Dee Valladares knew Rick Devens could beat her on “Big Brother 28,” but that still wasn’t enough to make her turn against her closest ally.
Following her Final 4 eviction, the former “Survivor” winner opened up to Parade about her relationship with Devens and revealed how far she actually intended to take him in the game.
Despite briefly considering whether she needed to make a move against him, Dee ultimately decided she couldn’t do it.
“I can’t cut Devens,” she recalled thinking. “I can’t do that to him. This is my person.”
Dee Valladares Would Have Taken Rick Devens to Final 3
Dee and Devens entered “Big Brother 28” as two of the season’s three returning reality TV “icons,” alongside Angela Murray.
Rather than allowing their shared “Survivor” history to make them immediate adversaries, Dee and Devens became close allies.
Dee told Parade that their relationship only grew stronger throughout the season, describing Devens as the smartest ally she has ever had.
There was one period when she seriously questioned whether keeping him was best for her game.
Dee explained that she became frustrated with Devens’ closeness to Drew Campbell and Barrett Pfeiffer. She also felt he occasionally leaned too heavily into being the “good cop” while she absorbed the consequences of their strategic decisions.
After Devens made a joke about Dee nominating Mallory Aurichio, she confronted him and explained that she did not feel supported. According to Dee, Devens apologized.
Although she considered cutting him during that stretch, the feeling didn’t last.
By the morning of the eviction, Dee said she felt guilty for even contemplating it.
ParamountDee Valladares Knew Devens Could Beat Her
Dee’s loyalty extended all the way to Final 4.
She told Parade that if she had won the final Power of Veto, she would have evicted Drew rather than Devens.
Her reasoning came down to both loyalty and her assessment of her own competition abilities.
Dee worried that if she eliminated Devens and then lost one of the final competitions to Drew or Taylor Brown, she could be cut before reaching the Final 2. In that scenario, neither she nor her closest ally would win the season.
Instead, she was willing to accept the possibility that Devens could outperform her in the final competitions or even defeat her in a jury vote.
“At least it ensures that Devens wins the game, my main ally,” Dee explained, adding that she wanted him to receive the prize money if she couldn’t win herself.
Ultimately, Dee never received the opportunity to make that decision.
Drew won the Final 4 veto and held the sole vote to evict. He chose to keep Devens, ending Dee’s game after 80 days.
Even afterward, Dee refused to undermine her longtime ally. She acknowledged that she potentially could have pitched Drew on Devens being responsible for more of their strategic moves, but said her “heart” wouldn’t allow her to jeopardize Devens’ chances of reaching the end.
