“He's helped me prepare”- The Circle star Heather discusses catfishing as Andy

The Circle season 7 premiered on September 11, 2024, and has released eight episodes filled with twists, strategies, and challenges. The show is hosted by Michelle Buteau and features 11 players competing to win not only the confidence of their fellow contestants but also the prize money of $100,000.

The players had to make a conscious choice of choosing to appear as themselves, or someone else entirely before they even interacted with other players.

In episode 7, Heather Richardson catfishing as Andy, was eliminated by her fellow players as she was voted last in the ratings list. Madelyn made a pact with fellow contestants like Rachel (played by Deb) in order to go against "Andy".

In an interview with EW on September 20, Heather talked about her experience in The Circle and how the real-life Andy who is a friend of Heather helped her prepare for the ordeal. She said:

"Our friendship is just very deep and meaningful, so I knew we would be partners in this, and here I am in Detroit now and we wear matching circle rings. I made the right choice a thousand percent."

She further added:

"He's been a full player in this. He's helped me prepare. We took notes before I went off to film, and this whole past year, he's just been involved in it."

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Heather and Madelyn reconciled after filming The Circle season 7

Heather was introduced to the rest of The Circle players as Andy, a cool bass player with tattoos. Kevin even claimed that he was the wise uncle of the group. Through Andy, Heather became the top influencer. After putting Gianna (played by twins Jojo and Nicky) on the block list initially, Gianna put Andy on the bottom with the help of Madelyn, later on in the show.

Madelyn claimed Andy to be her Circle husband throughout her appearances but flipped when she saw the opportunity to cut ties with Andy. Heather shared in the same interview with EW that she was surprised to see other players joining forces just to eliminate her, a fact she was unaware of until the episode aired.

She revealed that Madelyn was "smart" as Heather would have outed Madelyn's messages in which the latter planned against voting other members if only she knew Madelyn was behind it. Heather also revealed that the contestants have had a group chat since the past year in which they discussed the episodes within themselves.

Heather revealed that no matter where the storyline went, at the end of the day, everyone was present in The Circle to win the prize money, and everyone was aware that it was just "a game".

"We're all cool with each other... No matter who's about to get some hateful messages, no matter who's the villain in the season, no matter what happens or that we don't know about, we are in this together. We're a family, we're a team," stated Heather.

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What happened in episode 7 of The Circle season 7?

After Heather was voted out as Andy, she had the option to meet one of the players of her liking. She decided to go with Madelyn and even shed some tears after meeting her. Heather explained to Madelyn that she was disappointed with her choices as she was one of the top three contestants on Andy's list.

As Heather declared that she was suspecting Gianna for her elimination, Madelyn decided to stay quiet. Madelyn showed remorse as soon as Heather left, claiming she didn't have the heart to tell Heather the truth one-on-one. She also claimed that hearing Heather's thoughts and the trust that she showed in her made her feel grateful.

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The first eight episodes of The Circle can be currently streamed on Netflix.