Makensy Manbeck had won Big Brother. After Makensy emerged victorious in the last Head of Household and placed in the final two, all she had to do was select Cam Sullivan-Brown to sit next to her and her victory (and the $750,000 that came with it) was complete US dollars) perfect. But that’s not what Makensy decided to do.

Instead, Makensy chose loyalty over money and chose Chelsie Baham to back her in the final two games. The gambit backfired as Chelsie defeated the judges, winning by unanimous decision 7-0. Makensy expressed satisfaction with her decision after her defeat, but would she make the same decision again? And what votes did she not get that surprised her? We asked Makensy all this and more when we spoke to the runner-up shortly after she left the house, diving deep into the emotional roller coaster of an evening.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I know you're processing a lot right now. How do you feel after the emotional juggernaut of the last few hours?

MAKENSY MANBEK: Honestly, I'm doing great. I'm thrilled to have done all of this in 90 days Big Brother A house. That's quite an achievement. Winning as many competitions as I did as a woman is quite an achievement. And to reach second place Big Brotherwhich not many people can say they accomplished is an achievement. Of course I wanted to win first place, but I knew it would be a risk if I chose Chelsie, but I'm not ashamed of it. I played the game I said I would play, which was respect and loyalty, and if that got me second place then so be it because I'm proud of the decision I made and I'm proud of whoever won.

It's interesting because we as viewers see so much more than you do, so we know more than all of you, and when you make the decision to take Chelsie, on the one hand it seems crazy to us, even though it might not seem crazy at all You because I don't have the same information.

Exactly.

I guess the question I have is: If you could do it over again, knowing what you know now and knowing that the goal of the game is to win the game, would you still Chelsie up bring it to an end or not?

I would really do it again because I still had hope in myself. I didn't think I would lose 7-0, or at least as badly as I did. But I was confident in my own game. I was confident that I played a great game. I've survived a lot in this house and proven myself every week. And if the people on the jury didn't see that and didn't want to praise my game, then so be it. You can praise hers.

But what I know in my heart is that I have won for myself and I have a lot to prove to myself, and hopefully I have proven a lot to America, and I can go home with my head held high, knowing that I made choices have that influence me I will be happy in the house and will make me happy outside this house. Being able to see that game again, knowing how I talked about the people, what moves I made and just everything in general will make me very, very proud. And hopefully it makes my family and others proud to see that they can be authentically themselves and still go far in this game.

Well, I think the person you want to be proud of is Jankie, but that's neither here nor there. Anyone in your position will be doing jury math on this matter, and I was talking to Chelsie just a few minutes ago and she said at one point that she thought you had the votes, 4 to 3. What did you think of that? The odds were against Chelsie before you met with the jury?

Before I met with the jury, I thought it would be a 4-3 vote, either me or them. I didn't know what these different people would be, but I thought it would actually be a very close vote.

What votes surprised you the most that you thought you would get or had a good chance of getting?

I thought I had a good chance of getting Leah and Angela because they promised. And I also thought that maybe I could have gotten Quinn and Rubina, but I didn't. So be it. I don't know why, but I can't do it again.

These are the exact same four that Chelsie once said she thought you would get.

Yes, look at us.

Do you think Chelsie would have taken you to the end if she had won the last Head of Household?

Based on the conversations we have had, I would like to say “yes.” However, based on the questions and the way she answered them, I don't think so. I believe she manipulated and took advantage of me, and if that's true then so be it. Because at least I can say that I was a good person and stayed true to myself. And whether that makes me a naive 22 year old because I thought I had a really good friend and a really good ally in this game, so be it, because I still won the last HOH I could win . I have to make the decision, and I have to make a decision about my game that shows who I am.

For the record, I asked her and she said she took you to the end. Well, that's easy for her to say now, but that's what she says. She says she brought you with her. But we'll never know.

Well, thank God, because she said she would have, and I hope she would have. But yeah, I mean, who knows what would have actually ever happened. We will never get this moment back. Cam definitely wouldn't have taken me. I think Cam was lying to me the whole time, which is so funny. But that's why I put him in the final three because I knew I could beat him.

Yes, you would have hit him. I don't think there's any question.

Yes.

Makensy, could you feel it disappearing during the travel questions and after Chelsie's graduation speech? Were you then able to somehow figure out what would happen next?

I did that. When Chelsie was asked the questions she asked and she answered them the way she did, they could really understand her game. And it allowed her to show that she has very complex sides to her game. And personally I'm so proud of her, I'm so happy. But for me, it actually made my game a one-sided game. It was a win. That was the game I had to play. The first week I was cornered. I was seen as a threat as soon as I started winning.

So nothing I did in that house allowed me to improve socially, because everyone already had their groups, everyone had what they wanted, and all I had was myself. And that's exactly why I always won again. And continuous winning also brings balance bigger Targeting you as a threat. So I had to win more and more! So it was a great game, but for me it was a very one-sided game. And it's been seen before. Taylor did an incredible job with the same type of survival game and won. But here too: it has been seen, it has been done. And so be it.

Which of your 10 competition wins was your favorite?

Either AI Arena 2, get Tucker out, the comp beast himself! He said, “Someone hit me!” and I did. And he obviously loves puzzles, but apparently I'm better at them. Voting him out was great and allowed me to move on and become the big comp beast of the season, helping me achieve one of my favorite comp wins, the OTEV in one round. So crazy, so amazing. And that's what people get if they want to let me go first in the first week. I'm telling you, I won this competition because no one wanted to play with me in the first HOH.

It's not $750,000, it's $75,000. So are there any plans for this money?

Maybe pay off my car bill, save some money because I left (censors himself with a BEEP! sound) before I came here to figure out all my expenses, and then buy myself a coffee because it's a long, It was a hot minute before I had a good coffee, and I'm looking forward to buying many, many, many coffees for the next few days. And I'll probably spend the rest of it on my family.

I know it's been a long time at this point, but you were in a bit of a showmanship at the beginning of the season. I don't know how many times you and Matt have had the opportunity to speak on stage, but what are your thoughts? Situation?

No, we couldn't talk much on stage or afterwards. I've been very busy, but I hope we can have a conversation soon. Matt is a great man and I would love to talk to him. So stay tuned to how this conversation goes and what it means.

Would you do it again? Would you play again if they asked you?

Would I play again? Definitely I would do that. I need a break. I need a quick little break, a little mental vacation because it's stressful being in there. I'm 22 and I grew up with shades of gray! I'm just going to let everyone know that I have gray hair at 22! So it was a difficult experience, but one I wouldn't trade for anything and would probably do again.

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