Reflecting on his journey, Kellyrae admitted he never expected to win.
“There was no point I thought I was going to win the competition. I was just praying that God should keep us till the second week,” he said.
“Even if we leave with the money, it is what we leave behind that people will talk about,” he added.
Kellyrae was still processing the reality of his victory. “Even till now, my brain is still processing the realization that I won the show.
It’s almost like I don’t know what I’m doing here, being interviewed,” he expressed, overwhelmed by how his life has changed.
When asked who else might have taken the crown, Kellyrae pointed to contestants like Wanni, Handi, Onyeka, and the Mbadiwe twins. “Those people were prominent in the house. I was just doing my thing and hoping for the best,” he said.
Kellyrae addressed speculations that keeping his marital status hidden was a strategy. “That was not the strategy to get me to the final. It was actually the strategy for me and my wife to connect with other contestants,” he clarified. He believed that announcing his marital status early on might have created distance between him and other housemates, especially the female contestants.
Kellyrae and his wife were prepared for the changes that fame would bring. “Before my wife and I came on the show, we knew what to expect,” he said, explaining that they had mentally prepared themselves for the attention.
He added, “We just got married in February 2024, but it feels like we’ve been married for long because we courted for a long time.”
Regarding his win’s impact on his life, Kellyrae said, “Even before I won the show, I was already feeling the impact in my life.”
He intends to pursue his music career aggressively, despite skepticism from some about reality TV stars transitioning into the music industry.
I have already made history by being the first married man to win the show,” he pointed out confidently.
When asked how he plans to manage the large sum of money he won, Kellyrae shared his pragmatic approach.
“It is important to be prepared for a stage that one hopes and prays to get to so that when it finally comes, one would know how to handle it,” he said. He revealed that he and his wife, whom he affectionately calls his “treasurer,” will decide together how to manage their newfound wealth.