BB28 Week 2 Exit Interview

Summary

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RHAP: We Know Big Brother

BB28 Week 2 Exit Interview with Rome Seymour

Date: July 24, 2026
Hosts: Rob Cesternino & Taran Armstrong
Guest: Rome Seymour (2nd evicted houseguest, Big Brother 28)

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Episode Overview

This Big Brother 28 exit interview dives into Rome Seymour’s eviction, exploring his insights on the game, missed opportunities, alliance dynamics, and advice for those left in the house. Rob and Taran guide Rome through a reflective conversation about strategy, trust, alliances, and personal gameplay, with Rome candidly discussing his regrets, misreads, and hopes for the season.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rome’s Reflections on His Eviction

• Missed Warnings about Trust
  • Rome acknowledges he should have listened to Lyric and Jason, who warned him against trusting Rick Devins.
  • He took Devins at his word despite house warnings, which ultimately led to his downfall.
  • Quote:

    "They told me that from day one, but I felt like I could change him." (Rome, 01:19)

  • Felt convinced by an emotional connection, believing Devins was genuinely loyal.

2. Alliance Dynamics and the “Tool Shed”

• Ashley’s Campaign and the Emergence of Alliances
  • Rob and Taran recount how Ashley, during her campaigning, exposed what became the “Tool Shed” alliance.
  • Ashley’s exposure made the alliance shift strategy and avoid open voting.
  • Rome admits the warning signs were there, but most perceived Ashley’s info as a last-ditch effort, not a real threat.
  • Quote:

    "If we would have taken Ashley more seriously, we would have seen this whole earthquake coming." (Rome, 03:20)

3. Frustration with Fellow Houseguests’ Inaction

• Lack of Group Mobilization
  • Rome expresses frustration that despite his warnings, others were not willing to move against the alliance.
  • He felt isolated as the leader of his side and struggled to get commitment from others.
  • Quote:

    "Nobody was willing to make the efforts to start gunning and recruiting more against them." (Rome, 04:20)

4. “President,” not “Emperor”

• Rob teases Rome for his “president” moniker, joking the “emperor” pun would be fitting for someone named Rome.
• Rome admits avoiding the reference to not sound corny.
  • Quote:

    "I'd rather be the president than the Roman emperor, right?" (Rome, 04:55)

5. The Lyric-Rome Fake Breakup

• Strategic Showmance Play
  • Rome discusses the attempted “fake breakup” with Lyric, meant to fool others about their relationship.
  • Laughs about how obviously fake it was, surprised people fell for it.
  • Quote:

    "It was so painstakingly obvious that she and I were still together. I don't know how these people didn't catch on." (Rome, 05:24)

6. The “Betas and Submissives” Gameplan

• Strategic Social Alignment
  • Rome intentionally avoided the dominant alpha personalities, seeking to lead a group of quieter players who would act as the “brains” while he became the public face.
  • Saw value in being the “target” to shield others, but lets them “run the show” behind him.
  • Quote:

    "I'm going to be the target, man. I'm going to be the face, but you guys are going to be running this whole show." (Rome, 06:18)

  • Jokes about his eviction as proof the plan didn’t work:

    "I'm sitting here, aren't I?" (Rome, 07:02)

7. Advice for the Outsiders

• How to Take Down the Power Players
  • Rome believes the only way for the underdogs to win is by targeting the alliance leaders directly, not just chopping at the edges.
  • Suggests a bold play: all big targets should be nominated at once, forcing them to fight each other.
  • Quote:

    "If you don't put all three of them on that block and say, 'Hey, fight each other to stay here,' then they'll find their way to, like, get through all this." (Rome, 07:41)

8. Rome’s Pick to Win

• Who’s in the Best Spot?
  • Excluding Lyric, Rome names Kamu as his winner pick.
  • Praises Kamu for strong alliances, competition ability, and overall strategic position.
  • Quote:

    "Kamu is playing the best game in the entire house... He is the strongest player in this game right now." (Rome, 08:15)

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Memorable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• On trusting Rick Devins:

  "I didn't think he would be the person that would say that to my face and not mean it." (Rome, 01:39)

• On Ashley's campaign:

  "It almost felt like it was a scare tactic for the other side, and none of us were really buying it, which now, if we would have taken Ashley more seriously, we would have seen this whole earthquake coming." (Rome, 03:20)

• On leading his side:

  "I think a lot of them trusted me the most to be, like, the face of that side of the house. I don't know how you're not going to understand the gravity of these people coming after all of us." (Rome, 03:50)

• On his social strategy:

  "I wanted people that felt like they could trust me and see me as the person they could go to when need be." (Rome, 06:17)

• On the fake breakup:

  "Walk into the have not room and see the two of us on the same pizza slice is pretty obvious, right?" (Rome, 05:26)

• On targeting the alliance:

  "I don't know if anyone's going to have the cojones to really go after these icons." (Rome, 07:59)

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Notable Segments & Timestamps

• 01:15 – Rome reflects on his biggest strategic mistakes
• 02:10 – Hosts recount the formation and exposure of the “Tool Shed” alliance
• 03:45 – Rome on the lack of urgency from his allies
• 04:47 – Rome on “president” vs “emperor” and owning his leadership role
• 05:20 – The fake breakup strategy discussion
• 06:05 – Rome details his “betas and submissives” strategy
• 07:17 – Advice for the outnumbered side
• 08:13 – Rome picks his winner: Kamu

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Conclusion

Rome Seymour leaves the Big Brother 28 house with candor and self-awareness, sharing lessons learned and sharp takes on house dynamics. He reflects humorously on his strategic missteps (“I’m sitting here, aren’t I?”), offers bold advice for pivoting the game, and shines a light on why Kamu is the houseguest to watch. Rob and Taran foster a warm, insightful sendoff, setting the stage for what’s shaping up to be a drama-filled BB28 season.

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Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

What's going on?

[C]

Rob Ciceronino back with an exit interview here for our Big Brother 28 coverage. Second player evicted from the house and it is Rome. Rome Seymour. He was somebody who came in to the house with a big plan. It didn't go according to the plan. He was fell in love on day two and the rest is history. And so Rome is going to be here in just a moment. Taran is getting ready for the live feed update and so he'll pop in for the Rome interview. Be sure to check that out as well when Taryn and Puya are live this afternoon. I'll also have a Q and a with the patrons of Robin's podcast today at 3pm Eastern. Talk about Big Brother and whatever else is on your mind. So without further ado, here is our interview with Rome. Hey, Rome, what's going on? Rob and Taryn here from rhap. Sad to see you go out of the house. Rome. I'm interested to know from your opinion, besides winning the BB blockbuster, what do you feel like that you could have done differently to change this outcome?

[B]

You know, it's funny, I've been looking back on it the last day or so and one of the biggest things I should have done is heeded the warning of the people I trust as much, which was lyrics and Jason saying that Rick Devins was not to be trusted. They told me that from day one, but I felt like I could change him. So I went, you know, he and I had a really powerful conversation outside one night where he's like, you know, no one talks game with me. The only person that does it. I really trust you. Like you're like my number one most trusted person in this house right now. And I took that to heart because I didn't think he would be the person that would say that to my face and not mean it. And I thought he's a guy that could help me go to the next level and push this game as far as I possibly could. And I understand that maybe he felt a little threatened by my imposing will coming through.

[A]

Yeah. If you, if you remember when Ashley was on the block that Wednesday when she was doing her campaigning, she had been approached by what eventually became the Tool Shed alliance, which of course was the doorbell situation.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And they were telling her like, you know, they wanted her to stay. And then she went around telling everyone, these people are in a group, they're working for me to stay. You heard some of that from Lyric Melody was telling trying to tell you guys ultimately because Ashley outed that group. They were like, okay, no, we have to change our minds. We can't expose ourselves in the vote. And then. And then, ultimately, Devin's wins at hoh. But, yeah, it was. The seeds were out there.

[B]

There was. There's always so many whispers in that house that it's. It. It's which ones are real and which ones are fake and which ones can you believe? And honestly, we all didn't really think much of it at the time because it was almost felt like a desperation play by Ashley to say, like, oh, these people are, like, trying to get me on their side. You should vote for me too. Or, like, it almost felt like it was a. Like a scare tactic for the other side, and none of us were really buying it, which now, if we would have taken Ashley more seriously, we would have seen this whole earthquake coming.

[C]

It seems, though, that even after everybody was up in the bedroom and you went up there, it still feels like that the other people who were not there don't say, seem to clearly see those people as a group.

[A]

Is that fair?

[B]

I don't understand how when it comes directly from me, the person. I think a lot of them trusted me the most to be, like, the face of that side of the house. I don't know how you're not going to understand the gravity of these people coming after all of us. When I woke Yash up the next morning and I said, yash, they're gunning for us. We got to get. We got to get moving. We got to get working. He didn't really take that into full consideration. I told Lala, I told everyone, and it just became, all right. We kind of know they're working together, but nobody was willing to make the efforts to start gunning and recruiting more against them.

[A]

At one point in the house, just prior, really to Devin's hoh, you did feel like there were a lot of people coming to you. You made. You mentioned that you felt like the president of the house. How did you not say emperor? It was right there.

[B]

I know. It felt too corny. It felt so corny to say that. I just didn't want to. I was like, I'd rather be the president than the Roman emperor. Right?

[C]

So, Rome, this week, we saw you and Lyric ended up going into a fake breakup in the house. And it seemed like that at times people were really buying this. Were you surprised at how. Well, some people seem to bite on this?

[B]

I mean, guys, it was. It was so painstakingly obvious that she and I were still together. I don't know how these people didn't catch on. Like, like, walk into the have not room and see the two of us on the same pizza slice is pretty obvious, right? Like, or every time one of us walks to one room, 30 seconds later, the other one walks to the same room. Oh. For an extended period of time. Lyric and Rome are go. I. I don't know. It just felt like it was still obvious to me, but I guess it still got a lot of people.

[A]

Okay, Rome, in your preseason and, and a little bit in the season, too, you talked about betas and submissives. You get along with them. You got. You gotta tell what is with the betas and submissives.

[B]

So, like, I, I think it's a term that I think is. Is really funny because it's. It's just the opposite of the alphas, right? So it's like you've got the Commus, the Chucks, the. The Devins, like, that are the obvious alphas and big talkers and charismatic and handsome like those guys. I didn't want to be with them. I wanted to be with people that, like, that needed a face to protect them. All right? I wanted people that felt like they could trust me and see me as the person they could go to when need be. But I always told them, I was like, you guys are going to be the geniuses behind this whole operation. I'm going to be the target, man. I'm going to be the face, but you guys are going to be running this whole show. And then when you need me to go out there and compete or stand up for us, that's when you let me out of the cage.

[C]

And did you feel like that worked?

[B]

I'm sitting here, aren't I?

[C]

Yeah. Can you just give from your point of view, what do you think that the other side of the house needs to do to be able to strike back at the. The powers that be right now?

[B]

I mean, it's hard. It's like I'm going to take with me to my. To my grave in the show that I made three celebrity or reality show icons quaking their boots from my game plan. Yeah. Like, so the problem is I don't know if anyone is going to target them directly like I was going to. I think they're going to dance around it. Everyone's going to be in this weird, like, friendly personal area, and maybe they'll go for one at a time or something. But I'm telling you, if you don't put all three of them on that block and say, hey, Fight each other to stay here. Then they'll. They'll find their way to, like, get through all this. And I don't know if anyone's going to have the. The cojones to really go after these. These icons.

[A]

Okay, last. Last question here. If you. Without picking lyric, who do you think. Who do you think is going to win the game?

[B]

Kamu. Kamu is playing the best game in the entire house. Every single person. There's not a person in that house that would say, hey, you know, this week I'm going to put Kamu on the block. But he's also got this really strong alliance with a lot of people right now. And the part that people don't understand is that man is a competitor. He is a fighter. He's got this spirit that will get him to a point where he's going to win competitions. Whether it be vetoes or HOHs or anything, he is the strongest player in this game right now.

[C]

Okay, Rome, well, thank you for making some time to talk with us. I know it was a short run, but I really, really do believe if you get a second chance to play Big Brother, I know you can do beta. Okay.

[B]

I know. I think. I think I could make. I think I can make the beta project happen. Yes.

[C]

Okay. All right, Rome, thank you so much.

[B]

Okay, Rob, Taren, thank you guys so much. Much, much appreciated.

[C]

All right, bye, everybody. There you have it. There's Rome. A good sport out of the game, and we will have so much more big Brother for you coming your way all through the weekend and all through the season right here on rhap. Take care, everybody. Have a good one. Bye. A lot of folks listen to Robbit's podcast because they want to get smarter about Survivor. But when you want to get smarter about your money or your time, you got to check out all the hacks. The host is named Chris Hutchins. He's a financial optimizer, not like Emily flippin. He sold two companies. He traveled to over 60 countries mostly for free, racked up millions of rewards points, and every week he breaks down exactly how he thinks about getting more out of life without spending more to do it. It's one of those shows where you finish an episode and immediately want to change something, change two episodes worth your time. Episodes 170 on cash back versus points, which reframes how to actually think about credit card Strategy. And episode 176 with Nick Reyes redeeming points for maximum value. It really pairs well between the two. You'll have a completely different approach on how to get travel rewards. No fluff, just proven playbooks to travel better, spend smarter and design a life you're excited about. Every episode has at least one thing that you can act on the same day. Search for all the hacks. That's all the hacks in your podcast app. Hit follow and start upgrading your life today.