‘Big Brother’ Couples: Where Are They Now?
Away from the surveilling eyes of Big Brother, some “showmances” from the CBS reality series have thrived as real-life romances. Former houseguests have fallen in love and started families together, and some have remained reality stars. (The Big Brother-to-Amazing Race pipeline is going strong.)
With Season 26 underway, check in with notable couples from the show — who got together on camera or off — in the photo gallery below.
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Season 25: America Lopez & Cory Wurtenberger
America tried going long-distance with Cory after Big Brother 25 but ended up moving in with him in Nashville and even contemplating next steps, as she told Us Weekly in July 2024. “We talked about this a lot, and I was open in the house about not wanting to get married ever,” she said. “With Cory, I’ll catch myself being, like, ‘If I were to get married, this is the kind of ring I’d like.’ But we just moved in together. Cory still hasn’t finished college.”
Season 23: Claire Rehfuss & Derek Xiao
Claire and Derek, who started dating after their Big Brother 23 evictions, followed the footsteps of other houseguests and competed on The Amazing Race, ultimately winning Season 34. “I think at the very beginning, I had delusions of grandeur around how good our relationship was because we hadn’t been tested, so I didn’t know,” Derek told Us afterward. “But then we actually got tested, and now I think our relationship actually is where I thought it was.”
Season 22: Christmas Abbott & Memphis Garrett
After returning to Big Brother for the all-star 22nd season, Christopher and Memphis struck up a relationship, getting engaged in June 2021 and marrying in May 2022. But in March 2024, Memphis filed for divorce, and Christmas accused him of domestic violence, TMZ reported. “While I loved Memphis, I believe our marriage was unhealthy and abusive,” she told the site in May 2024. “I was granted temporary protection from the courts after demonstrating what I feel was domestic abuse. Though we are currently in divorce proceedings, we both put our families before everything else.”
If you or someone you know is the victim of domestic abuse, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233.
Season 20: Bayleigh Dayton & Christopher “Swaggy C” Williams
After getting engaged in the live Big Brother 20 finale, Bayleigh and Swaggy married in February 2019 (appearing on Say Yes to the Dress on the way to the altar) and now have two kids in tow. They welcomed daughter Alora in September 2022 and son Christopher II in January 2024. “Our little family is officially complete!” they wrote on Instagram upon their son’s birth. “Him having Swag’s full name and being born [at] 2:17am on the dot, which is Swag’s birthday, was something we couldn’t have even dreamed of.”
Season 19: Jessica Graf & Cody Nickson
Another burgeoning family is Jessica and Cody’s. Having welcomed their fourth child in December 2023, the Nicksons are now the parents of daughters Maverick, Carter, Atlas, and Gemma. Jessica and Cody, who started dating in the Big Brother 19 house, won Season 30 of The Amazing Raceand then got married in October 2018. “Our wildest dreams came true today — we’re married!” the couple told People at the time. “We are so lucky to have found each other in the most unconventional of ways, but we did.”
Season 18: Nicole Franzel & Victor Arroyo
Big Brother 18’s Nicole and Victor are also mama and papa, After she split from fellow housemate Corey Brooks, Nicole got together with Victor off-camera, and they got engaged during an appearance on the reality show in September 2018, tied the knot in March 2021, and welcomed little one Arrow that July. As for their continuing reality TV career, the couple came in fourth place in The Amazing Race Season 31, and Nicole came in third in Big Brother 22 before coming back for the win in Big Brother Reindeer Games.
Season 13: Daniele Donato & Dominic Briones
After connecting on Big Brother 13, dating post-show, and walking down the aisle in January 2013, Daniele and Dominic added two daughters to the mix: Tenessee in August 2018 and Lux in November 2021. And in a recent Instagram post, Dominic raved about his wife: “Me and my girls are lucky to have a woman [who] truly does it all,” he said. “From fixing booboos to cleaning everything, to making breakfast potatoes from scratch every morning (yes, she literally does this daily), we don’t deserve all the hard work, the countless meals, 3 a.m. wake-ups, and all the little things she does to make our lives go.”
Seasons 12 & 13: Rachel Reilly & Brendon Villegas
Rachel and Brendon initially swore each other off while filming Big Brother 12, as they later recounted to E! News, but they of course fell for one another, and they got married in September 2012. The pair went on to star in The Amazing Race’s 20th and 24th seasons, and Rachel returned for The Amazing Race’s 31st with her sister before competing on Snake in the Grass and The Traitors. Rachel and Brandon are also the parents of two kids: daughter Adora, born in April 2016, and son Adler, born in November 2020.
Seasons 11 & 13: Jordan Lloyd & Jeff Schroeder
A friendship in the house led to a romance out of the house for this Big Brother duo, who wed in March 2016, welcomed son Lawson that October, and added son Layton in September 2018. On the professional front, Jordan co-hosted Big Brother Reindeer Games, while Jeff co-hosted a daily Tegna talk show called Daily Blast Live. Now Jordan and Jeff have a podcast together, Togethermess, in which they “dive into parenting, marriage, reality TV, pop culture, and so much more!”
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