"Slept for three days straight" — Million Dollar Secret winner Cara Kies opens up about the mental exertion during the show

Cara Kies - Winner of Million Dollar Secret | Image via Instagram/ @caralidia
Cara Kies - Winner of Million Dollar Secret | Image via Instagram/ @caralidia

After winning the Million Dollar Secret competition on Netflix, Cara Kies talked about the severe psychological toll the challenge had on her. She revealed that the show was not only physically exhausting but also mentally tiring, from navigating a high-stakes setting where everyone was watching her every move, and deceit was crucial. Considering the fallout, she revealed,

"I just wanted to mentally hone in on people, and that’s what was really exhausting. I had to be on my A game at all times and not say the wrong thing. But then you have to say the right thing, otherwise you’re too quiet. That was really hard. I slept for three days straight after returning home because I was mentally exhausted."

Cara, a 29-year-old employee at In-N-Out, credited her success to years of studying reality competition series such as Survivor, Big Brother, and The Challenge. She underlined the significance of striking a balance between visibility. She avoided suspicion while retaining strategic control by developing personal relationships and remaining perceptive.

Cara's strategic choices in the last minutes, such as lying to Sam, a competitor, about her family and planning a crucial box swap, showed off her skill at deceit and manipulation.


Cara Kies, winner of Million Dollar Secret, talks about her time on the show

The winner of Netflix's Million Dollar Secret, a reality show in which one competitor secretly carries a $1 million prize and is required to keep it hidden from the other competitors, is 29-year-old Cara Kies, a Los Angeles-based In-N-Out cook. She talked about her time on the show. From it being more mentally exhausting to her thoughts while opening the box in the finale, she talked about it all.

During her interview, she opened up about how she never imagined that competing in Million Dollar Secret would test her capabilities. On the Netflix reality show, she had to lie, avoid suspicion, and use manipulation to get through difficult social situations while maintaining her composure as the secret owner of the $1 million prize.

Cara took a daring, aggressive approach to the competition. Instead of being unnoticed, she decided to play loud and uncensored, a strategy that turned out to be quite successful. However, the performance suffered greatly. The psychological and mental strain of keeping her cover finally got to her after filming was finished.

Winner of Million Dollar Secret developed sincere relationships in the house despite the burden of deceit, one of which turned into a personal conflict. When she started to feel bad about lying to fellow competitor Ray, her intimate bond with him nearly caused her gameplay to fail.

Cara looks back with a mix of relief and pride now that the secret has been revealed. She acknowledges that she is still processing the experience, but she is also immensely appreciative. It was more important to believe in herself, make it through the mental game, and emerge stronger than it was to win money.


Binge the first season of Million Dollar Secret on Netflix.

Edited by Zainab Shaikh