9 Fun Facts About CBS’s “Big Brother”

1. “Big Brother” has been on for 22 years

The first season of “Big Brother” premiered on July 5, 2000.

Now, the reality series is on its 24th season! 

Believe it or not, the first season did not have any Head of Household competitions or the Golden Power of Veto that fans have grown used to.

The first Head of Household, Mike “Boogie” Malin, was crowned in season 2 when the competition was first introduced.

For the original Power of Veto competition, the necklace was originally silver and not gold.

The Silver Power of Veto had different powers because it did not allow the nominee to remove themselves from the nomination block. 

Gerry Lancaster won the first-ever Power of Veto in season 3. 

The Golden Power of Veto, which allows nominees to remove themselves, has been used every season since it was introduced. 

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2. There are different versions of “Big Brother” spin-offs across the world

There were two spin-off editions of “Big Brother,” and other countries have adopted the same format as this American reality television show as well. 

The show had a web series that premiered in October 2016 called “Big Brother: Over the Top.”

With this show only airing for 10 weeks, this was a shorter version of the show that was an original series for CBS All Access. 

Though “Big Brother: Over the Top” only lasted one season, the following spin-off has had three successful seasons.

A shorter version of the show with celebrity houseguests aired on February 7, 2018, called “Celebrity Big Brother.”

“Celebrity Big Brother” has hosted many household names, including Omarosa Manigault, Jonathan Bennett, Ryan Lochte, Tom Green and Lamar Odom. 

On top of this, there are other countries that have adopted the same or a similar format as the American “Big Brother” like Canada, Australia and Brasil. 

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3. The houseguests get paid each week

With “Big Brother” taking up 13 weeks of the contestants’ summers, the houseguests get paid weekly for their time. 

Originally the competitors were paid $750 until a few weeks ago.

From the sounds of it, the weekly pay is now $1,000. 

So not only is the quarter million prize money a good incentive to stay in the house as long as possible, the weekly paycheck is not too bad either! 

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4. “Big Brother” has a better track record than “The Bachelor” 

With nine of the 43 relationships that started on “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” staying together, “Big Brother” relationships have seemed to have more success in marriages. 

In fact, only six of those nine relationships have actually gotten married.

Ironically, the same amount of contestants has found true love on “Big Brother,” including all of the couples below that met on the reality show. 

“Big Brother” contestants that are now married:

• Jordan Lloyd and Jeff Schroeder (seasons 11 and 13)
• Brendon Villegas and Rachel Reilly (season 12 and 13)
• Daniele Donato and Dominic Briones (season 13)
• Victor Arroyo and Nicole Franzel (season 18)
• Jessica Graf and Cody Nickson (season 19) 
• Swaggy C and Bayleigh Dayton (season 20) 

Memphis Garrett and Christmas Abbott met on “Big Brother: All-Stars” in 2020 which has fans wondering if they are the next “showmance” to get married. 

Source: https://bit.ly/3Jt8FGN  

5. The oldest “Big Brother” competitor was Jerry MacDonald

“Big Brother” had its oldest contestant, MacDonald, in season 10.

While most contestants are below the age of 40, MacDonald was 75 years old when the show aired on television. 

He actually made it to the final three before being voted out! 

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6. People have tried to make contact with contestants in the “Big Brother” house 

Since the contestants are cut off from the outside world, adamant fans have attempted to reach those in the house – and some have done so successfully.

Fans have paid banner planes to fly messages over the house. 

For those who have been watching the show since season 2, you cannot forget the iconic banner message flown over the “Big Brother” house.

The banner said, “N&W IN HOTTUB I’M BETRAYED & HURT – J,” which was sent by the husband of a contestant after she pushed boundaries with another houseguest in the hot tub.

The producers waived their no-contact rule for her to iron everything out with her husband.

Fans have also yelled over the wall of the house, thrown letters over the wall and even sent a drone in season 18. 

Source: https://bit.ly/3OGIoFJ 

7. The longest season and shortest seasons of “Big Brother” 

Though some summers feel longer than others, certain seasons of “Big Brother” have lasted longer than others too.

With the shortest season of “Big Brother” lasting 71 days in season 10, the longest season was 99 days long in season 18. 

That means contestants that made it to the final two in season 18 received up to $99,000 during their stay in the house!

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8. “Big Brother” Perfect Game Winners

Passionate “Big Brother” fans have laid out the rules for how to earn the title of playing a “Perfect Game.”

In order to have a “Perfect Game,” the contestant must:

• Never receive an eviction vote against him or her
• Be announced the winner of “Big Brother”
• Have unanimous votes from the Jury

Only two American “Big Brother” contestants have played a “Perfect Game” in the 22 years it has been on the air.

In season 10, Dan Gheesling never received any eviction votes and was crowned victorious with 7-0 votes.

12 years later, Cody Calafiore pulled off the same feat!

He also never received eviction votes and won with a clean 9-0 sweep. 

Source: https://bit.ly/3JgkzmV 

9. The longest endurance competition lasted 14 hours and 37 minutes

During season 6 in a Head of Household endurance competition, the houseguests had to hold down a single button without letting go. 

The challenge was named “Pressure Cooker” for a reason!

Jennifer Vasquez ended up winning the competition the following day around 9 A.M.

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