Big Brother’s house is open once more! Every week, Parade.com’s Mike Bloom will be bringing you interviews with houseguests as they get evicted from the game.

Tommy Bracco’s obsession ran rampant in the Big Brother house, as he was wont to say. His energy, as expressive as a comic book character, caused him to build several key relationships easily. His loyalty made him insistent on maintaining a majority alliance, even when differences had become irreconcilable. And it was an obsession that ended up getting him out of the house as well. A well-placed lie by HoH Jackson Michie stoked power pair Nicole Anthony and Cliff Hogg’s consistent paranoia about him joining up with Tommy. As a result, the Broadway dancer’s strategic show came to an early close.

Tommy started in a state of shock when he found out he would be playing with Christie Murphy, who dated one of his family members. They decided to keep their relationship a secret, while simultaneously becoming part of the majority “Gr8ful” alliance. For the first half of the game, he was sitting pretty. Their alliance held control with competition wins and aggressive tactics, while Tommy’s likability meant did not earn the ire from the outsiders. It was all gone in a flash for the Flash Mobster, though, when Jackson told Jack Matthews about an outside connection between Holly Allen and Kathryn Dunn. Paranoia soon spread like poison ivy, as Tommy and Jack tried to flip the vote mere hours before the eviction. Christie stopped the flip, but the Six Shooters’ routine was over.

When Tommy won HoH, he attempted to return things to before, targeting Kat. And while he was successful, this began a period of the house turning on Christie, with him scrambling to keep her safe. After saving her with the Veto and keeping her over other close friends, their time finally came to an end when they sat on the block together during the double eviction. The Staten Islander was now on his own island, one man against an alliance of four. Though he failed to win the Veto, Cliff and Nicole were seriously debating getting rid of Holly due to her pairing with Jackson. Acting on his suspicions, Jackson used eavesdropped information to fabricate a deal that Tommy had made with him, making Tommy seem duplicitous. After an explosive house meeting and continuous back and forth, it was with heavy hearts that the former outsiders chose to stick to their deal, sending Tommy off with tears in his eyes and prepped for a cartwheel.

Now out of the house, Tommy talks with Parade.com about why he chose to disclose his relationship with Christie to the rest of the final five, why he was hesitant to lie in the game, and who is most responsible for his eviction.

What was your reaction to seeing Christie in the house and how did it change your initial game plan?

I completely blacked out when I saw Christie! I don’t remember any first impressions about anything from the rest of the day because as soon as I saw her, I just blacked everything else out. I think Christie is amazing and I love her forever, but we are very different game players. The majority of my game was navigating my relationship with Christie while balancing my relationships with others.

You chose to reveal your connection with Christie to your fellow houseguests this week. What was the strategy behind the decision and specifically the timing of it?

When Christie left the house, not only did I feel alone, but I learned she was everyone’s number one target. I knew there was a four-person alliance and I was the odd man out. I thought revealing my secret would help disassociate myself with her, let them in on my secret and explain why I did what I did. Ultimately, I don’t know if it hurt me, but it certainly didn’t help me.

Another tight relationship you had was with Nick, who you decided to tell outright that you were evicting over Christie. Why did you choose to do that and what are your thoughts on your dynamic?

Nick is someone who I would have stuck by until the very end. However, Christie is family and family comes first. But when she was up against Nick, my vote was the deciding factor and I couldn’t send Christie home. If Nick had been up against anyone else, I would have voted Nick to stay.

After you tried to flip the vote against Kat over Sam, the Six Shooters seemed to fall apart. Why were you so persistent in getting them back together despite all the mistrust?

My plan for this game was to work in a big alliance. Call me an optimist, but I still had hope the whole time. I knew if we stuck together, we could make it until the end.

You had said that Jackson and Holly were trying to play the middle between all the pairs last week. What are your thoughts on the games each of them is playing?

Together they are playing a really great game. As individuals, I think Holly and I are playing very similar games. We both communicate in the same way. My plan coming in was to align with a bigger target, and I think she’s doing the same thing.

You were very cautious about lying too much throughout the season, worried that may come back to haunt you with the jury. How much did that drive your strategy?

My mother always told me honesty is the best policy, and that is 100% true in the BB house. I quickly learned that every single thing you say in the house gets back to everything. There are no secrets. Lying sets you up for failure.

Is there anything you regret doing or not doing in your campaigning considering how close the deliberation got?

Looking back now, are there are a few things I wish could have said to fight harder? Sure, but hindsight is 20/20.

Cliff and Nicole both voted to evict you. Who at this point do you blame more for your elimination?

I think I have to say Cliff. Nicole and I have a really close relationship, and I know she sees the truth and the real me. Cliff saw me as a strong competitor and was more reluctant because we viewed each other as big threats throughout the season.