Claim to Fame Eliminated Contestant Shares How Their Relative Helped Them Through a 'Stressful' Family Crisis (Exclusive)

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Claim to Fame season 3 episode 3.

The latest elimination on Claim to Fame left the entire house shocked.

Following the double elimination in episode 2, the latest installment put Miguel in the hot seat as the guesser. Though Miguel strategically teamed up with Dedrick last week, he caught everyone off guard as he picked his one big ally in the house as the person to guess their celebrity relative.

In the end, Miguel got sent home as he incorrectly guessed Dedrick’s celebrity relative as Little Richard. As a result, Miguel (whose real name is Raphael Curtis) was revealed to be Jamie Lee Curtis's nephew, causing a rupture of gasps from his fellow contestants.

Speaking with PEOPLE exclusively, Raphael broke down that shocking turn of events, noting that despite his elimination there was “a sensation of triumph” that he had fooled every one in the house. As he outwitted his fellow contestants about his true identity and purposely threw people off behind the scenes, he was quickly dubbed a “wolf in sheep's clothing,” which he admits was a bit of “an ego boost.”  

“I went into the show representing myself as the person you'd expect the least out of but then I feel like I provided a certain amount of like, ‘Oh, maybe there's more going on than just meets the eye,’” he explains. “I like it when people underestimate me because then I can show them otherwise. I like surprising others with that and seeing it play out.”

On picking his ally for the guess-off, Raphael notes that Dedrick’s reaction “was a lot calmer than I expected” at that moment. He adds that while Dedrick was “definitely shocked” by the decision, they have “spoken about it” privately and there is no “bad blood” between them.“We both teamed up knowing this is a competition, this is a TV show, so the connection that we do have isn't going to get affected by the decisions we make because ultimately we have to make these decisions because it's part of the show,” he explains. “I think he was super cool with it. He reciprocated the love for sure. On camera it was super shocking, off camera, it was like, ‘Don't worry, man. It's all love.’” 

Early in the competition, Raphael addressed that he was passionate about winning the competition after going through a difficult family crisis with his mother, Allegra Curtis, who is Jamie Lee Curtis’ half-sister and the daughter of Tony Curtis. He notes that at the time, the Freaky Friday actress was a huge help to him and his family as they dealt with the life change.

“It happened a year before I was on the show,” he says of his mother’s medical crisis. “It was difficult becaus -

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e it happened so suddenly, and at the time, the property managers that take care of our house were renovating. So I actually had to end up moving all the stuff in my house out, essentially on my own while my mom was in the hospital.” 

“It was really crucial for the support that she gave me,” he adds of his aunt's support. “It was really needed because I had no idea what to do. I had just turned 20 at the time and I was just trying to figure out my own stuff working and the whole renovation thing. So it was pretty stressful, but she definitely made it a lot easier to cope and manage and helped throughout every little aspect of it and definitely took care of things.” 

Raphael says he was motivated to do the show (and win the prize money) because he’s always felt like he “had something to prove.” 

“Especially the case with younger men who kind of grow up without a father figure in their life, they kind of want to be the person that can be relied on and can provide,” he notes. “So that was a big emotional charge for that.” 

“But I did what I said I was going to do. I bought my mom that car. I've been taking care of stuff at home," he adds. "A big part of that was just trying to make sure that things were okay at home, being dependable and being more of the support player at home. Being the person who can provide a little more, especially because of how much my mom's provided me over the years. I just wanted to reciprocate that with her.” 

He notes that his mother is “doing a lot better” now and has even been tuning into the show with him. “She's been extremely excited,” he says of his mother’s reaction. “She's been super, super supportive of me. Super happy in regards to the show and how I've been represented on it too. She thinks it's a great opportunity for me. She's been having a great time watching it alongside me.” 

As eliminated contestants are slated to return for the season 3 finale, Raphael teases it was “a breath of fresh air returning to the house,” noting there are a lot of “twists and turns” in store for the dramatic conclusion. 

“Expect the unexpected,” he says. “You never know who you can really trust and you never know who's got a trick up their sleeve, so just keep that in mind.” 

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Claim to Fame airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.

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