Big Brother Australia’s Xavier Molyneux became the 12th housemate evicted on Sunday after his alliance “the alphas” turned against him.
With a possible six out of six nominations, the 23-year-old’s time came to an end, after being nominated by Chad Hurst.
Unbeknownst to him, Daniel Gorringe had made a pact with Hurst, saying that he, Mat Garrick, Hurst and Sophie Budack would take each other to the final four — leaving out their biggest threat, and buddy, Molyneaux.
The paramedic, however, said there was no bad blood between them, and said he probably would have done the same thing.
“They really had to dissect their own games and there are no hard feelings, it’s the game,” he said in a post-elimination chat with TheLatch—. “If I was in that position, I’d probably vote me out as well.”
Even though he was one of the youngest in the house, the surfer from Sydney was strategically a huge threat — something that we didn’t get to see much of, and it was being “subtly strategic” which got him as far as he did.
“You don’t want to be the head of the snake,” he said. “That’s what everybody tries to do. You want to do a bit of backseat driving.”
Molyneaux believed that there was just one thing missing from the new format and that was human connection.
“I think that everyone knows the secret to television these days is drama, drama, drama and [it’s very] fast-paced.”
“But they [Channel 7] really missed an opportunity to, I believe, show human connections and really let the viewer latch on to a character before ripping them out of their hand and sending them home,” he said, before adding: “Instead, you just get the nastiness of the game playing and a bit of cuddly, couple love.”
Here, Molyneaux talks to TheLatch— about his elimination, what his gameplan was going into the house and reveals a behind-the-scenes tidbit about the voice of Big Brother.
Anita Anabel: Hi Xavier, so disappointed to see you evicted last night. What a blindside having and Dan and Mat go against you. Were you expecting it? How did that feel?
Xavier Molyneaux: I was put up there against Case [Casey Mazzuchelli], who was part of my team, and they all had to make a choice what was best for their game.
If it was me and somebody else, I’m sure they would have saved me or whatnot, but I was up against Case who was a lead member of our team.
They really had to dissect their own games and there are no hard feelings, it’s the game. If I was in that position, I’d probably vote me out as well.
AA: What was the conversation after the game was all over? Did you question their motives?
XM: No, not really. We just chat like we’re friends. We all know it’s a game and we all knew what was on the line and we’re all happy with being friends.
We’re still great mates and we still laugh about it. Obviously, Dan said: “Oh, I’m sorry Xavier, it’s a game and he knows that and we had a chat last night and we’re totally fine.
AA: I guess watching back is the hard thing. I know you’re all friends, but you hadn’t seen what everybody did on the show. What does that change for you?
XM: It’s very interesting just to see what conversations going down and everything and hearing your own name and whatnot.
It’s pretty surreal watching yourself. You don’t like to see yourself get into stuff like that though, it’s a hard watch sometimes.
AA: Well, lucky for you, you weren’t shown much, so…
XM: (Laughs) Yeah, it seems like the less camera time the better. It just means your not causing any trouble or being dramatic.
AA: Interestingly though, I’ve spoken to all of the housemates that have been evicted and a few of them say you were the most strategic? What was your gameplan going in and how did you play the game that we didn’t see?
XM: You’ve got to be subtly strategic. You’ve got to be able to read people and work on all your relationships. You’ve got to put all of the insurance deals down before you go into evictions and source all of the personalities.
But you might not get the airtime because you’re not making these big moves, but these subtle moves that you’re in on still work because every move in my group, I was there for the conversation.
It’s just been subtly strategic. You don’t want to be the head of the snake. That’s what everybody tries to do. You want to do a bit of backseat driving.
AA: Which is genius, and you almost got away with it too! I’m actually curious about Kieran. Why do you think he has lasted this long?
XM: With Kieran, you know what you’re getting. He’s so funny because, in the beginning, everyone thought he was so strategical but everyone could see his every move.
Do you want to keep the guy in who you can lead and who you can see what he is doing or do you want to keep the guy in, that you don’t know what they’re thinking in there?
That’s what has got him through a ton of evictions and he’ll be the first to admit that.
We used to call it the “wounded dog” in the house, me and him would talk about it all the time. I’d always say, “you’re doing such a great job”, and he’d be like, “thanks mate”.
It’s like having a single mate, and my group is like being in a relationship. We’re solid, we’re loyal and we don’t mess around. Then you get to watch your single mate who is Kieran and he gets to buzz around enjoys it. And you get to hear all the stories.
AA: I know I’ve already said we didn’t see much of you, but what did you want Australia to see of you when you went in there?
XM: Obviously, with this new format, the producers have to put together a plot that is viable and they’re doing a great job of that, but unfortunately, you get to miss out on the character arcs, the quirky conversations that happen between people that would never come across each other.
And you miss out on watching those relationships flourish and watching them laugh and cry together and all the little pranks that go down, because”I think that everyone knows the secret to television these days is drama, drama, drama and [it’s very] fast-paced. But they really missed an opportunity to, I believe, show human connections and really let the viewer latch on to a character, before ripping them out of their hand and sending them home.
I thought that was what it was going to be about and I played it more of a game I think would have been on the fun side. All the small games that you don’t get to see. Instead, you just get the nastiness of the game playing and a bit of cuddly, couple love.
AA: I have a really random question for you and I’ve been waiting for the right housemate to ask. I have a theory that Big Brother is not just one person, and in editing, they dub over with the “official” voice. Is that right?
XM: Yeh! Big Brother can’t be on 24/7 so they obviously have to have a couple of different ones and they just put the main one over the top of it, because they know what they’re doing.
They have a couple of them and I remember this one Sunday afternoon, during the COVID stuff, and Big Brother’s accent changed, and everybody’s like, “Hang on, are we getting the poor man’s Big Brother right now?”
It was pretty funny because you’ve got those relationships with the different Big Brother personalities because you can’t always have the same guy on.
AA: I knew it. I’m a genius! [Laughs] But it also makes a lot of sense! OK, so back to the game. Who do you think is playing the most strategic game now and why?
XM: I think Dan. Dan and Soph. Soph puts out such an innocent, “oh, I don’t know how to do that”, but I just knew that she wasn’t that innocent. She knew what she was doing. So she’s playing that really well, I believe.
Dan has had the target on his back since day one. He has to play strategic otherwise something is going to happen to him. He’s also very competitive.
AA: Who do you think will win?
XM: If Dan and Mat can make it through without a target on their back — from day dot, everyone has had a ping at them. They even brought Ange back to have another go.
It feels like everyone is playing against those two, so I’ll be surprised if it’s not one of them.
Big Brother continues Sunday at 7.00 pm and Monday and Tuesday at 7.30 pm, only on Channel 7.