Makensy Manbeck doesn’t regret how she played Big Brotherbut she would change her answer to one of the jury’s questions.

“The thing is, I’ve made decisions about whether I want to help Chelsie (Baham). I do believe we have reached the end Big Brother is about working with people,” Makensy, 22, said exclusively Us weekly on Monday, October 14, following the Big Brother 26 Final. “When you choose to work with someone, you must remain loyal and make decisions that benefit not only your game but others as well.”

During the finale, Makensy was asked by the judges to describe a move she made that benefited solely her game and not Chelsie’s. Makensy decided to highlight her decision to eliminate the ally Leah Peters. Chelsie, 27, then told the jury that she convinced Makensy to make the move because it was better for her game in the long run. Makensy told Us She wished she could have “tweaked” this response.

“When I made decisions, I thought about them and listened to the people I worked with. And if that has bitten me in the butt and people want to say that I’m naive and that I made decisions for other people, then they’re wrong,” she said. “Because all things considered, I had the power. I was the only one who actually made the decision.”

Makensy admitted that her moves benefited others besides herself.

Even though Makensy wasn’t considered the strategy master of the season, she proved to be a worthy player. Over the course of the season, she won 11 competitions, including the final HOH competition. Makensy ultimately chose to sit next to Chelsie at the end, and Chelsie was unanimously chosen as the winner. Makensy told Us that she wasn’t surprised that Chelsie won in the end, but she didn’t expect it to be a landslide victory.

“Because of the way she articulated her game, I thought she would win straight away. I mean, she makes her living as a speaker and I knew I chose her, but I wasn’t afraid of that,” Makensy remembers. “And she did a damn good job of showing the jury exactly how she played that game and how she was supposed to win. I mean, if I were a jury member, I probably would have voted for her too. As far as I know, the votes are unanimous. At least I thought I had a (voice).”

Makensy shared that she feels her game “speaks for itself,” but admitted that in the end it’s “OK” that it’s “not enough.” She also doesn’t regret sitting next to Chelsie in the finale, as her loyalty to her ally was “proof” of the game she was playing.

“I came into this house with a desire to really be authentically myself, to show who I am and to show that you can play Big Brother have an honest character, be worthy, simply friendly, respectable and still go far. And that’s exactly what I did,” she said Us. “And I’ve been loyal, maybe to a fault, but I can say that I would lose loyalty to a fault any day of the week because it shows who I am and what I value in life.”

With reporting by Sara Donnellan