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

Big Brother is a game that revolves around secrets. People walk into the house prepared with fibs about their age, their knowledge of the shows, their relationships with other houseguests and, perhaps most often, their occupation. Steve Arienta came into the game locked and loaded with a fib of his own, as a former undercover cop and current university professor masquerading as a mechanic. But the so-called mechanic got done in by another mechanical secret, as fellow nominee and human/robot hybrid Sam Bledsoe‘s new power from the BB App Store caused the “Level 6” alliance to stall on plans of getting rid of her, making the “Summer of Steve” unseasonably short.

When Steve entered the house as the oldest person, he planned to come across as everyone’s mutual “crazy uncle.” His performance in the first competition allowed him not to suffer the punishments that Sam and Kaycee Clark underwent throughout the week. But he still found himself thrown in the trash folder when safety competition winner Chris “Swaggy C” Williams went back on his promise to Angela Rummans and chose not to save her move-in group, which included Steve. With the field of possible first evictees shrunken to eight, the first Head of Household competition became a pivotal test of speed, balance and strategy. Lifeguard Tyler Crispen had detected “bullet eyes” from Steve since their meeting and decided to immediately go for Steve, which allowed for him to cruise to the HoH bedroom. Wanting to play dumb and find a way not to make waves, he nominated the first two people out of HoH competition, and Steve being the first to have his deletion dots filled made him a candidate for deletion from the house.

As the week progressed, Steve was as calm as the waters in his favorite bath. He had gotten on the good side of the “FOUTTE” alliance, consisting of Swaggy C, Kaitlyn Herman, Faysal Shafaat, Haleigh Broucher and Angie “Rockstar” Lantry, as well as the emerging bro pairing of Brett Robinson and Winston Hines. Though he had made no official alliances, he had a close confidante in Scottie Salton. And though one would think working with metal so much as a welder would make Sam acclimate to her robot punishment easier, her circuits and temper were beginning to fry, making her a likely candidate to go. Things changed, though, with a click of an app. Sam was the first to receive a “Power App” from the BB App Store and chose to give herself a bonus life in the game, allowing her or a houseguest of her choosing to compete for a chance to re-enter the house after getting evicted. She divulged this information to Tyler, who decided to tell his alliance shortly before the eviction, with a plan to weaponize it by keeping Sam and keeping her in their pocket to hopefully use the power on them in the coming weeks. Though they had a new maneuver, they still needed numbers, and Tyler tried to capitalize on his stratagem by going to crystal aficionado Kaitlyn. Though Kaitlyn was initially excited about “FOUTTE,” even coining the name herself, she had been observing the growing closeness of Haleigh and Faysal, as well as Swaggy C and Bayleigh Dalton, and saw the danger in being a single in a game of pairs. Thus, she ended up joining the rest of “Level 6,” along with JC Mounduix in turning on her alliance and breaking up another pair, sending shockwaves through the house that pushed Steve out the door.

Now out of the house, Steve talks with me about who he thinks flipped on him, his opinions on Scottie and Tyler, and whether he was able to sell anyone on the benefits of baths.

You’ve had some time to mull things over since your blindside last night. How are you feeling now after the dust has settled?

I can honestly tell you that it shocked me when it happened. I know it shocked Swaggy. It definitely shocked Scottie Too Hottie. The more I mull it over and think about it, and the fact I’m a fan of the game, the more I’m very impressed that Brett and Winston, also known as “Brad and Chad” the bros, took a shot at Swaggy and Fess’ alliance early on. They sent the first salvo over to try to hurt the other alliance and diminish numbers. I’m really proud of those two. I know that I’m the casualty of war, but the truth is, as a Big Brother fan, I want to see big moves, and I want to see it early. The fact that Brett and Winston took a shot right off the bat and hit Swaggy and Fess’ alliance showcases they’re ready for a battle. I’m all pumped up to watch the rest of the season; I can’t wait!

Do you have any suspicions as to who turned on you when the votes came in? Was it Brett and Winston?

No, I could sense they were going one way. To tell you the truth, I don’t know the vote because I haven’t seen the episode. I surmise that somebody on me within the alliance and is working secretly with the bros. I surmise that it’s Haleigh. I’m guessing that only because two days prior, they were all hanging out on the hammock. Of course, Haleigh was laying there, and she was in a “Brad and Chad sandwich,” according to what the bros called that. I got to think it’s Haleigh.

Going into the eviction, what made you so confident? At one point, you talked about how you felt the safest out of anyone who has been nominated in the first week in Big Brother history. What gave you that certainty?

At that point in time, Sam had just gotten the house pretty mad at her. It was out of desperation. She had pulled people in and asked them, “Who’re you voting for: Steve or me?” Putting people on the spot. And that was turning people off who would have normally gone [with] her. They were coming up to me and saying, “I can’t believe she said that. I’m going to be voting with you because how dare she put me in that position!” That coupled with the fact that Swaggy, Fess, Kaitlyn, Rockstar, Haleigh, Bayleigh and I had a firm alliance, I thought I had the numbers. I didn’t know how Brad and Chad had infiltrated Swaggy’s alliance; that’s something Swaggy and Fess do not know. So kudos; like I said, they’re playing an awesome game. The number one person I would be shocked if I saw turn on me would be Scottie Too Hottie.

Talk to me about your relationship with Scottie. What was it about him that made you connect with him right off the bat?

You know, bro, I have no idea! [Laughs.] He’s a great guy. I’m a comic book reader; he knows about comics, so obviously we could discuss that. [We were] two people looking for a close-knit alliance. He gave up some information early to me, saying he was actually the superfan and not his sister, which he told everybody. So that brought a lot of trust with me, and I brought him a lot closer.

This is what shocked me. He went up to Sam—and I heard this not only from him but other people—and Sam asked, “Who are you going to vote for: Steve or me?” And Scottie said, “I’m with Steve.” Scottie told me he was asked three times by Sam that same question and three times he told her the same thing. It just seemed like he was a good guy, super athletic, a little quirky, but a genuinely nice person, and that’s who I like to surround myself with.

Let’s go back to the first night in the game. You told Julie Chen last night that you wanted to go in playing the “crazy uncle,” but it developed into more of a fatherly role. What were your general first impressions of your fellow houseguests, and what prompted that behavior change?

First of all, this season has more studs and studettes than I’ve ever seen. Everybody’s in phenomenal shape; everybody is super athletic to the umpteenth power. Everybody’s clear with their balance; their chakras are aligned. Usually, in every Big Brother season, you have one or two beasts. You had [Caleb Reynolds from season 16], you had Devin [Shepherd, also from season 16]. In this season, you’ve got five guys that all look like Devin and [Caleb]. It’s one of those things where they took it to the next level.

So right off the bat, I see that, and I know I can’t physically match up with most of these guys and girls in competitions. They start talking to me, and I have three daughters, so I start talking about them, and they’re automatically clued in on being a father. I had to start to change the strategy on the fly. And I am a father, and I do love my daughters, so it was an easy strategy move to make.

On the note of parents, what was your relationship like with the other parent in the house in Rockstar?

Rockstar and I started talking. She has kids; I have kids. She missed her significant other; I missed my wife. We started to really connect on that level. She told me she had my back; I told her I had hers. At that point in time, it made sense to align with her. But at the same token, we have a lot in common, even if we don’t have a lot in common normally. She and I have very different career paths. [Laughs.] I’m a conservative father; she has the beautiful pink hair, really far out there. But in the house, it seemed to click. The parental role ended up with me being the surrogate father in the house, and she was the surrogate mother.

Talk to me about Tyler, the HoH who ultimately nominates you. He gave you the rationale that you were the first out of the competition, but did you believe there were other motives?

I think Tyler is cagey. That’s the best way I can put it. He didn’t want blood on his hands. Sam was the first one out of the first HoH; I was the second one, so it made sense to put us up one and two. I thought it was an easy way out; Fess and Swaggy also said it was an easy way out. Tyler, in my mind, is playing both sides. He’s feeding Swaggy information on the side, but he’s also looking to eliminate one of Swaggy’s people because he said that if Fess used the Power of Veto on me, he’s putting up Bayleigh. Swaggy ain’t having that. That was the way to ensure I stayed on the block as a target.

The funniest thing I had personally with Tyler was [something] I’d never seen in Big Brother history. He came to the bedroom, he gives me a box of Frosted Mini-Wheats, and he tells me he’s putting me on the block. I thought it was so comical because he was like, “Here bro, I know you probably like these,” and I’m like, “Thanks, man.” And he’s like, “By the way, I’m putting you on the block with Sam.” And I was like, “What?!” I had to start laughing. At that point, what do you say? “Here’s a box of Frosted Mini-Wheats, and by the way you’re probably going home.” I understand the move, [but] I think it was more cagey than anything else. He’s a lot more game-savvy than he’s leading on.

Give me your thoughts on your fellow nominee in Sam. After seeing you were sitting next to someone who was undergoing such a rigorous punishment, did the thought cross your mind that they may pity her situation and keep her as a result?

I’ve got to be honest. Sam is a competitor. First of all, she’s a good person, salt of the earth. I can tell you right now, she’s a sleeper with regards to competitions. I never slept on the fact that Sam and I were head-to-head on the block. She’s very dangerous because she is so sweet. She does things for other people, and she makes sure other people are fed. She does haircuts and takes on this nurturing role that a mother would, but she’s not a mother’s age to these kids. She’s very cagey with her social game. So I knew there was competition, even if she was a robot. I was hoping that her panicking and putting people in the position where they had to choose and sour them would have been enough to deter the people that wanted to vote [with] her.

Let’s say you survived the eviction. What was going to be your game plan moving forward?

Scottie and I would ride it out together, and that’s the truth. Scottie is a cagey strategist with a whole lot of ability. What I wanted to do was ride out with the Fess and Swaggy crew for a little bit, pick off Brad and Chad slowly, and then start to put Brad and Chad’s allies together and attack Fess and Swaggy’s alliance from the inside. That would have been the ultimate plan, but obviously, it didn’t work out that way.

Who do you think is the most in danger going into this next week?

If the Brad and Chad alliance wins the Head of Household, then I’m going to tell you right now that they’ll put Fess and probably Bayleigh up, to get under Swaggy’s skin. My honest opinion is that whoever wins the Power of Veto is going to take Bayleigh down and put Swaggy up to make it a Fess/Swaggy vote. If the Fess and Swaggy alliance win it, they’re going to be looking to do two things. They’re going to be looking for retribution on Brad and Chad, but they’re also going to be looking for the turncoat within the alliance. If it’s my surrogate daughter Kaitlyn who wins it, I hope she plays it smart and not vengeful. I hope she tries to do a back-door deal because you cannot allow Brad and Chad to both go for the Veto at the same time. Not to mention a Power App is running around that I still don’t know who has it!

Before leaving the house, were you able to convert anyone to the wild world of baths?

[Laughs.] No. I tried to describe it to people. You know what? Maybe we’re in different places in our lives. I think Scottie was down for giving it a shot after the game. But it’s a tough sell. You try to describe it like a hot tub, but the minute you tell them there are no bubbles, they look at you weird and say, “Well, why don’t I just take a shower?” It’s hard to describe it to them, but they’ll turn around, we all do.

Did you try to take a lot of baths while you were in the house? I can imagine having fifteen roommates would make that situation difficult.

Dude, there were so many people hanging out in the HoH room at any given time! Listening to music, laying down in the bed. It just would have felt ultra-weird. I wouldn’t have been able to get comfortable. But I can tell you what, the minute I was evicted, I went back to the hotel room, bathtub time happened. I got my tub in! I’m all rejuvenated, ready to take on the world today.