Cynthia Bailey Surprised by Big Brother Finale Vote, ‘Pissed’ Jury, Cast Reactions After Show Wrapped (Exclusive)

When Reporter Door spoke with third-place finisher Cynthia Bailey just a few moments after the West Coast saw the epic showdown, she shared that she didn’t even have her phone back yet. But she did pick up a lot of information.

The sole vote for Todrick Hall after everyone else on the Jury had gotten a chance to see the totality of his gameplay, Cynthia admitted that she maybe “would have voted differently” had she not been the last one out of the House.

Cynthia didn’t even join the Jury until after her ride-or-die in the House, Carson Kressley, had already apologized to Shanna Moakler for him and Cynthia turning on her based on Todrick’s wild exaggeration of Shanna’s game, painting her as having betrayed Carson and Cynthia.

On the one hand, it was a great game move for Todrick, as it kept his ride-or-die Miesha Tate — who wound up winning — from getting evicted, but it was also an incredibly dirty play that made Shanna’s final day in the House almost unbearable even to watch as Carson and Cynthia stonewalled her in their feelings of betrayal.

Processing all of the new information she’d gotten about this move, as well as Todrick’s personal attacks and comments about the Houseguests, even after they’d been evicted, she said she was saddened by what she learned and that it “obviously will change my perception of him.” Cynthia also vowed to “make things right” with Shanna now that she knew the truth.

Read on to see if Cynthia has any regrets about not doing more homework about how the game of “Big Brother” is played, and what the Jury was whispering to her during the live broadcast, as well as her reactions to coming in third, and finding out the Jury would have likely voted her to win had she gotten there.

She also opens up about that nasty fight with Todd Bridges, who was one of her idols, how she celebrated her birthday in the House and what’s next for her — more reality TV?

It has been a night, but you made it. Congratulations!

It has been a night, and it is going to be an even longer night. I just got out of this house and apparently all hell has broken loose.

You walked into quite the firestorm of a Jury. What was that experience like for you?

I just remember being so excited that I even made it to the Final 3. And I do my little interview. I didn’t expect to go to– I knew if Miesha and Todrick won they would pick each other, so that was no surprise there. And, honestly, I didn’t even think I would make it as far as I did. So I did my interview with Julie and then I go and see the cast and everyone’s like stone-faced. I’m like, what is going on. I can’t talk to anyone yet because we’re filming the show, and Carson’s like, ‘You gotta watch the show,’ trying to send me a message. And I’m, like, what? He’s like, We got duped. I’m like, What? I had no idea what was going on. And then we started voting, I was the last person to vote and I was so confused why everyone was voting for Miesha. I was like, what is happening, because in the House, which has been my world for the last month, Miesha and Todrick are the same person. They are the dynamic duo that have been working together. So I was like, wait, I just assumed it would be like, you know, 50/50, you know, a tie, whatever. And I was, like, this is weird, I don’t know what’s happening..

What was the mood on set after the show wrapped?

Oh, [people were] pissed. Pissed! They were like, Watch the show, call me tomorrow. I was like, okay, alright.

Did Carson pull you aside, maybe explain at least the Shanna part of it all to you?

Basically he told me that Todrick and Miesha basically lied to us and that it was not true that she betrayed us. I am still processing that because I literally just got out of the house like two hours ago … but I am devastated because I was– you know, I feel horrible if that is what the deal is. You have to realize, when you’re in the House, your alliance is all you have. Like, I know in the real world it’s maybe not that deep. But Shanna and Carson were like– they were my roommates, they were all I had. So the thought of anyone betraying one of us was like the world was coming to an end. And especially Carson because he was so giving and was so great with Shanna and I. He gave so much to the House, which is why he got fan favorite, or whatever it’s called. It sounds like I owe Shanna an apology, personal, public, whatever I have to do, I really want to make it right. I was reacting to what I thought was happening. As someone who’s not a super ‘Big Brother’ fan, I didn’t know that they could do that. I was like, it must be true. You have betrayed us.

Everyone at home was like, Oh no, they’re falling for it!

Oh my god, oh my god! Oh wow.

Knowing what you know now, obviously it hasn’t been much time, you haven’t seen lot of the footage yourself yet–

I haven’t seen anything!

–Do you still stand by your vote … for now?

Well, I mean, had I not been the last person out of the House and I’d watched the show, I think maybe I would have voted differently. My reality at that time was what was happening in the House. Todrick was good to me. I had a great time with him. Now that I know this information, that obviously will change my perception of him. And it really sucks, because I really, really had a soft spot for him; I really love Todrick. It’s horrible because now I really have to make this thing right with Shanna. It’s such a mess. I honestly thought in some ways being on ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta’ for 11 seasons would have prepared me for ‘Big Brother.’ It didn’t. [It’s a] whole ‘nother beast. If there was a book on what not to do on ‘Big Brother’– I think I could write the book because I broke all the rules, I did everything that probably didn’t make sense to the superfans. They’re like, what is Cynthia doing? I didn’t win a thing, I never had power.

You’re not wrong. But, most of the cast made it seem like they would have voted for you had you been in the top two. How does that make you feel?

That’s what I heard, but of course, I didn’t win. I wish I could say part of my strategy the whole time on the show was to not win to not put a target on my back, but that’s not true. I actually wanted to win something, anything, and I did not. But I made it to the Final 3 so that is a small victory that I made it that far because at that point I made it just on the strength that I’m a really good cook and I clean toilets really well. I kept those toilets spotless.

You talked a little bit about this, but do you wish you had done a bit more homework before going into the House? If you understood the game a bit more, how do you think that would have changed your experience?

I did not understand the assignment, honey, okay? I did not understand the assignment. I think if I had known a little bit more about how ‘Big Brother’ worked, I probably could have navigated it a little differently. I mean, I literally said, I’m not going to jump into an alliance right away; the first person to ask me to get into an alliance was Carson, I’m like, ‘Yep, I’m in.’ I was like, I’m gonna lay low the first week, it was like, Spirit fingers, I’m here everyone. Focus on me. It’s just crazy because I’m still just trying to figure out– At the end of the day, like I said, I make a mean potato salad and I clean really well, because there is no reason I would make it this far unless these people just wanted me in the House.

There was one moment where you and Todd had kind of a heated moment that made some headlines.

Oh, I love Todd. I love Todd. That was all about me keeping my word to Teddi, who I was in an alliance with and Todd, who I was not in an alliance, was in his feelings I didn’t vote for him. I’m like, we have not had any talks. This is my alliance partner. I have given this woman my word, I have to honor my word. My regret is that it escalated way higher than it had to, but in my defense, I turned 55 in the ‘Big Brother’ house. I am in pre-menopause, okay. I have mood swings, I have hot flashes, cold flashes, so I may be hormonally– Maybe I overreacted. All I know is, 50 Cent came up for a minute, I apologized and we were able to move on.  I’m so happy for that because Todd was the one I was most excited about seeing because for some reason you never see Todd Bridges anyway. So I was like, oh my God, it’s Todd Bridges!

Did you celebrate your birthday inside? Did you guys do anything to commemorate?

I did, but it was very bittersweet. It was like, okay, you get to hear two songs, and I picked out Luther Vandross “So Amazing” and Bruno Mars “Leave the Door Open.” They did give us Sushi from Katsuya. I think I had like one– a bottle of wine like this [holds up single-serving size bottle] and they sang happy birthday to me. It was like five people. I think it was me, Todrick, Miesha, Lamar and Todd. But you know what? It will be an unforgettable birthday, for sure.

You’re done with “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” “Ultimate Girls Trip” went a little awry. Do you see more reality TV in your future after this.

I have a movie coming out on Lifetime, I’ve really been focused on– I don’t even know if it’s out, maybe it’s even out or coming out. I don’t have my phone yet!. And I just found out Beyonce gave me a shout-out for my birthday which I’m flipping out about as well. And I just found out that Rihanna’s pregnant! So, I’ll say that I’m really focusing on acting and hosting and kind of like switching lanes a little bit. But hey, it’s not over until it’s over. Never say never. I feel like after doing ‘Celebrity Big Brother,’ if I can survive this house, I can do anything, that’s for sure.