Biggest Loser contestant P’eta Phelan talks to Woman’s Day about her time on the show.
**Starting weight: 131.6kg
Elimination weight: 126.3kg**
How did you feel about being a replacement contestant?
When I was told I wasn’t in, I’d said to myself, “Thank God I didn’t get in”. There was a part of me that wanted to get in and a part that didn’t want to go, leave my family and friends. I didn’t know whether I wanted to be a part of a reality TV show and lose my anonymity.
Why do you think you were eliminated?
The person who voted me out [Munnalita] probably saw my strength and dedication and focus and thought I was probably the one who could cope the best on the outside. I also think that she might have thought I was some competition as well. I had a dream the night before that I was eliminated. I went downstairs in the morning and said it to Jules and she said, ‘Don’t be stupid’. I said to her, ‘My dreams come true a lot of the time’. Before we went into the elimination room we didn’t have time to shower, only change. But in that lockdown time, I just packed my bags as I knew it would be me.
Looking back on it, how do you feel about your time in the Whitehouse and your fellow contestants?
I loved it, it was very emotionally difficult. You feel like these people are here for one reason and you can’t 100% trust anyone. Mel and Jules were ones I could trust, everyone else is there to win. I was there to learn things, if I won, it was a bonus. One person who was there for the money is Michael. Michael left because he wasn’t doing the work he was set and he wasn’t working as part of a team as he should have been. Courtney’s shifty but great. He’s there to play games and stir the pot. He’s not fooling anyone and he knows that.
Did your openness about your homosexuality affect your time in the house?
Greg was so interested in it. He’d say, “So you’re a lesbian? Oh, what’s that like?” He did the same thing to Courtney, asking him every question under the sun. No one treated me any differently in the house. The only person that I heard speak negatively about my sexuality was Kelly.
You’ve been with your partner Carley for five years. Are you excited about seeing her again?
Being in the house made me realise she’s just the best. We love going out with our friends. We’re pretty inseparable. I just want to get back home to her and our two dogs Lily and Coshi.
You lost your job by being in The Biggest Loser. What happened?
I can’t talk about it because it’s going to legal proceedings but I’d been terminated from a private college in Melbourne. When my dad told me, it gave me so much more determination to stay in the house.
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