Now that we are down to the final ten contestants on Big Brother Australia 2021, it should come as no surprise that the strategies are becoming even more twisty as each player looks to be the last one standing.
Mary Kalifatidis knows this all too well, having been put up for eviction by Marley Biyendolo as a “safe vote” — something which Kalifatidis says does not exist. The 56-year-old confirmed this suspicion when she was evicted from the Big Brother house on June 7, leaving Biyendolo devastated by his mistake.
Despite feeling blindsided at the time, Kalifatidis says she harbours no ill will toward her former housemate.
“Marley explained to me what happened. I was really upset while we were filming because I would never ever have put him up. But Marley is a person with loyalties and integrity and he would never betray his own people,” Kalifatidis told POPSUGAR Australia.
“I knew the night before that something was going on. I had a feeling so I started packing all my clothes neatly.”
Biyendolo, of course, had made a pact with head-of-house Danny Hayes in which Hayes promised to sacrifice members of his own alliance if Biyendolo won the next challenge — which he did. While the 26-year-old wrongly assumed that no one would vote to see Kalifatidis evicted, the “mob mum” understands that it’s all just a game and assures us she and Biyendolo are on great terms.
“The game is coming to an end,” Kalifatidis said. “I mean, I made it to the top 10 twice. For someone who couldn’t win a challenge, I did pretty good!”
Interestingly, her ejection from the house did not come as a shock to the mum-of-three, who told POPSUGAR Australia that she had had a feeling her time was coming to an end.
“I knew the night before that something was going on,” she explained. “I had a feeling so I started packing all my clothes neatly so when the time came I could just throw everything in my bag. And that’s exactly what happened!”
She continued, “Tilly thought I had psychic powers because a lot of times I would say things and it will come out. But that’s just you know, being 56 years old you do tune into your intuition.”
It was also intuition, perhaps, that saw Kalifatidis remain in the Big Brother house until the final 10, despite her daughter, Sophie, joking with her that she would be evicted right away.
“There are many ways you can play the game,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be physical — it could be a mental game, it could be a social game. And you notice that a lot of strong players left at the beginning because they’re a threat.”
As for who the baking enthusiast hopes will take home the $250,000 grand prize, Kalifatidis’ money is still on Biyendolo.
“One hundred percent, I’m going Marley,” she said. “He has such a beautiful soul have such a beautiful soul — you just can’t describe it to people, you have to be in his presence to feel who he is as a human.
“His mother, God bless her soul, she passed away two years ago. But she did such an amazing job to raise such a beautiful young man. She should be so proud.”
