Burying the hatchet. Carson Kressley made good on his promise to apologize to Shanna Moakler following their Celebrity Big Brother season 3 exits.
“Now that I’m out of the @bigbrothercbs house I have had time to catch up on ALOT [sic] of the things that had been going on of which I was unaware: I admit I had not seen much of Big Brother prior to being invited and I severely underestimated the tactics and behavior that are part of game play,” the Bravo alum, 52, wrote via Instagram on Sunday, February 20, after being eliminated from the CBS reality show. “Days, weeks, hours without access to family, friends and the outside world provides for bonding, sure, but it allows for a false sense of trust too and paranoia about your instinct.”
The designer recalled being introduced to the former pageant queen, 46, in 2008 while working together on The CW’s Crowned. “[I] loved her. I NEVER should have assumed she was playing me. Shame on me!” he continued. “I am sorry I trusted others who I thought were friends but only intended to dupe me for their own benefit. I turned against not only Shanna, but my own values of friendship.”
Carson noted that he made a “terrible mistake” by putting his trust in Miesha Tate and Todrick Hall before Shanna was evicted earlier this month. “Like @juliechenmoonves said, I should have trusted actions over words and I learned a valuable life lesson,” he concluded, adding that he planned on “telling the world” more soon.
The Rhode Island native issued a lengthy statement in response soon after, uploading the same photo of herself and Carson in the Big Brother house via her own Instagram account.
“If there is one thing I know @carsonkressley is that you have always had a huge heart and a kind soul,” she wrote on Sunday. “All my interviews stated how I hoped you’d be in the house and we would get the chance to play together! I got that chance, I can’t say my feelings were not hurt and my last days in the house sad, but I do understand it’s a game. Thank you for the kind words and acknowledgment.”
She continued: “The @bigbrothercbs experience is one no one can truly understand unless you have been in that house and lived in the environment we did. Not easy. Thank you for being the class act I always knew you were and I’m still taking you up on that pedicure! ❤️⚓️🐎.”
The Queer Eye alum was voted out during the Friday, February 18, episode of the reality competition — and was quick to admit he had some regrets about his actions in the house.
“I think we really made a huge mistake,” he told Us Weekly exclusively of his decision to turn on Shanna, who had previously attempted to save him from eviction. “I owe her such a big apology, and that’s the one thing that I learned that is the most regrettable and has made me feel so awful because we should have listened to her and not the people that I thought we could trust, which we should have known better.”
Carson told Us that his “long standing relationship” with Todrick, 36, made him a trustworthy ally. However, the Pennsylvania native ended up feeling played by his fellow RuPaul’s Drag Race personality.
“I feel awful for Shanna and I need to send her the biggest apology ever because that is the one thing I didn’t wanna do, was something icky. And I did something icky,” the Get a Room star said. “I feel terrible about it. … The only regret I have is not being smart enough and getting rid of Shanna when I shouldn’t have, and that was completely my fault.”
After Carson owned up to his mistakes, he received a supportive message from Frankie Grande, who competed on season 16 of Big Brother in 2014.
“Aw my heart! Big brother is an insanely difficult and cut throat game even for those of us who entered that house as super fans so I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for you to see what was happening while being inside it,” the 39-year-old wrote in an Instagram comment. “You were manipulated so forcefully and I was screaming at my TV BUT you never lost yourself, your character, or your loving heart. I am proud to call you my friend and will always be there for you when you wanna decompress about the game. Cause hunny. I know! ❤️.”
Celebrity Big Brother airs on CBS Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8 p.m. ET and Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.
