This week on The Biggest Loser, blue team contestant Ryan Rodriguez was sent home. Team were switched up from trios into duos. When Nicole won a calorie counting contest, she got to pick her new teammate. She chose Neil and they paired up Ryan and Isabeau, in an attempt to keep Ryan safe. At the weigh in, Ryan only lost 6 pounds and it wasn’t enough to keep his team above the yellow line. When it came down to Isabeau and Ryan for elimination, everyone voted for Ryan. Everyone, including his best friend in the game and teammate, Neil. Today, Ryan spoke to BuddyTV about life after the show and whether or not he expected Neil to vote for him.
Below, you will find the complete transcript and mp3 of the interview.
Hi everybody, this is Gina from BuddyTV and today I’m talking to Ryan from NBC’s The Biggest Loser. Well first of all you look great, and I’m wondering how life has been since you left the show?
Life’s been amazing. I’ve continued to lose weight, I don’t know the exact number but I’m down a total of 121 lbs. I’m also enjoying time with my family, that was one of the harder things about being away. I’m sort of making the most of my time with them now and I’m excited about the future.
Yeah. I was meaning to ask you, how old was your daughter when you left for the show?
When I left for the show my daughter was about four weeks old.
Wow. And what was your wife’s reaction? Was she supportive of you going?
My wife was supportive from the day I felt I was interested in being part of The Biggest Loser. But I can’t tell you that she was happy about it, you know? She was pregnant and she knew the way the schedule worked; that I’d be away for a significant period of time while the baby was very very young. So I think she was a little bit disappointed, but she know how important it was to me. She also worried a lot about my health, and she knew that these opportunities don’t come along all the time. So she was supportive from the get-go, and without that support I don’t think I would have had the success that I had there.
When we interviewed Bob, he talked so much about transforming the blue team from the inside-out. Do you feel like you went through a change mentally as well?
Absolutely. You know the first and most important thing in my life is to feel like I’m in control, you know? And I think there’s a difference between living and existing and I think before The Biggest Loser you were just coasting along, existing. And I don’t take anything for granted now and I want to make the most of it. That doesn’t mean you have to start running mountains and climbing mountains, you could just be watching TV with your family. I’m aware of how precious my time is and I want to do what I can with that time.
Now when Neil voted you out, did you see that coming at all?
Yeah. I mean, Neil and I were really close and I think Neil is just an amazing guy. We talked all the time about how … the best we could hope for was a tie. And I’d be going home because I had the most percentage that week. If I could do anything for the remaining blue team members it would he to help them stay out of even more, drama. I knew I’d essentially be okay. I think he ran with It. I was hoping to have a little bit more time on campus, but I was okay with it. I did sort of see it coming.
He’s being portrayed as this season’s bad guy. What do you think about the way he’s being shown on TV?
I think when you get to know him and spend a significant amount of time with him … he’s definitely one of the bigger characters and I think that makes for great television. I think … the decision he made maybe everybody else didn’t understand or was disappointed. But he was concerned for the rest of the blue team and I’m not going to be naive and say that he wasn’t looking out for himself either. But he’s a good guy. Other things he did behind the scenes were really for the entire team. Gaining the weight probably wasn’t the smartest decision, but I think he’s a great guy. I consider him a friend and I expect we’ll be friends for a while and I think he’s a really funny guy. I think he’s a really funny guy and that doesn’t come through, but he has a great personality. I’m sort of disappointed that he becomes the villain.
Who do you expect to see there in the end? Who is the biggest threat on the show right now?
I think Neil’s certainly in the hunt. I think Isabeau, she hasn’t posted great numbers, but enough to be there. I think she still has a significant amount of weight to lose and when she does turn it on 100%, she’s going to be a force to be reckoned with. And obviously Bill has put up monster numbers week-to-week and I’ve seen nobody work like he has, and I expect to see him at the end. And I think Kae has a shot also, I just think that Kae given that she was one of the smaller competitors, things might start to slow down for her as she gets closer to her goal weight.
Do you have an ultimate goal for yourself in time for the live finale?
Yeah. Realistically, when this all started I wanted to get down to 210. Based on where I’m at right now, if I can get somewhere near 225, that’d be fantastic. And that’s a little bit of a distance given the short amount of time left, but I do think it’s a possibility and that’s what I’m working towards.
Well I just wanted to thank you or your time Ryan. We can’t wait to see you at the live finale. Thanks so much.
No problem, Gina, thank you.
– Gina Scarpa, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of NBC)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
