'The Circle' Season 6 Spoilers! Runner-Up Kyle Fuller Says It Was "Rough" Being Catfished By Olivia

Kyle Fuller

Warning! The interview below contains spoilers for all of Netflix's The Circle Season 6, which aired in April and May. Please do not continue if you do not wish to be spoiled on who was blocked in those episodes.

Kyle Fuller is all about putting up twos. It's natural to him, given his profession as a basketball player. So it only makes sense he brought it into The Circle (including a literal number two in his puppy Deuce). Kyle was great on one-on-ones, even getting "Paul" (AKA Caress Alon) to sacrifice himself for his game. But his true pair was "Olivia" (AKA Brandon Baker). The two had a relationship in The Circle straight out of a rom-com, going from vocal enemies to bonding over personal details to eventually turning to flirting and a photo sharing session. It's safe to say Kyle imagined he would be standing at the end next to Olivia for the final two positions. However, he never imagined it wouldn't be with a man who had been catfishing as his "#CircleBae" the whole time. And he certainly have imagined that he would finish in number two, arguably dooming himself by rating Olivia first.

Read on to hear Kyle's thoughts on his time in the game. And check out Parade.com throughout The Circle season 6 with the various players and catfishes alike.

Related: The Circle Season 6: Everything You Need to Know

What's your history with The Circle? How did you end up getting on the show?
I cannot even take the credit. Because the season before this, me and my girl watched it. We had a good time watching it. But then after that, I'm still getting ready for my next season. I was supposed to leave for Argentina. But my girlfriend thought, "Oh, you would be perfect for this show. You have the personality. You would be great for it." And I'm like, "Yeah, but no. Because I'm good at basketball, I want to focus on basketball. It's going good in my career right now." They actually signed me up without me knowing.

And then all of a sudden, I get a call I'm gonna say two months later. And I am supposed to leave for Argentina in the next couple of weeks. And I get a call from one of the producers saying, "Kyle, you are my guy!" And there's a random number right now and it's a woman. So I'm like, "No, I'm not!" [Laughs.] I don't know who is nearby. But I see it from L.A. And I do have a lot of friends from L.A, so I thought it was somebody from L.A. And they go. "You would be perfect for The Circle." And I go, "What? How did you just contact me out of nowhere right now?" Then she goes, "You are my guy. I loved the application. I just need you not to do the next steps." So I go, "Okay, thank you."

And I immediately go to my girl and ask, "Why did The Circle call me just now?" And she goes, "What?! Let's go!" And she's screaming, jumping up and down. And I'm like, "Let's go what? I had no idea about this. What are you talking about?" And then I found out that the filming was the same time as I was about to start my season. But now the best part about this was that I always wanted to be home with my family. I'm tired of her always having to go to Brazil or go to these different places. And she can only visit me for like two months at a time because like she has her own job. So I was like, "This is my chance to be home and be with my family. Especially if I win this money, I can now have a good start of being home with my family and my new puppy." So it was  really important. So I said, "You know what? I'm just gonna do it. I'm just gonna take the chance and I'm gonna do it."

Once you decide to commit to the thing you were signed up for without you knowing, you make two major choices: Playing as single, and bringing in your dog Deuce. Talk to me about what led to those decisions.
When it came to me going in single, that one me and my wife had a big conversation about. Because we were like, "Okay, let's watch the other seasons now and let's see who's actually made it being married, or made it being in a relationship." And we didn't see that many people that went far without being single and without keeping that door open. So she was like, "I'm gonna let you go into single." So it was like my hall pass. [Laughs.] "I'm gonna let you go in single. But just be respectful. But get that money though. If you're going to single, you better bring home that money." So I said, "Okay, that's one plan."

So when the producers kept asking for the pictures on the profile page and things like that, almost all my pictures were like with my puppy. All my videos were with my puppy. She was like, "I love the camaraderie you guys have with each other. Could you bring him too?" And I was like, "Are you serious right now? I'll absolutely bring him." But the thing is, it was his first time flying too. So that right there was a mission in itself. Because he's never been on a plane; he had to kind of be with me on the plane. I didn't want to bother other people. And I didn't know how to take a dog on a plane in the first place anyway. So it was a new experience for both of us. 

So let's fast forward to the end of the season. What was your reaction to finishing second in the final ratings?
Because because of the connections I had, I knew I had a good chance of winning. It's just that always when it comes down to the final five, eerybody now is no longer voting with their heart or something like that. They're definitely voting, who they think is gonna be popular, they're gonna put them at the bottom. Because now it's about "win or go home." It's no longer about alliances anymore. It's about winning. I knew I was gonna play his high. I just didn't know where. So the moment I saw me, Olivia, and QT, I was like, "Okay, it's down to the big dogs. Let's see where we go." When I saw QT leave, I'm like, "Oh my God." It's me and Brandon. It's me and my Circle bestie. [Laughs.] But now I was like, "Lord, just say my name. Just turn over and say first." Because I found out that she was a secret super influencer. So I was like, "It's my turn now. This is mine now. I need it to bring home. My family. I need this." Unfortunately, it didn't go my way.

We see you rate Olivia first and Lauren third. Do you remember your other ratings, and why you chose to do that?
I think it was QT second. It was Lauren third. Jordan, I didn't want to win. So Jordan, four. I put Olivia first. See, that's the thing that I feel like is killing me right now. I always play with my heart. And it got me that far. When I say I'm loyal to you. I mean that. I'm not just saying that, you know. So when I kept putting "#IStandOnWhatISay," I meant that. And so I was thinking that they would possibly play it that way too. Because we've been playing a certain way the whole time. And I've been on top a lot of the time. So I'm like, "If Olivia does what she says. QT doesn't have any other people. Myles is gone; Jordan doesn't like her. Lauren, I'm not sure how good of a connection they have. I actually might have a chance to win this thing. So maybe I can play with my heart and be happy with myself where I put everybody and still win this." And now that I know it was Olivia who beat me, I just know if I put Olivia second, I would have won.

So let's stay on the Olivia train. You go from her calling you out as AI to you bonding over your mutual losses of your fathers, to then trading racy pictures over messaging. I gotta get your reaction to this entire journey.
I came in the game thinking Lauren was really cool. And she was really nice, and we were flirty back to each other. But the thing is, when I found out that Lauren was being nice to absolutely everyone, it was kind of like, "Okay, so are you just being flirty to me? But you've been flirty to also everyone else? When it's time to get our hands dirty., will you get your hands dirty with me?". And then when Paul came in and told me that she was flirting with him is when I knew, "Okay, I can't trust you." When I was influencer, QT and I were between Lauren and Cassie. And just because Lauren is nice to everyone. At least Cassie won't like someone, so at least I know who my enemy is. When you don't know who your enemies are, that's the dangerous part. So I didn't know if I could depend on Lauren.

So then, fast forward. Olivia was my enemy. Like she was my public enemy one. She's the first one that called me out thinking that I was an AI for some reason, don't know why. And that built that right there. But she reached out to me, and she first said sorry. And that right there takes a lot for somebody to say sorry. The longer you're in this game, when you build an enemy, that is your enemy. And you guys don't necessarily become friends. We both know that we're targets for each other. We're just not going at each other right now. When it came to Olivia, she straight up said, "Sorry. Let's start over." And that was big of her to me. And so then I was like, "Okay, now let me see more of her. Because I just don't know this girl. I've never talked to her." So when I opened up and said, "I definitely feel the same way about my mom, and then she told me about what happened to her," that right there hit a chord that not many people can hit for me.

So I knew from then on, I'm never coming for this girl. No matter what happens? I'm not coming for her. Because I know how that feels. And it's the worst feeling on the planet. So because of that, when I knew I didn't have Lauren, I was like, "I need her to be my number one." Because I just lost Paul, who was my "Ride or Die" and kept putting me number one every time. So now that I don't have a number one anymore, QT and Myles had each other. Even though we were in an alliance, they had each other. I needed someone to put me first or I would always end up in the back. So I was like, "That's my girl." So when I took it further, I was like, "Baby, forgive me. But you said I need to bring this money home. So I'm going all the way upwards. And I really did." But when I found out that it was not Olivia, Lord have mercy on my soul. That was rough right there.

It must have been such a wild feeling. Because not only do you find out that Olivia is not who she says she is, but you end standing alongside her hand-in-hand to see who will end up the winner!
Brandon and I looked at each other. And I said, "We said we were going to make it to the top. It's our time." We were cruising. We were being liked by everybody so we weren't creating enemies. People kept thinking that we didn't have a chance. But we were literally here. That was one heck of a day, you do not understand. I make it to the finals. I know I'm in the final five. I get to the finals; I meet everybody. Then I'm trying to figure out how the heck am I going to tell Olivia? Because she kept saying, "This is more than just The Circle. This is outside The Circle too." So now I'm thinking, "How am I going to tell this girl that I am married and I'm about to hurt her feelings?" This is what I'm thinking in the final. "How am I going to break it to her, that I'm sorry?" 

So seeing her walk out and it was Brandon threw me for a loop! I thought it was literally a producer coming out at first. I'm like, "Okay, so where's Liv?" When I saw everybody screaming, I figured out, "Oh my God I got catfished." And nobody knows how close me and Liv got. Nobody knows about that "hot and spicy" scene but me and her. I was like, "Oh my God, this is national TV. I just got completely catfished. This is bad."

So then, okay. Obviously it's Brandon. I'm kind of cool now. I have no problem because I know that, "Okay. You're a catfish, I'm married. There you go. We both got each other." That was cool. Then after that, it's me and him holding hands in the final. I'm like, "Wow, we really did this." It's so many emotions running through me right now. I don't know what to do. I made it to the finals with my "#CircleBae." My Circle Bae's a man. We're holding hands for one and two. We're both rooting for each other at the same time as well. So it's like, "Oh my God." The emotions were going crazy right now. And I just couldn't breathe at that moment. Time was moving so slow for me.

Next, check our interview with The Circle Season 6 winner Brandon Baker (AKA "Olivia").