The NBA icon opened up about the challenges he faced during his time in the house and his adorable friendship with his stuffed owl, Orwell.
*Caution: Spoilers Ahead*
Monday's all-new Celebrity Big Brother was jam-packed with surprising twists as the remaining houseguests duked it out, but when the dust settled, it was Metta World Peace who finally got evicted -- and he couldn't be more relieved.
Speaking with ET's Brice Sander after the live eviction ceremony, Metta explained how he's been hoping to go home since the show began.
"When I first got sequestered and got into the house, it was tough. I didn't think I would be able to deal with it," Metta shared.
His eviction came after an exciting episode in which the Big Brother houseguests battled one another in a live Power of Veto competition -- with a twist.
While Ross Mathews and Brandi Glanville found themselves on the chopping block at the start of the episode, after being nominated for elimination by Head of Household Omarosa Manigault, the contestants were informed that the winner of the Power of Veto competition would receive a special Veto ability -- the so-called VIP Veto -- which would allow them two veto votes instead of one.
After a heated competition -- which involved putting together a visual puzzle as fast as possible -- Ross came out the winner. As expected, he used one of his vetos to save himself, then decided not to save Brandi and to not use his other veto.
To replace Ross, Omarosa finally gave Metta what he's been wanting since the beginning and put him up for eviction.
After Metta's emotional plea to his fellow housemates to vote him out because he missed his family, the others heeded his request and voted 4-0 to oust the former NBA star.
"I could have stuck it out, I had my allies. I made some really good relationships… but it was so hard," Metta told ET, adding that he "would do it again," but that he "was not prepared" for how hard the show would be for him.
Now that he's out of the house, Metta says he's excited about getting to spend some time with his family.
"The first thing I'm gonna do is call my children --on my way to see my children -- and then I'm gonna call my wife," Metta said, smiling broadly.
As for the remaining contestants, Metta says he would "like to see the women win," but if he had to guess who would come out on top, he'd have to say Ross.
While Metta said he made life-long friends with everyone in the house, there was one particular friend that he said really got him through his bouts of loneliness -- his stuffed owl, Orwell, who he decided to take with him when he left.
Metta reflected on his adorable relationship with Orwell while cradling the stuffed owl, and explained how the plush toy let him cope when he was struggling with missing his wife and kids.
"We only had so many things in the house to do, and when you're home at the Big Brother house, missing your family, I had no one to hold," said Metta, who explained how he'd cuddle Orwell at night when he was wishing he could be with his wife.
"This owl got me through a lot of days."
Check out Celebrity Big Brother when it returns on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
RELATED CONTENT:
