“Claim to Fame” Eliminated Contestant on Their 'Legendary' Relative and That Obvious JLo Clue (Exclusive)
Danny talks exclusively with PEOPLE about his elimination and being in 'awe' of his 'legendary' celebrity relative
Warning: spoilers for Claim to Fame season 3, episode 6 ahead.
Claim to Fame continues to unveil some iconic celebrity relatives this season.
In season 3, episode 6, which aired on Aug. 14, Danny found himself as the infamous guesser. After getting some help from Shane, the two felt confident that Mackenzie’s relative was Blake Shelton. However, when that guess ended up being incorrect, Danny went home as a result.
After stumping the house and many fans watching at home, Danny, whose real name is Nael Zayas, revealed that his uncle is Grammy-winning singer Marc Anthony.
Speaking with PEOPLE exclusively, Nael broke down the turn of events and why he was pretty sure about Mackenzie’s relative going into the guess-off.
“I thought we had it not knowing anything really about country singers,” he explains. "[Shelton was the] first country singer that came to my mind was that tall. I still feel good that I chose Blake even though it was wrong. We got a good shot in the dark here.”
Nael adds that the whole experience of having to theorize about people’s celebrity relatives became super “exhausting” as filming progressed. “We're shooting so many ideas out there, spending hours in front of the board, and countless nights where we're just waking up in the middle of the night jotting things down,” he says.
Nael notes that watching everything unfold on the show has been even more “surreal,” calling it “an out-of-body experience.” He adds that he didn’t fully know the house was trying to get him eliminated the week prior until he saw the episode on TV.
“I found out a lot more watching the show, but during, I felt something was brewing,” he explains. “That's why I always kept Dedrick close and tried to keep that in the pocket for as long as I could. That's why I feel like in the long run, he felt good about the things we would brainstorm about [Adam]. It just didn't happen to work out, because you know Adam has the horseshoe.”
Related: 15 Rules You Didn't Know ‘Claim to Fame’ Contestants Have to Follow (Exclusive)
On Adam moving onto the final four, Nael admits he was super surprised he made it that far into the competition. “I still couldn't believe that we weren't able to get him out,” he says. “It's crazy. Until this point, it was like, how many times is it going to take? You can't beat TV like that. It's like, wow, I can't believe it.”
Of course, Adam isn’t the only one that fooled the house. Not only did Nael have his contestants stumped during the series, but many fans watching at home took a while to guess his celebrity relative, which Nael admits was “super flattering.”
“I'm surprised that it took so long for the internet sleuths to find me,” he jokes. “It helps that I've tried to erase my footprint on the internet. It was crazy, especially the timeframe that it took. I thought they would've found out sooner, but I was doing something right.”
Related: What Happens to Claim to Fame Contestants When They're Eliminated (No, They Don't Go Home)
He points out that Anthony’s JLo clue was a huge giveaway. “I knew they were going to catch that eventually,” he says of the reference to Anthony’s ex-wife, Jennifer Lopez. “I thought they were going to catch it sooner, being that it's hanging off the board underneath everything. [I was] trying to stall that as much as possible. But it's a game that we're playing and eventually everybody's going to get called out.”
Speaking about his famous uncle, Nael notes that Anthony was super supportive of him doing the show, noting that his one piece of advice was just to be his “honest” self.
“I always try to use that too in my life on an everyday basis,” he adds of the words of wisdom he got from his uncle. “I always look up to him as a figure to just try and mold myself after [him]. He's made so much progress in life and [achieved] legendary status. It's definitely something to be in awe of. it's really just super inspiring and something that I just wish I can be one day.”
Claim to Fame airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.
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