Red Utley was seemingly safe headed into Week 5 of Big Brother, but the Houseguests turned on him by the end of the week. He’s the latest to leave the house, as well as the latest pre-juror to learn about the connection between Survivor legend Cirie Fields and her son, Jared Fields. Red told CinemaBlend that he had an “inclination” prior to Julie Chen Moonves’ reveal that Cirie and Jared were related but ultimately ignored it early on in the game.
I had a chance to speak to Red following his eviction and asked him if he had any idea there was any kind of intimate connection between Jared and Cirie before learning about it after his eviction. Red confirmed that he did have a suspicion that something was up between them early on, yet he shrugged off the feeling due to the nature of the game:
There was definitely an inclination that they may have known each other, and they do kind of look similar. But it was one of those things that you just kind of sweep under the rug. Big Brother has a way of bringing people really close together really quickly. It’s the fishbowl effect of being isolated with people that you have to build relationships with. So, seeing them with somewhat of a close connection early on wasn’t really that alarming to me. So really, I had no idea other than just slight inclinations in the first couple of weeks.
Red saw that Cirie and Jared were close, but obviously, lacked the final piece of the puzzle when it came to the relationship between the two Big Brother Houseguests. Though given his rationale about the game, it’s understandle that he didn’t put too much stock into that feeling. Red later explained to CinemaBlend that had he known about the connection, he would’ve made efforts to try and separate Cirie and Jared. He won’t be able to do so now that he’s on the outside looking in for the rest of the game though, at the very least, he can root for his buddy, Cameron Hardin, to make some big move. That’s not to say Cameron will actually do that because, let’s be honest, he’s more in the dark on the state of the house than Red ever was.
Jared and Cirie’s bond definitely gives them an inherent advantage in Big Brother, as there’s little reason for Houseguests to connect them as close allies otherwise. Thus far, the only people who know about the secret are Izzy Gleicher, who is their closest ally (and could become a nightmare) for them, and Blue Kim, who is in a showmance with Jared. (The latter might’ve even damaged his game because of that.) Neither seems willing to share the secret with other allies, so for now, they’re protected.
Should that secret be exposed, however, I can imagine that many in the house would feel the same way as Red. No one is going to feel safe skating to the end of the game with a mother-and-son duo. Even Izzy, who is committed to both, frequently wrestles with the idea of doing so. If the secret were to be revealed, they would both be nominated pretty quickly, and at least one of them would leave the game. Whether that secret will ever be exposed remains to be seen as is true for whether someone else gets an “inclination” and ultimately ignores it like Red did.
Stream Big Brother online using a Paramount+ subscription or on CBS as the episode schedule starts to shift due to the return of the NFL and other fall programs. We’ll see just how safe Jared and Cirie’s secret will be as the game continues, and if one of their allies will decide to use it against them.