Dec 21, 2007  |  By: BRIAN MOYLAN  | COMMENTS     

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Blade: How are you doing now?

Mackenroth: I was in the hospital in June and I was out in 5 days. I was 100 percent back to normal in 10 days.

Blade: Do you think the stress of the show might have added to the condition?

Mackenroth: Yes, I do. I think all of our immune systems were suppressed. We’re under stress and not sleeping. You skip meals because you don’t want to take time out. Was I under the most beneficial health conditions? No.

Blade: So, what was the decision-making process like when you were thinking about leaving the show?

Mackenroth: I had this bump in my nose, and I thought it was a pimple or something and one morning, I got up to go to the bathroom at like 4 a.m. I turn on the light and my lip was really swollen. About three or four years ago, I had [a MRSA infection] before, once on my leg and one on my chin and I know how rapidly those advanced, so I was immediately suspect. Over the next couple of days it just got worse. On the episode you see me, I’m at the end of my rope and I’m exhausted and stressed. At that point, it was so swollen. I had a sore on the inside of my mouth and I was getting a fever, and I really had no choice. With my whole heart I wanted to stay, but I couldn’t. At that point I was about endangering other people as well, and I just couldn’t do that.

Blade: Do you think they’ll have you back next year? Would you be willing to do that?

Mackenroth: It was presented to me as an option. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. I have a lot of stuff going on now, and I don’t know. I can’t make up my mind at this point.

Blade: What was your favorite challenge?

Mackenroth: I really liked the first one, because I loved my dress, and I thought it was adorable. And I loved the fourth one, because I loved [fellow designers] Kit and Christian. We howled the whole time. They’re both great.

Blade: Are there any designers you didn’t get along with?

Mackenroth: I don’t badmouth the other designers; let’s just say “yes.”

Blade: Who do you want to win?

Mackenroth: My personal favorite, who I think is an amazing talent, is Christian. From what I’ve seen he’s an amazing technician. It would be great for him to go to the finals, because his collection will be off the hook. I just loved him. He was my little pocket gay.

Blade: But what about that hair?

Mackenroth: You know, he’s 21. If you had seen my hair at 21, it wasn’t that much different.

Blade: You know the game sex/marry/kill, where I give you three names and you say which one you want to have sex with, which one you want to marry and which one you want to kill?

Mackenroth: Yes.

Blade: OK I’m going to give you three names: Michael Ko