Substitute teacher Terilisha hoped to be a permanent part of The Circle season 2, ready to school her competition. She rose to the head of the class quickly, finishing in the No. 1 position in the first rankings and becoming an influencer alongside Savannah Palacio. After that, though, the math expert’s approval ratings began to fall into the negative. Though previously tight with Savannah, Terilisha grew wary of her, calling her a “frenemy” by the end of their blocking deliberation. And a comment thrown out the next day proved to be the spark that lit a powder keg between the two women. Terilisha and Savannah spent the next few days exchanging cross words and recruiting the other players to their cause. Terilisha fell from first to worst in the next ratings but was spared due to her “Girl Group” alliance with Chloe Veitch and “Emily” (aka Jack Atkins). Though she had won the battle, she could not win the war. Even in Savannah’s absence and two new faces entering the Circle, Terilisha’s name still came with drama attached. She finished in last once more, and this time she would not survive the blocking from influencers Courtney Revolution and “River” (aka Lee Swift). In her final visits, she paid a visit to close ally Chloe to warn her about Emily, falsely believing she was the anonymous “Joker” who wielded power over the past couple of days. Read on to hear Terilisha’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. Why did you decide to come onto The Circle? So two things. One: I absolutely love the show. And I just thought it was such a cool concept. Two: I thought I could win it! I have a competitive nature. I wanted to see if my personality could shine through enough to become the No. 1 influencer on the show. So when I saw myself as the first influencer on The Circle season 2, I was like, “Yep. Yeah.” To that point, what emotions were you feeling when you were ranked No. 1, especially considering the responsibility that comes with being an influencer? Honestly, pure joy. I didn’t think I’d be looked at as a threat. Because my personality in real life is if I see someone is cool or popular, I would want to be their friend. Because I feel the same way about myself! I figured that people would gravitate to me, and I could make friends. Savannah told me that blocking deliberation went on for a long time, and you walked out of it considering her your “frenemy.” What went down to make you feel that way about her? The biggest reason why I felt like she was a frenemy was that she actually did want Chloe gone. Even though they show her saying, “I want to protect her, and I want to protect our girls,” what she actually said was, “I want to protect her, but I’m afraid that Chloe will want to pay me back [for not saving her].” That was weird to me. That’s why I threw her under the bus to Chloe. I needed her on my side, and Savannah was absolutely correct. It’s a game to win. This is the game to be No. 1. I knew if the tables were turned—and they were—and it came down to Savannah and me, I would be saved. And that’s exactly what happened. It was unfortunate for Bryant, but that was just the casualty of that civil war. After Bryant’s elimination, you throw out a comment that you “definitely didn’t want to see him go.” Savannah takes that to mean you were pushing the blame onto her, which is the beginning of the conflict between you two. What did you think of her reaction to your comment? I meant it! You saw on the show that Bryant and I bonded in our conversation, and I really did not want to see him go. Unfortunately, doing the math, it was just the most logical decision. So I meant when I said that. That wasn’t shade; that was the truth. And she took it personally. When she said it was a mutual decision, I agree. But I was also speaking the truth. We agreed to a bargain, but she took it to a whole other level. Things come to a head in the Truth or Dare game, where you call Savannah the biggest player on the show, and she calls you the least trustworthy. What was your reaction to everything happening during that game? My mom always says, “When two people are arguing, and no one knows who the fool is, they both look like fools.” That, honestly, was my perspective. I thought it was pathetic; I really did. It was an attempt to throw me under the bus, and I honestly felt like there was nothing to defend. I know me, and I know how I was playing the game. And that wasn’t me. And I knew what she was doing was part of her game plan. It was ridiculous. It feels like The Twilight Zone even watching it back now. I’m looking at what she says, and I’m like, “That’s what you did!” To no surprise, you and Savannah end up now at the bottom of the ratings. Considering Chloe and Emily were the influencers, did you feel safe? I honestly felt pretty safe. I felt secure. Emily was the very first person I saved when I was given a chance, and I had good conversations with Chloe that made me feel like she had my back. But you never know. I knew from my time as an influencer; your mind can change. You can be persuaded; you can start weighing your odds and options. They could have said, “Oh, she was No. 1. Maybe we should knock her out.” But I did feel confident I would be saved. After Savannah’s blocked, you say you’re grateful for the opportunity now to show the “real” you. Did you feel you were able to do that, despite going shortly after? I was disappointed. The view of me was so tainted, as hard as I tried. But things spread like wildfire, and I feel like I, unfortunately, got burned in the situation. I didn’t realize Courtney was so out to get me. I tried to form a genuine connection, although I was seeing him as my biggest competition. But I only saw him as a threat because I actually liked him, and he was so popular. He never took the chance to really know me. So no, I don’t believe everyone got the opportunity to know the real me. Let’s talk about Courtney. Because to your point, you try to connect with him, and he is not having it behind the scenes. Did you realize that when you were speaking with him? No! I didn’t get that at all. He played the game; he did everything Savannah told him to do and play nice. Unfortunately, that’s all I can say. This is the result of listening to someone talking about someone they don’t like. I did actually like him, and she gassed him up to make it seem like I was out to get him. I think people forget to realize that that very first blocking only two days into the Circle. I hadn’t even had an opportunity to speak, to coordinate. This happens all the time in real life. People don’t like people based on what other people say. And then when they get to know them themselves, you realize they’re really cool. I wish Courtney had given me that faith and not just listened to someone that he knew did not like me. That didn’t make sense to me. Like, you are listening to someone who was blocked; they can’t get you to the finale! I would think that if it were the other way around, I would listen to myself and get to know someone to build my allegiances. You’re willing to knock me out, but you’re someone who’s not even in the game. That’s madness. Courtney was the Joker in this batch of episodes, but you were convinced that it was Emily. How did it feel when you thought one of your closest allies had sold you and Chloe out to the others? I was confused as hell! I genuinely was so confused. I believe after Savannah dropped her goodbye message, Emily made a comment to the likes of, “I want to be like Savannah when I grow up.” That made me believe that Savannah had visited Emily after she was blocked to ask why she blocked her. That was my thought process, so I did think it was Emily. But when I found out it was Courtney, it connected all the dots for me. In your final days, you were making close bonds with Trevor and Khat. If you stayed in the Circle, would you have been loyal to them? I want to be 100% loyal; I don’t say anything I don’t need to. If I say that I’ve got you, I’ve got you. I had every intention of working with them, Emily, Chloe, and River. Those were the ones that I had conversations with, and those were the ones that I was going to protect because we needed each other to get to the finish line and keep the family together. Speaking of River, how surprised were you that he and Courtney blocked you? I had no words; I was shocked. I believe we just had the “Southern Queens” chat, and that felt good to me. I felt we were all moving forward to try to win the game together. When I saw River and Courtney were influencers, I felt good. River was my “little brother.” I was absolutely shocked, especially considering how hard I went for River when he was up for elimination. After you’re blocked, why did you choose to visit Chloe and tip her off about not trusting Emily? For that exact reason! I like Chloe, despite what I may have said about her being boy crazy. I felt like Chloe had my back; I wanted to make the top five with her. I already had a conversation with Khat, so she knew where we stood. And River just wasn’t high on my priorities of people to talk to. I wanted Chloe to know she had to protect her back and let her know my suspicions, which unfortunately were incorrect. Finally, at the end of Episode 8, we saw Emily and Lance (aka Lisa) get blocked and have to play together under one catfish identity. If you and Savannah had to do the same thing, how do you think it would have gone? (Laughs.) I think we would have rocked it! I really do. I was so mad at her. But that would have given us another opportunity to win. So it would have been pushed that [expletive] right under the bridge. Like, come on, girl! $100,000 on the line, let’s get it! Next, read our chat with Savannah Palacio, who was eliminated second on The Circle season 2.
