If there was one thing Chloe Veitch is on reality TV, it’s unapologetically herself. That was especially prevalent during her time on The Circle, her second foray into Netflix reality television. While the catfish swam around her, Chloe was a swan, gracefully floating on top of the water. That didn’t mean she didn’t have eyes for the other contestants, though, namely “Trevor” (aka Deleesa Carrasquillo). As the Brit flirted with the “single dad,” she made some important bonds. She joined up with the “Cardashians” alongside Courtney Revolution and “River” (aka Lee Swift), as well as the “Girl Gang” with “Emily” (aka Jack Atkins) and Terilisha. It soon became clear that Chloe was in a prime position to go far. Despite finishing near the bottom of the first ratings, she bounced up immediately to become an influencer, where she got some revenge on Savannah Palacio. And it was at the top where Chloe would stay for the rest of the season, always finishing first or second in the ratings. But it was far from an easy ride to the finals for Chloe. Throughout, she got epiphanies and reveals thrown her way that made her truly question her emotional ties to these contestants. However, those emotional ties proved successful, getting her all the way to the finale and a very strong second-place finish. And ironically enough, she only finished behind the person she was courting the entire season. Read on to hear Chloe’s thoughts on her time in the game. And check out Parade.com throughout The Circle season 2 with the various players and catfishes alike. Let’s start with how things finished. What was your reaction to finding out you placed second overall for the season? To be honest, I was just so happy for Deleesa. So happy. I mean, if there was anyone in that competition, I would have wanted to win, it was her. She has a kid; she’s married, she needed a home for our family. Obviously, a part of me was a bit like, “Oh, I’m second.” I was voted number one practically every time we’re doing ratings. So I eventually thought, “Oh wow, I’ve probably got a really good chance of winning.” But I’m grateful that I’m second! Because you don’t have to be a winner every single time, and everything happens for a reason. When Deleesa won, I didn’t even realize I didn’t win. I was just so soaked up in all her glory. I love her to pieces. Do you remember what your final ratings were for the other four finalists? I know you put Trevor at number 1. To be honest, I don’t think I do remember. I think I placed Courtney last. I would have put him second ordinarily, but I thought he had a good chance at winning. I believe I ended up putting River second and John third. What made you decide to go into The Circle, given your previous history on Netflix reality TV with Too Hot to Handle? I got approached to go on The Circle via Netflix. It was a massive shock. I was so excited and so humbled to be going on another Netflix show. It’s like a dream come true. So I watched The Circle just before going on. And I didn’t know anything about it when I signed the contract. I ended up watching the series a week before starting. And I was just amazed. I thought, “Oh my god, how am I going to do this? I’m just gonna have to wing it.” You mentioned in the finale that you didn’t have the “mental capacity” to play as a catfish. Did you give it any thought when you were preparing for the show? If you go in as a catfish on The Circle, you need to understand the game. Because I didn’t really understand how it works, I wouldn’t really know what character to play if I was going to go in there. I thought, if I want to play a catfish, it would be a man. But then I would never be able to pull that off. So I thought, “Well, then I’ve got no other choice but to go in as myself.” I used to get bullied when I was younger. So I just wanted to be myself and be accepted for myself. Whether I’m already on TV or not, I am me. And I have got myself this far already. So I thought, “Why not just go on The Circle as myself?” It could counteract me winning because people might think, “She’s been on TV before; she doesn’t deserve to win.” But it obviously worked out. You said that you wore your heart on your sleeve this season and wanted to believe that everyone was who they said they were. How difficult was it to reconcile that thought when you had things like, for example, Khat commenting a “two-headed snake” on her way out? Everything was just baffling to me! When I got told about the snake with two heads, I genuinely thought two people were playing as one player. And I thought maybe it was Trevor. But then I thought, “Well, it can’t be Trevor because I was just convinced Trevor was real.” No part of me thought, “Oh, Courtney is one head, and River is the other.” That just didn’t come across my mind at all. Because I was on my own in my own apartment. I didn’t want to be too paranoid. So I was quite naive to it. Speaking of Trevor, let’s talk about that relationship. When you chose to flirt with him early on, was that a personal decision, or gameplay? When I went in there, I wasn’t really planning on flirting with anyone. I’m just a natural flirt as it is. I think it ties in with my personality. So when I got on The Circle, and I see Trevor, I thought, “Oh my God, he’s stunning.” And then I started flirting with him. And then when Mitchell came on, I was like, “He’s so gorgeous.” But I did start to like Trevor genuinely. I thought, “Okay, he’s a really nice guy. He’s had a bit of a tough background.” And I warmed up to him. You actually said in the finale that you didn’t care about winning, as long as you got to find out if Trevor was real. What made you develop such genuine feelings towards him, despite the fact you were talking through a screen? One of the breaking points that made me believe Trevor was real was when we played the quiz, and she got the basketball question right. I thought he had to be real. After that, I started telling myself to manifest it. “He’s real. I’m going to meet him after the finale. I’m going to go to America because I’ve always wanted to move to America.” My mind just started running with it. When you’re on your own, with no TV or no phone, it’s easy to overthink. And I fell into it. As you spoke about in the end, a lot of drama would come your way. You would plan not directly to confront it and keep pushing positive energy. What made you take that strategy when it came to handling conflict? My tactic was just not to respond. When someone comes to me and says, “This person is saying that about you,” I would take it in, evaluate it in my head, and I just wouldn’t act on it. I would act on it eventually, but behind closed doors. I would never voice my opinion to anyone else. I would never tell anyone else Courtney is the Joker because then it could get back to Courtney. And then I’d get kicked out of the game. So I just kept my cards close to my chest. Let’s talk about some of that drama you were involved in. You were in the middle of the Savannah and the Terilisha drama in the beginning of the season. How did you handle that situation? In my head, I knew I was gonna kick them both out if I got influencer. And I did. So I thought, “Wow, this is the perfect opportunity to manipulate the game and get Terilisha and Savannah out.” So without meaning to, it kind of happened the way I wanted it anyway. What about when you found out that Emily, who up to that point was your best friend on the show, was actually Jack? Every day I would wake up and just project positive vibes, no matter what happened. When that happened with Emily, I was gutted. The aim of the game kind of sunk in for me then. I was like, “It isn’t about who’s a catfish and who isn’t a catfish. It’s about who you get on with the most and who you’ve actually built genuine connections with.” I think everyone else was playing such a tactical game. And I was just voting with my heart. I think that really helped. To that point, you made many close connections with people in the game and made the top two influencers nearly every time. Did your success surprise you at all? It was crazy. I cried every single time I got influencer. You never know what’s going to happen. You never know who likes you. And if you get on with everyone, you still think to yourself, “I might be going tonight. Because if I get on with the people the most, they might look at me as a threat. They might kick me out on something to the bottom.” But towards the end, I started to believe in myself a bit more. And I was like, “Oh my God, like they actually genuinely like me. They voted me at the top.” It was really overwhelming. Let’s get to the finale. You get some one-on-one time with Trevor, only to realize that he’s actually Deleesa. Talk to me about your reaction to that reveal. When she walked in, I wanted to cry. All these emotions were going through my head. “You’re so stupid. How could you even believe he was real?” But I had to hide it. I couldn’t exactly meet and her and then say, “Why did you do that?” It was my own fault for putting myself in a catfish game and falling for a catfish. (Laughs.) But when we sat down and started having a conversation, it began to all make sense. I thought, “Oh, she’s playing her husband. She needs the money for her family.” And we connected really well. What about when you found out your fellow Cardashian River was actually Lee? To be honest, when he walked in, I thought, “Oh my god, who is that?” I started to wonder if everything that he said was genuine or if he was just playing an extra tactical game. But then, as soon as he opened his mouth and smiled and started talking, I just knew that he was my Cardashian boy. He’s such a genuine person. Nothing that he had said to me as River would have crossed my mind is a lie just to win the game. I feel like he wouldn’t have manipulated the game because he’s such a genuine soul. He was just a catfish because he thought he wouldn’t win by being himself, which is quite sad. At one point in the season, you got very emotional about being ranked first. You said that being popular has never been important to you, but being popular for being yourself is “priceless.” Did your time in The Circle teach you anything about that popularity? It just boosted my confidence levels through the roof. Being yourself in this world, in this industry, and on TV is enough. If you try and pretend to be someone you’re not, you’ll always be called out. The most valuable lesson that I have learned in life is just be you, because there is no one else that is you. And that is your superpower. So you’ve now been on two Netflix shows. What are you looking to do to expand your reality TV career next? There are already talks with some very important people going on at the minute as we speak. I should be coming over to America very soon. I’d say just keep your eyes peeled because you should be seeing your screen sooner rather than later. Next, read our chat with Khat Bell, who was eliminated fourth on The Circle season 2.
