While Big Brother is sometimes a predictable game whereby viewers can guess who will win at least halfway through, that isn’t always the case. And sometimes, the person who is most deserving of winning doesn’t actually take home the big prize.
In the competition reality show, 15 people enter a house to live together throughout the summer, cut off from the real world. They compete in physical and mental challenges, form alliances, and make enemies in an effort to be in the final two people left.
Sometimes, jury members, made up of evicted houseguests, are bitter and vote an undeserving person as winner out of spite. And other times, people who floated throughout the game make it to the end based on sheer popularity alone. So, who has played and never won…but probably should have? See if your favorite non-winner made the cut.
Eric Stein (Season 8)
Remember him? He was in Season 8, where the show first introduced the new twist of America’s Player, in which he was tasked with fulfilling the wishes of viewers. That meant voting and campaigning however the viewers wanted (even if it was against his best interests), spreading rumors, or doing ridiculous things that risked putting a target on his back.
The twist was both a blessing and curse for Eric. While he earned some cash and kudos for accomplishing various tasks, had this wrench not been thrown into his game, he might have emerged victorious. And he would have deserved to. In the end, Eric got evicted by people in the house he had to save at America’s behest.
Daniele Donato (Season 8, 13)
Maybe it isn’t so bad if you lose to your (estranged, at the time) dad. Whether or not that’s true, that’s what happened to Daniele. After playing a stellar game, she wound up in the final two with her father Dick, otherwise known as Evel Dick, and he ended up taking the win.
Sure, he deserved it. And they did help one another through the game with the type of loyalty you might only see from a father and daughter. But Daniele won competition after competition, made great game moves and alliances, and still never came out with a win. She returned for Season 13 but was voted out eighth, deemed a big threat in the game, and rightfully so — though she did come out with a husband in fellow houseguest, Dominic.
Tyler Crispen (Season 20)
It seemed almost through his entire season that Tyler Crispen had the game on lock. He was friendly with everyone, strategically playing both sides of the house with no one the wiser. He was fantastic in competitions. He was at the top of the “popular” alliance. And he was making great moves.
Yet it still didn’t pay off as he ended up losing in a 5-4 vote against his close ally, Kaycee Clark. Should Kaycee have won? She definitely played a great game. But she wasn’t as good as Tyler. That should have been his season.
Paul Abrahamian (Season 18, 19)
Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that at least one of the two times Paul placed second on the show, he should have been the one to win. Yes, the bearded model lost out twice in a row due to a jury who didn’t like his style of gameplay nor his cocky attitude.
While winning requires a delicate balance of strategic moves and great social game, both of which Paul had, his ego got in the way. And when he couldn’t admit his wrongs, choosing to get defensive instead, two juries on two different seasons voted less deserving people as winners.
Alison Irwin (Season 4, All Stars)
Alison played hard, forming an all-girl alliance, flirting with male players, manipulating others, and winning competitions to take herself off the block. When she chose her friend and supposed “floater” Jun Song to go with her to the final two, she thought it was a given that she would beat her.
Unbeknownst to Alison, the jury decided to choose what they called the “lesser of two evils” and voted Jun as the winner of the season. Despite Alison having played the far better game, she never got the win she deserved. She returned for All-Stars but was immediately voted out first, giving her no time to redeem herself.
Danielle Reyes (Season 3, All-Stars)
One of the most controversial losses of the series was Danielle Reyes’, simply because she lost based on what she said in the private diary room sessions. Fans of the show today know that those confessionals now are only seen by viewers and jury members after the game is over and the votes are in. But back then, sequestering the jury wasn’t a thing. So everyone saw Reyes’ lies, backstabs, and insults before choosing a winner.
Needless to say, Reyes would probably win today based on the new rules, although she did return for All-Stars and only made it to sixth place given the big target on her back as such a good player. But back in Season 3, she lost out on a deserved win.
Ross Mathews (Celebrity Big Brother 1)
Playing in the celebrity edition of the series, Mathews is a long-time die-hard fan of the show, even at one point hosting the after-show web series interviewing evicted houseguests. So he knew how to play, and how to play well. That showed as he slithered through the game calling all the shots while still remaining his likable self, making it all the way to the final two.
Yet the jury of fellow celebrities opted to throw their votes to Marissa Jaret Winokur instead, who was well liked but mostly played by riding Mathews’ coattails, and should not have won over him.
Vanessa Rousso (Season 17)
A professional poker player, Rousso entered the game with all of the qualities a winner needs, including the ability to make friends, compete hard, and manipulate and lie to people effortlessly. She sometimes let her emotions and paranoia get in the way, but for pretty much the entire game, she was calling the shots.
Sadly, the winner that season, Steve Moses, made the right decision by evicting her when we won the final challenge, so she only placed third. He knew he would have lost to her had she been given the chance to plead her case to the jury.
Janelle Pierzina (Season 6, All-Stars, 14)
After playing three times, you’d think this masterful player would have finally eked out a win. But alas, she never has despite playing a solid game every time. Janelle has always been well-liked, found herself among the popular and dominant alliance, and is a total competition beast.
However, even though she holds the record for the most individual wins in a single season, she has never made it to the finals. Janelle impressively placed third both on Season 6 and in All-Stars. But by the time she showed up for a third time on Season 14, people were afraid of her, and she was voted out after just a few weeks, placing 12th.
Britney Haynes (Season 12, 14)
Britney played a fabulous game both times and was a likely candidate to win the first time around. However, she became a victim of the Brigade alliance who, despite being friends with her, stayed loyal to their agreement to take only members to the finals.
She could have taken one of them out had she won that last crucial competition. Alas, she didn’t and her fate was sealed. The Brigade was one of the most solid and impressive alliances in the show’s history. But Haynes’ gameplay and entertaining diary room sessions made her a fan favorite that viewers wanted to see win. She returned again for Season 14 but only placed eighth.
