Spoiler for The Circle season 7 winner

Season 7 of The Circle is full of unpredictable strategy. Kevin “K Fern” Fernandez introduced himself as the “life of the party” in the premiere episode of the reality series. The 23-year-old from San Diego brought that fun energy and quickly gained allies. However, he got criticism from his fellow cast members and viewers for turning on them.

Collider talked to the alcohol salesman about his unique strategy. He explained why he turned on his allies, and why he trusted some players over others. Of course, he addressed that uncomfortable part of the finale where he had to come clean.

Kevin Knows He Messed up Blocking Savannah on ‘The Circle’

Kevin made the surprising move of blocking Savannah Miller as a compromise at the start of the season. “I’m a big believer in everything happens for a reason,” he said. “I try to live my life with no regrets. But the minute I walked out of that room. I said, what the frick did I just do? I messed up!”

After that, he turned to his past on how to move forward in the game. “Being a competitor my whole life with my athlete background and everything, no matter how bad you mess up, which I messed up bad,” he said. “I knew that I had to keep a short-term memory and say, ‘OK, I messed up. But I’m still in this game, and now I have to fight for my life. So how the heck am I going to do that?'”

He moved forward with the bros he still had with Andy, played by Heather Richardson, Darian Holt, who was with Jadjha Edwards. Those were good numbers but Debbie “Deb” Schwartzberg Levy put a target on Kevin’s back immediately after he became an influencer. Madelyn Rusinyak later lied to him to target his closest ally, Darian.

Kevin Explains His Connection to Madelyn
Image via Netflix

Why did Kevin believe Madelyn over Darian? “Because I thought that Madelyn and I shared a deeper level connection on family, and she was somebody that I had shared emotions with that I normally don’t share at all,” the salesman explained. “I’m not a very emotional guy except for when it comes to my family because I love them so much. I didn’t plan on shedding a tear when I went to the circle. I think of a drop of water or two came out of my eye when her and I had that conversation. And I realized that she had similar values regarding family and had a similar connection with hers as I do to mine.”

Kevin felt like this was a stronger foundation than “bros” or even “Circle wifey” and trusted her. “I later found out that didn’t mean sh-t and I was wrong,” he admitted. Madelyn lied about Darian and Jadjha going after him. Kevin became an influencer again with Gianna played by Nicky and Jojo Scarlotta and blocked Darian. He didn’t forget that Rachel was after him, but knew Gianna would never block her.

Deb had her lifeguard certificate and tested Kevin on his knowledge. He failed her test and she used that against him. “She has vital information about me that, if she wants to, she can expose,” the salesman said. “If she holds on to this and as she does keep it a secret. She might be someone I can actually trust moving forward.”

Season 7 ends with Madelyn making it into the final five. Kevin called her game “dirty as hell.” He watched only one season of The Circle and claimed he didn’t know players could lie about other people’s games. However, he also knew Madelyn had to keep lying to cover her bases. “This game is so reactive literally by the hour that you can get caught up, and you don’t know what to say,” he said.

He claimed that Madelyn told him the truth when it was announced Darian was joining the set for the finale. The cast was supposed to be quiet, but the OnlyFans model whispered to him that she lied. The salesman said Darian walked in and told him, “I really shouldn’t dap you up.” Kevin then turned to Madelyn shocked by her reveal. “I was like, ‘That was the bro!’ And that’s when she starts tearing up,” Kevin said. He felt guilt at the reunion, but his fluid game placed him second to the twins. After filming, Kevin and Darian talked about their game decisions to better understand each other.

The Circle is available to stream on Netflix.

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