As the runner-up of this year's Celebrity Big Brother, Austin Armacost almost did the impossible, coming close to a victory in the UK vs USA themed series. He now talks about his time in the house.
Austin Armacost / Credit: Channel 5
How do you feel about being out of the house?
Thank f**k for that!
What was your favourite moment from your time in the house?
Building the wonderful friendship between James and I, hands down.
Why do you think the pair of you got on so well?
He's from up north, as I am, he has many qualities that I did and he looks really hot in a speedo.
Some of the housemates were asking 'What about your husband?', was that frustrating for you?
No not at all, Jake and I have a great, happy, healthy, monogomous relationship and he knows at the end of the day that I would never do anything to disrespect that. What everyone seems to be forgetting is that James is straight, so I can be as flirty as I want to.
Did your husband Jake talk to you about it when you left the house?
No because it was something that didn't need to be mentioned. James and I have a great friendship. Actually last night James went over and shook my husband's hand and said, 'I don't know how you put up with him mate, you deserve a medal'.
You had some controversial moments in the house, do you regret calling Janice a c**t?
Absolutely, it wasn't the right move but in that house emotions and senses are heightened by about a thousand times, so I still have things in my life that are still raw, and emotions that I'm still trying to process and analyse and deal with, and the anger came out. Unfortunately it was misguided.
You went in the house to change public perception of a gay man from America after Perez Hilton, you've obviously done that coming in second place so how does that feel?
Oh it feels amazing. As far as Perez Hilton's concerned, I went further than him, that was my goal. I feel like I was received by the British public in a really good way obviously, because they voted for me as their runner-up, and my main concern going into the house was I didn't wanna pretend to be British, I didn't wanna act like I was British, but obviously the viewing public understood that I've embraced this culture and I've embraced this society, and this is my home.
Were you surprised by how annoyed the US housemates were because of your friendship with the Brits?
No, not at all. None of the US housemates had spent nearly the amount of time that I had in the UK. They all had a sour puss on from day one. When it came down to the tasks I really got stuck in, I took them for what it was, it was meant to be a funny, light, fluffy show and some of the other US contestants were not so open to that experience. And at the end of the day, call me a turncoat, call me a traitor, I'm naturally gonna gravitate more towards the Brits because it's where I've been for the last half a decade.
What were you most looking forward to when you came out last night?
Shagging my husband! I was so tired I came straight to bed and fell asleep.
Apart from Janice there was obviously little run ins with Farrah, what do you think of her now? Would you like to see her again?
I would like to see Farrah again. The last five days we were in the house I really got to see who she was and once you peel back the layer of nasty bitch and the layer of horrible woman and the layer of nasty, bitter, jaded Teen Mom, there's actually a good person beneath all of that. I was the one person in the house besides Jenna who actually wanted to take the time to really see who she was. She made me laugh a lot in the last five days. Her smile was infectious because she had a right pair of gnashers on her, I could redo my hair everytime she smiled because they were so bright and reflective.
What did you think of Tila Tequila's early exit from the house?
I've not been given any information as to why she left the house although on day one her vagina was about eight inches from my face in the middle of the night, so I wasn't necessarily real cool with that. I'm interested to find out what the details surrounding her exit are.
What was it like dealing with personal issues with cameras on you?
No matter what my surroundings are I'm still gonna have to be analysing the last two and a half years of my life. I was pleasantly surprised all of the housemates were able to rally up for me on my brother's birthday. I was very surprised that everyone was able to come together and support me in a time that is very, very difficult, as I only saw my mom two times before I came to London, and it just felt good to know that people I'd only known for a few days had my back, it felt really nice.
How do you feel about Chloe-Jasmine now following your row with her over your toast to your brother?
I think Chloe's a remarkable woman, unfortunately she was under Janice's spell for several weeks. I don't know if you guys saw this but during Stevi's birthday party she had to excuse herself from his toast as well. So that to me meant it really is a problem, it really is an issue and that washed it away for me. The fact she couldn't be there for her fiancé's toast excused the fact she couldn't be there for my brother's toast. I want nothing more than people to live a happy, healthy life and with her sobriety being very fresh, I respect her for the decisions she's made and I'm very proud she's been able to go three and a half weeks in an absolute mad house and not revert back to her old demons.
Who will you see the most now you're out of the house aside from James?
Natasha being a Northerner, we have this bond, it goes without saying. But Sherrie and I have varnished a wonderful relationship, I consider her like my Nana as you know. Any time I wanna pop round for a cup of tea, her door will be open.
Was it weird not sleeping with James last night?
No because I had my beautiful, wonderful, loving husband next to me. And he's on Twitter now so he's not bothered, but alright...
Do you think your fellow Americans took the theme of the show this year too literally?
Absolutely! Especially when it came down to the Royal Family challenge, I've worked in the catering industry and I run a catering team, I was completely in my element. Jenna and Farrah were a bit of a sour puss about it, Daniel took it onboard. It's all about the intention in which it was delivered. We were meant to be having a good time and we were meant to be ran around like slaves and I loved it. Bobby took the piss a little bit, that's Bobby Davro, but for anybody to say 'this isn't fair I don't like the outfits', I expected nothing less from the Americans but to whine and moan about everything, and they didn't disappoint.
What did you make of Paul Burrell when he entered the house?
Well here's a little secret, I don't know if this made it to the show, but Paul actually lent me Princess Diana's cufflinks to wear throughout the entire task. I was a bit young when Diana went but knowing her story and knowing what a remarkable woman she was... I think that's why I was able to snap into character. I didn't know who Paul was before he came in, very quickly I learned the importance he had on the Royal Family and it was amazing to me to have somebody like that be a part of my life for three days.
Were you surprised he had Diana's cufflinks with him in the house?
Do you know what? He just pulled them out of a back pocket as if they were a rubber band, so, I was surprised he didn't take more care of them, but being her friend for 15, 20 years, it was something that I think trumped everything else in my life. To say that I wore Princess Diana's cufflinks.
Were you ever embarrassed to be a part of Team USA?
Absolutely not because I brought home almost every victory for us. Janice bless her heart had to sit in the corner, tremble and smoke cigarettes as I got rotten tofu dumped on my head. So no I was very proud to be part of my team. Yes we're very competitive, we take things very seriously but I've got four trophies in my suitcase right now and I'm very proud of each and every one of them.
James and I shared a bed and over my bed was trophy, trophy, trophy, trophy, and over his bed was moisturiser, tanning cream and a foot shaver.
Were you disappointed not to win?
I wanted to win, obviously being American I'm competitive. But no-one else deserves it more than James did. Had anyone else taken the victory over me, maybe I'd have been a bit gutted, but at the end of the day I'm very proud of James, I'm very happy for him. He deserves it, he worked very hard, he showed his true character, even though when he nominated me he was a complete knob, but over the next several months we'll talk about that. Looking back on the show together I think he's gonna see that he was sucked in by Janice and drank the Kool-Aid, but on a light note I'm very pleased for James and he deserves it.
How best would you sum up your experience in the house?
Eye-opening, amazing, fun. I really got to learn a bit about myself and my character flaws and problems with interacting with other people. All I can do is take those lessons onboard and learn from them. I'm happy they were captured on film because I can look back and say, 'Right, Austin, this is what you've done wrong, learn from it, grow from it and become a better person from those things'.
Tagged in Celebrity Big Brother