you’re gonna be in, you’re gonna be at the bottom. You were at the top with me and now you’re just at the bottom for everyone. So you’re just okay being – there are words I don’t wanna say, but you’re just gonna be this goat dragged. You’re just this piece of meat being dragged around.
What if things were different for Dinis on BBCAN12?
Daniel: In an alternate universe where you stayed in the house and then won the next HOH, who would you be targeting?
Dinis: Vivek, of course. I wouldn’t go directly for Anthony; Anthony’s strength is the people around him; we’ve seen that in his season. I would have gone for someone who supported him, maybe a Matt, maybe even a Spicy Vee. It would be his soldiers, his people around him. I was also getting a weird vibe from Avery; I was talking to Vivek about it; I just felt something in me. She might have been a replacement nominee.
Who could win Big Brother Canada Season 12?
Daniel: You mentioned to Arisa that you want and think Tola can win this game, why is that?
Dinis: I’ve been slowly developing a relationship with Tola. We saw each other on day one. I saw him going around looking at things. Only fans would know to look around for clues or whatever, and as I watched him more, he liked patterns, and I just saw an analytical mind. Every time he would talk it would be very brief conversations; that understanding would grow and grow. In one of our last conversations, we fully realized what kind of gameplayers and fans we are, and I wanted to continue that. It would have been awesome for him to sit side-by-side with me.
He’s changed his social tactic so much since day one when he was a ‘target,’ it was amazing. He will do well. He’s floating in the middle, with his analytical mind, changing his social strategy; he will go far.
Daniel: Finally, who else do you think has what it takes to make it to the final three?
Dinis: Kayla’s doing very well. She has also since day one broken out of her shell, and is becoming this person trying to understand and navigate this game. She has conflicting emotions about it, but she will eventually see what’s going on and try to navigate that. I don’t know how well she’ll do, but she is on my list.
Big Brother Canada Season 12 airs three nights a week. New episodes broadcast every Sunday at 9 p.m., Tuesday at 7 p.m. and Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT.
This interview has been edited for conciseness and clarity.
TELL US – WERE YOU SAD TO SEE DINIS EVICTED? DID VIVEK MAKE THE WORST MOVE OF THE SEASON?
