Big Brother 26’s Kimo Apaka was ride or die with T’kor Clottey and Rubina Bernabe in the game, but he knows he could’ve made stronger relationships outside their trio.
“Do I look back and regret not fostering better relationships with other players in the house? Of course. Namely Quinn [Martin],” Kimo, 36, exclusively told Us Weekly on Friday, October 4, one day after he was eliminated from the CBS reality series. “I know I flubbed things up with Quinn early on, and I think there could have been a completely different scenario and the trajectory would’ve been much different [if that hadn’t happened.] Maybe he could have pushed me a little bit further in the game.”
Kimo and T’kor, 23, formed the Visionaries alliance with Quinn, 26, early in the season. Kimo and T’kor never fully trusted Quinn, although Quinn repeatedly assured the duo that they were his priority.
The Visionaries’ bond was put to the test during week 4 when Kimo and T’kor successfully flipped the vote to keep Rubina, 35, over Cedric Hodges. Quinn, who held the Deepfake Head of Household power at the time, was blindsided. The move drew a line in the sand because Cedric, 22, was one of Quinn’s closest allies and Rubina was in a showmance with Tucker Des Lauriers, who was openly targeting Quinn. T’kor and Kimo then grew closer to Rubina and Tucker, 30, and began drifting away from Quinn.
Although Kimo admits that he could’ve tried harder to work with Quinn, he said he’s “trying not to walk out of this game with any regrets.”
“I believe everything happens for a reason, just as it should in its own timing,” he told Us. “Luckily, I know Quinn and I will be great friends outside of this house.”
While Kimo and T’kor could’ve done more to repair their relationship with Quinn after the Cedric flip, it was still a smart decision to go against the Collective alliance. Thanks to intel from Quinn, Kimo and T’kor knew they were on the bottom of the Collective as they weren’t included in the smaller subgroup The Pentagon. After the big move in week four, Kimo began to play a more lowkey game, which he told Us was intentional.
“After that, it really did become about adapting to the game,” he said. “It might not have been as big [of a] move … but I do feel like everything that I did after that was big in my own way, because adapting in this game is huge. That’s what this game is all about. I do feel like I was working hard, though people probably would view it as maybe hiding or kind of just floating around. But every little thing in this house, in my opinion, is intentional, or at least should be.”
While Kimo is proud of playing under the radar, he admitted it was challenging being a “perpetual pawn” who was nominated for eviction a whopping seven times.
“It’s hard not to doubt yourself and your position in the game when people feel like they can just put you up there [on the block], even if it’s just as a pawn or a placeholder,” he said. “For me, it was all about persevering and kind of just carrying myself in a certain way, and trying to just be as positive as I could with the circumstances week after week.”
Kimo was nominated for eviction this week alongside Rubina by Head of Household Makensy Manbeck. He placed fifth after being voted out 2-0.
Big Brother airs on CBS and Paramount+ Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.