'The Circle' Season 7's Heather Richardson Gives Her Reaction to Madelyn's Betrayal

Heather Richardson's short, but memorable stay in The Circle was a roller coaster, to say the least. Playing as tattooed metalhead "Andy," she immediately bro'd down with some of the men, and made enough of an impression to become the first influencer of the season. But when she blocked "Gianna" (AKA twins Jojo and Nicky Scarlotta), only to have her return, it was the beginning of her end in the game. Gianna and her allies immediately returned fire, sending Andy to the bottom of the ratings.

The bright light, though, was Andy's flirtation with newcomer Madelyn Rusinyak. Little did he know, though, that was far from wedded bliss with his "Circle wife." Fearing Andy's unpopularity would bring her down with him, Madelyn helped organize a groupwide effort to bring him down. And so Heather was auto-blocked in last place, choosing to visit Madelyn in person, none the wiser about her being the reason she was leaving.

Read on to hear Heather's thoughts on her time in the game. And check out Parade.com throughout The Circle Season 7 with the various players and catfishes alike.

Related: The Circle Season 7: Everything You Need to Know

What's your history with The Circle? How did you end up getting on the show?

What's your history with The Circle? How did you end up getting on the show?
I've seen every season ever. I can pretty much name every player from every season and every twist and turn. I'm like a reality TV whore, for lack of better words. I watch Big Brother; I watch The Challenge. I used to watch Survivor. So when The Circle started, I was all about it. It's just such a different twist to reality TV. And, as a watcher, I never saw myself on TV ever. It was never a passion or a calling of mine. But when the opportunity came along,  no chance in hell was I gonna say no to playing my favorite game. You saw how I play. No shot I would win Big Brother. [Laughs.] If I was going to do any reality TV game show or strategy show, this was the one I could see myself being the best at. And it happened!

So when does Andy come into the picture? Were you always going to catfish?
So yes, but no. I was open to playing as myself; I was open to catfishing, whichever kind of fell into place. So when the thought of catfishing came along, I'm like, "Alright, let's play around with this idea, see what we can do." Obviously, I work in the metal world, so duh, it's going to be one of the guys I work for or know in the industry. So I did go through a list of eight metal core band dudes that I'm close with, and we kind of narrowed it down to two or three that had the look and also was most comfortable doing this with. And with Andy, our friendship is very deep, and he's the kind of person that takes an experience as its whole and just kind of dives into it. So as soon as I narrowed it down between, "Alright, haven't talked to him in a couple months, maybe not the best choice. That's my ex." Andy was the clear choice, because I knew he would be a partner in this. So that was what I was really looking for, was someone to do this with me and not just sign the permission slip and let me run with it. 

Interesting. So, what was the process for you to become Andy?
First off, as soon as I settled on Andy, I texted him just straight up. I was like, "Hey, you know the show The Circle? You want to be on it?" And he's like, "Absolutely!" No questions asked, he was so down for it. And thank goodness, because I don't know what I would have done if he said no. But I actually was on tour for the five weeks leading up to filming. And there was the question in my head of what if another player does recognize Andy? Because the band he's in is decently well-known in this world. So Andy had a day where he could drive down to meet me on my tour for us to prepare. And we sat down in a hotel lobby and took notes for three hours on what his tattoos mean, in case that gets asked. Or Detroit landmarks, Detroit sports history, in case somebody wanted to call me out for being a catfish, I was ready. And that was all. Thanks to Andy for showing up and making the time to be there for me, to help me prepare. So he was an active player in this the entire way, and it couldn't have worked out better.

So you start the season by becoming the number one influencer. Then you fall into second-to-last place and last place in the next two ratings. Talk me through your experience during that roller coaster.
Thank you for the reminder! [Laughs] So, as a reality TV connoisseur studying Big Brother, you know to never win first HoH. That was my strategy. So day one, we have the circle chat, we play the game, and I have the bro chat,. We go into ratings, and immediately I'm like, "Andy's fifth. I made one comment about tequila. I formed an alliance with two people. I didn't stand out in that game. I followed the crowd. I'm sitting middle for sure. No shot am I an influencer on day one." And then it happened. And you see me get emotional, and those emotions were, "Holy shit, this is a bucket list item." But then immediately, straight to like, "I'm screwed." There is an immediate target on my back being influencer day one, and you saw that play out. Savannah, and I drop as far down as we could after that. And I knew winning first influencer was an uphill battle. And as you see, that's kind of how it happened.

But yeah, I was equally as excited as I was disappointed on day one winning first influencer. Because, of course, you can't help but be like,"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit." But then I knew, especially after that first disruptor, that Gianna was coming after me. Her allies were going to come after me. It was tough. It was definitely a roller coaster. And then I tied with Rachel. And that was just like, alright of all people I could tie with you, give me Rachel! So, as the days went on, I knew it was coming. And I think you can kind of see in episodes five and six that I was so defeated because I couldn't help my game. There was nothing. I mean, maybe there was something. Maybe I shouldn't have married Kevin. But there was nothing I could have done to really come back from that first disruptor with Gianna.

You cultivated a relationship with Madelyn while playing. Talk to me about that, and the reaction of meeting her face-to-face.
Okay, so I didn't expect this season of The Circle to be full of young, hot people.

You've watched every season and you didn't expect that?!
[Laughs.] Not every season is full of hot 20-year-olds. I mean, half, 50%. But I knew setting up Andy's profile and seeing that everyone was in their mid-20s, I was like, "Alright, if they're all gonna start flirting, what can I do here? This is kind of rough for me in the flirting game." And then Madelyn comes in. And even for real-life Andy, her profile is a match. But in the game, it was clear with my alliance with the bros, they were going to pick their wives first. So I knew I had a position myself in a place where I have a wife also. And enter Madelyn, perfect opportunity. And it happens within one message that we are married. And I kind of knew in the back of my head, Darian was always going to put Jadejha first, same with Kevin and Savannah. So Madelyn was always going to be my number one, for sure, without a doubt. I knew we were each other's number ones. I thought I knew.

And when you see her craft her master plan, I genuinely had zero clue. I had zero clue what was happening behind the scenes. And that my downfall was. It was all happening very quickly. So meeting her in person and still having no clue and watching it back now is such a crazy, crazy emotional ride. Because in that moment in her apartment, first, I was just so happy to meet another player, no matter who it is. But I thought, especially not knowing she wasn't involved in the sexy time chat, I thought we bonded. You have a chat with someone in The Circle, and immediately you leave that chat and feel a connection. Because of how isolated and how cool this experience is, every chat means something. And with Madelyn, I truly did think that that was my best friend, that was my wife.

And meeting her in person, like I was rooting for her all the way. End of the story is, she played a better game. She really did. And as much as the emotions hit me of a little bit of anger, a little bit of disappointment, at the end of the day, she played a better game, and I can't be mad at that at all. She crushed it. She came up with these plans that I was never capable of coming up with, and she played me real good. And I applaud to her. Good for her.

Finally, I know you promised Madelyn that you would set her up with the real Andy. Have you done that yet?
Not yet. I mean, they can do whatever they want to do. If one of them wants to reach out to the other, do your thing. I will stay uninvolved. Andy's a really good friend of mine. Madelyn is a good friend of mine. So they have free will here. Of course, when I left the show, I immediately called Andy and told him everything. I was like, "We have a wife!" [Laughs.] And he was just like, "Well, are you okay?" [Laughs.] I mean, I don't think he's focused on romantic connections in his life right now. But, again, if they want to explore each other, have at it! [Laughs.]

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