Two weeks ago, on
The Biggest Loser, Mark Kruger sacrificed himself so that his brother, Jay, could stay in the game. This week,
Bernie Salazar won a big prize: grant immunity to any player other than himself. He chose to give it to his partner, Brittany. Had he not done that, she would have fallen below the yellow line and been up for elimination. Instead, it was Bernie who ended up falling below the line and was sent home by the members of the blue team. Today, he told BuddyTV in an exclusive interview, that he wouldn't have changed a thing.
Below, you will find the complete transcript and mp3 of the interview.
Hey everybody, this is Gina from BuddyTV, and today I'm talking to Bernie from The Biggest Loser. Hey Bernie, how are you?
I'm doing great.
Had you ever considered doing The Biggest Loser in the past before this season?
Oh definitely. Every season I sit on my couch and think to myself: man, I want to be on that show. The funny thing is a lot of that was because on the finale you see the big person and you see the small person, and you think that it's gonna be that fast and that radical a change. Of course I definitely contemplated being on the show many times.
When you first arrived on campus, what was your first impression of Brittany when you met her?
I was thinking to myself God, she's gorgeous. Definitely, that's the first thing. We ran out and I'm like oh God, it's a girl. I'm going to have to go through this transformation with a girl who I don't know, and then she's cute on top of that. I thought oh my God, my girlfriend's going to hate this. I was definitely a little bit worried.
Well you guys thought you had an advantage going in because you didn't have the baggage of being family members or in a relationship. Do you still stand by that? Do you guys think you had the advantage being strangers?
Oh definitely, I definitely stand by that. It was really nice because we really were able to take the time to get to know one another and truly dissect why we were there and what are our true goals were for being there. That really just served so many things. It allowed us to kind of take our minds off of the intense workouts we were receiving and the change in lifestyle as far as food goes, and being away from our families and our loved ones. It was a really, really good pairing.
You had the opportunity to work with both trainers. You started with Bob and ended with Jillian. Did you end up clicking more with one than the other?
I'm just gonna go out and say that yeah, I ended up clicking with Jillian a lot better. Not just because she was the final trainer who ended up taking us on, but I guess my personality just lent myself better to Jillian's approach to health. Truly I was just excited to be trained by either person. I went there not necessarily caring who was my trainer, I was just really excited about the possibility of changing my life. From the time that I spent with Bob, that was also incredible. Bob's the type of guy who, whether I was on the black team or the blue team, always took the time to say "Hey" and check in on how I was doing. But in the end Jillian really did reach me in a way that I needed to be reached to make sure that this change was lifelong instead of temporary.
You and Brittany really managed not to have any drama. You guys didn't fight. Is there anything we didn't see off camera, or did you two really just get along that well?
You know what, it's sickening, but we got along that well. She is terrific, there was nothing to fight about. It was a great, great relationship and friendship, and one that I know is going to carry on for my entire life. I kind of saw her as my little sister. It was like a big brother, little sister relationship. Because we didn't know each other before I was just amazed by her motivation and determination, and she inspired me to keep working hard. It was just a give and take relationship the whole way around, and I think we both benefitted from it.
After Paul left, Kelly was feeling really left out on the team. Was that just up in her head after her teammate left, or was there really a separation?
I don't think there was a separation, definitely not on our part. First of all, Kelly is just amazing. I absolutely adore Kelly and we have a terrific friendship as well. I could definitely see how she felt that way. I'm not as young as the two girls are, and Kelly is definitely older than me, so I think the age more than anything might have contributed her to feeling that way. But every opportunity we had we were together and cheering each other on and motivating one another, so I think a lot of it might have been in her head, but at the same time I could see how. I don't know, it was just a tough situation at times because of how much we actually did care for each other, to see Kelly feel as though she was the odd person out.
On last night's episode it was such a big move for you to give immunity to Brittany. It ended up costing you the game. Would you have done it the same way over again?
I would have done it ten times over the same way, without a doubt. I really feel as though I received exactly what I needed to from the ranch, and it was a very positive jumpstart. In the end I'm not going to lie and say I wouldn't have loved to have won the $250,000, but taking time away from the ranch now I realize that my health and my sanity is just worth that. The Biggest Loser has given that back to me, so to me that's worth so much more than $250,000. Although, if somebody wants to give me $250,000, I'd be willing to take it.
We'll let them know where to find you.
Yeah, just in case, you can get my number.
Well I just wanted to thank you so much. I can't wait to see you at the live finale, and I hope that you end up winning The Biggest Loser at home Bernie.
I appreciate it, and thank you so much for the call.
- Gina Scarpa, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of NBC)