An Interview with Dillian Frelow from ‘The Anonymous’

THE ANONYMOUS -- "Buzzed Off" Episode 111 -- Pictured: Dillian Frelow -- (Photo by: Rico Torres/USA Network)

This week’s episode of The Anonymous on USA Network saw fan favorite Dillian Frelow exit the show after Christopher landed the prestigious title of The Anonymous. But not before wowing the group with his incredible strategy and not before giving us one last one runway walk, and to properly bid Dillian farewell, we sat down with him to discuss his time on the show.
 
John Betancourt:  I'd love to start by getting to know, how did you get involved with the show? Because you guys have such a cool, diverse group of competitors.
 
Dillian Frelow: Well, you know, if you ever go to my Instagram page, you'll see me in all different types of fashion and craziness. So, I think that attracted a couple of people, and they wanted me on the show. So, I said, “Oooh. I’ll go ahead and give this a shot.” You know, at first, I thought it was, I thought it was the recruitment call for America's Next Top Model. But it wasn't. It was The Anonymous.
 
John Betancourt: Well, that actually takes me right to my next question. We gotta talk about the outfits. Because you were pretty much, no, there's no, pretty much, you are the most fashionable contestant on this show. No two ways about it, and I have to know what went into the decision to not only express your exuberant personality, but those amazing outfits, because they're on point.
 
Dillian Frelow: Let me tell you, I love fashion, it’s my passion. And so, I think I always say, if you look good, you feel good, you do good. And what that means is that if you really like put it on and you feel yourself, it's like your armor, that like you're going out for the day. So, you know, every day in the house, baby, I thought that baby, they was threatening to come and try to take me out, so I put on my armor and be prepared for them. And my fashion was that for me.
 
John Betancourt: Now you made it super far, which is great, and you're obviously your strategy has worked. And I'm curious what inspired the interesting strategy of being so exuberant in the house but so stealthy in the chat.
 
Dillian Frelow: Well, I wanted to make sure that those two worlds that we were playing in were vastly different from one another. That's the way that you can become the most Anonymous. So, I knew that in the chat I had to kind of take it down a bit. But I also knew that in real life, I have to throw out so many different things out there, so they never know. They can tie my name to so many different things in the chat. So, if someone is being super extra, people will be like, “Oh my God, that's Dillian in the chat.” They will automatically go with the first thing, because they'll probably think that I felt the way I act is the way I'm playing the game. So, I knew that, but I also wanted to make sure that, you know, in just the way I approach life is just being a real human being that have emotions, that cry, that laugh, that dance. You know, there's a lot of things in this world, in life that can sometimes be short. So, I just like, I have to live it. I have to live it fully. And so that's what my approach was in the house. And I was like, also saying, like, it's a social aspect of it too. So, I know I have to be socially acceptable and fun and crazy and a person that someone can turn to whenever things are getting down and negative. I work in employee engagement, and I'm literally, like, a professional best friend. So going into the house. I was like, I have to make sure that all these people in the house are my best friend, and that's what I tried to do.
 
John Betancourt: Now you bring up another good point that I did want to talk about today, so that's perfect timing. But it was obvious, as the season has come along, that such pressure just started to wear a little bit on you. You started to have to change your strategies, do some things differently, you took some heat for “not doing enough.” How tough was it then to have the wear and tear of people coming at you?
 
Dillian Frelow: I mean, hearing negative things said about or are seeing things that wasn't always in your favor, hurt. Like, you know, I'm human at the end of the day, like, you know, we're not robots. We actually have emotions. We have feelings. And so, some days, like, you know, I wear my emotions on my sleeve. So, if the day that I feel like it was being fake, I might just go off on you, like, you know, like I really am just that person that I'm going to say what's on my mind, I'm going to tell you how I feel, because I'm not going to smother my emotions to benefit you and your game. I have to make sure that I am sanely okay throughout the whole time, and I have to make sure that I live with no regrets. And so, by doing so, is by saying what I want, doing what I want, twerking, shouting, screaming, walking down the runway, giving my look to someone in the pool, baby. (Laughter)
 
John Betancourt: It’s also amazing we didn’t see this until the last couple of episodes.
 
Dillian Frelow: It really got to me because I felt like, you know, sometimes people try to put a narrative on you, and I think that, like they were trying to tell me the emotion that they thought that I was feeling, and I wasn't feeling that. For example, whenever we had the challenge and you know, like, I got put off to the side. I was happy that we actually still won the challenge, but to have Christopher come up to me and be like, “Oh, I bet you're sad, huh? You're so sad.” I'm like, “I'm not really sad. I'm kind of happy that we won the challenge. I'm sad a little bit that I didn't get safety,” but overall, I'm okay because we added money to the pot. So, it's just like. Like those narratives and those false narratives, to try to make a storyline, was trying to, like, really irk my nerves, and then I've just seen a lot of fake energy, and I just don't do well in those situations. I'm huge about being real, being authentic. And this is a game of deceit, and I get it, but sometimes people just went a little bit too far. And I'm just like, don't make me have to go off on you again.
 
John Betancourt: Now, obviously, um, there were tears at the end and obviously you gave us the gift of that final runway walk, which was epic, but how tough was it to say goodbye?
 
Dillian Frelow: I mean, those people in that house became my best friend. We spent every single day with one another, so it’s just like a big old family. You know, sometimes you fight, you bicker, you argue with your family, but at the end of the day, we're all working towards to better ourselves. And I was just, I got emotional a little bit because I realized that it wasn't the end of like the game that really got to me, but it was the end of us living together with no phones and no electronics, no outside, like, news from the world, but just us living and I think that was just so beautiful. And I just I miss that, you know, but I'm so grateful that they have now become our family. We've taken trips and are seeing each other. I've seen almost everyone on – the exception is Xavier and Robbi. I think those are the last – and Sydney. Those last three I need to see. But we're a big family, and… it's cutthroat at times, because you have all of these amazing personalities.
 
John Betancourt: Now I have to ask this question too. Is there anything you would have done differently from a strategy standpoint?
 
Dillian Frelow: Like I said, I live life with no regrets. I would not change one thing. I had a blast. I had the best time of my life, and I played it my hardest. So, I wouldn't change one thing. I'm excited for the future.
 
John Betancourt: Now I am firm believer that new experiences teach us so much about ourselves. I’m curious what you learned about yourself in doing this, you didn’t know before.
 
Dillian Frelow: I have learned that, you know, they say this is the ultimate game of trust and deceit, but it's, I mean, I've learned how to really trust myself, like I put myself on the chopping block. Me. Why would I do that!? But I did it because I wanted to become The Anonymous. So, this game puts your trust of yourself at the front of it, and so it’s not about trusting your castmates or trusting what they're going to do. It's about trusting yourself to know what's right and to follow that gut instinct.
 
John Betancourt: What does it mean to you, then to be essentially a pioneer, because you're now one of the first cast members of a brand-new show that's so dynamic and so unique.
 
Dillian Frelow: I mean, it carried a lot of impact. I'm so happy that I was able to go up there and show the world who Dillian is. I like to call myself like a “human confetti.” If you think about a confetti can and when you pop up, sometimes you're willing to pop up, but you sprinkle that joy everywhere you go. And that's my ultimate goal, is just to sprinkle little bits and joy and happiness everywhere I walk. And I did it. I did that. I felt that, and I know that I had one of the most amazing experiences. But most importantly, I was able to do it as me. I was able to show up and be in a domain and live as Dillian.
 
John Betancourt: Last question that I have for you today, what are you most proud of when it comes to your time on the show?
 
Dillian Frelow: The most proud thing I am is being quiet for that long. Y’all know me! I'm loud as hell, but that is me being able to stay quiet for that long. I surprised myself. (Laughter from Dillian and John)
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
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