Big Brother 18 ran in the summer of 2016 and ended with Nicole beating Paul by a single jury vote. It is the season of the man who would not stay evicted: Victor was voted out three separate times and won his way back into the house twice, and on finale night the audience made him America’s Favorite Houseguest.
BIG BROTHER 18 — HOW IT ENDED
Winner: Nicole
Runner-up: Paul
Third place: James
Jury vote: 5–4. Corey, Natalie, Paulie, Zakiyah and Da’Vonne voted Nicole. James, Victor, Michelle and Bridgette voted Paul.
America’s Favorite Houseguest: Victor.
Who won Big Brother 18?
Nicole won Big Brother 18, beating Paul 5–4 on 21 September 2016. It was her second season — she had played Big Brother 16 and been evicted twice. Paul entered as a rookie rather than a returning player.
The vote split five to four. He lost by one, and he would go back the following summer and lose Big Brother 19 by one vote as well.
- Aired: Summer 2016.
- Premiere: 22–23 June 2016.
- Finale: 21 September 2016.
- Houseguests: 16 — 12 new players and four returning.
- Format: the four returning players came in as team captains, in the game from night one and evictable like anyone else.
- Jury: nine members.
- The twists: team play, the Roadkill Competition, the Battle Back, America’s Care Package and a jury buyback.
Who was in the Big Brother 18 cast?
Twelve new houseguests entered on premiere night alongside four returning players — Nicole, Frank, Da’Vonne and James — who came in as team captains rather than coaches. The four veterans were in the game from the start and eligible to be evicted like anyone else.
The new twelve were Paul, Paulie, Victor, Corey, Michelle, Bridgette, Natalie, Zakiyah, Tiffany, Bronte, Jozea and Glenn.
Why was Glenn gone on the first night?
The premiere split the house into four teams and ran a competition for safety. The losing team then competed against itself, and the houseguest who finished last was removed from the game immediately. That was Glenn. There was no nomination ceremony, no veto and no house vote — he lost a competition on the first night and was gone before the first eviction.
Nicole won the season’s first Head of Household in the same episode.
What were the Big Brother 18 twists?
The Roadkill Competition
A secret third-nominee competition. The winner was told privately and picked a third houseguest to go on the block before the veto was played, without anybody knowing who had done it. It ran for the first four weeks and ended with Tiffany’s eviction, at the same time the team twist was retired.
The Battle Back
The season’s first five departures were not necessarily final. Glenn, Jozea, Victor, Bronte and Tiffany were held and played a head-to-head ladder, each new evictee challenging whoever was still standing. Victor won it and walked back into the house.
America’s Care Package
Viewers voted a power to one houseguest each week. Two of them decided evictions. James used his to nullify two votes during the double eviction, which is the only reason Zakiyah went home instead of Michelle. Michelle used hers to make herself co-Head of Household, and used that to put up the replacement nominee who kept Victor on the block.
The jury buyback
On 25 August, minutes after Victor was evicted for the second time, the jurors were brought out to compete on a wall for a place back in the house. Victor won that too.
How many times was Victor evicted?
Three. He was voted out in week two, in week nine and again in week twelve, and he won his way back after the first two.
The second return is the one people remember. He was evicted 2–1 on the live show, and minutes later he was back out in the yard on a wall — houseguests and jurors on it together, the last juror standing winning a place back in the game. Zakiyah and Da’Vonne dropped first, then Corey, then Bridgette. When Paulie fell, Victor was the last juror left and was back in the house. He came off the wall himself straight afterwards. The competition carried on without him to decide the Head of Household, down to Nicole and James at the end.
Victor: “Every time I get evicted I come back to a better situation.”
The third one held. Corey nominated him alongside Paul in week twelve, Nicole won the veto and left the nominations alone, and Victor went out for good with James and Nicole casting the only two votes in the house. Three weeks later the audience handed him America’s Favorite.
What happened to Paulie?
By midseason Paulie had become the central power in the house majority. He took two Heads of Household and was the player the others organised themselves around. Then it came apart quickly and loudly.
Paulie: “F— YOU FRANK, TIFFANY TOLD ME EVERYTHING!! NOW I’M COMING AFTER YOU!!”
He was evicted 5–0 in week eight, nominated by Victor — the player his own alliance had voted out back in week two.
How did the Big Brother 18 double eviction work?
The double eviction on 11 August is the most tangled night of the season, because a Care Package power decided the first half of it.
Victor was Head of Household and nominated Zakiyah and Michelle. On the raw count, four houseguests voted to evict Michelle and three voted to evict Zakiyah — Michelle should have gone. But James held the power to cancel two votes, and he cancelled two of the four against Michelle.
James: “We can send Z home. Me, you & Paul that’s all we need. I could cancel Paulie’s vote out.”
The announced result was 3–2 and Zakiyah went to jury. Corey won the second Head of Household of the night and Bridgette followed her out 5–1.
Who won each HOH and eviction in Big Brother 18?
Premiere night — Glenn removed
Four teams, one competition, no vote. Glenn finished last and left the same night. Nicole won the first Head of Household.
Week 1 — Jozea evicted 7–4–0
Nicole HOH. Paul won the veto and used it on himself; Bridgette went up as the replacement and got no votes at all.
Week 2 — Victor evicted 9–1–0
Paulie HOH. Paul cast the only vote to keep Victor. First of Victor’s three exits.
Week 3 — Bronte evicted 5–4–0
Bridgette HOH, and she won the veto too and left the nominations alone. The closest vote of the early season.
Week 4 — Tiffany evicted 8–0–0
Paulie HOH. Corey won the veto and saved himself; Da’Vonne replaced him. Unanimous. The team twist and the Roadkill Competition both ended here, and Victor won the Battle Back and came back in.
Week 5 — Frank evicted 9–0
James HOH. Michelle won the veto and did not use it. Frank’s Round Trip envelope turned out to be one-way.
Week 6 — Da’Vonne evicted 6–2
Paul HOH. Paulie won the veto and used it on himself, and Da’Vonne went up in his place and became the first juror.
Week 7 double eviction — Zakiyah and Bridgette
Victor HOH for the first half; Zakiyah out 3–2 after James cancelled two votes. Corey HOH for the second; Bridgette out 5–1.
Week 8 — Paulie evicted 5–0
Victor HOH again, and he won the veto as well and left his nominations where they were. Unanimous.
Week 9 — Victor evicted 2–1, and returns
Natalie won the Head of Household and Michelle joined her as co-HOH through a Care Package. Paul won the veto and saved himself; Michelle named Corey. Paul cast the lone vote to keep Victor. Victor then won the jury buyback and walked back in the same night.
Week 10 — Michelle evicted 3–2
Nicole HOH. The house split two votes each way and Nicole broke the tie herself.
Week 11 — Natalie evicted 3–0
Victor HOH, nominating Natalie beside James. Corey won the veto and did not use it. Unanimous.
Week 12 — Victor evicted for the third time
Corey HOH, nominating Victor and Paul. Nicole won the veto and left it alone. James and Nicole were the only two houseguests eligible to vote, and both voted Victor out.
Final 4 — Corey evicted 1–0
Paul HOH and veto holder. He left his nominations alone and James cast the only vote.
Final 3 — Paul takes Nicole
Paul won part one of the final Head of Household, Nicole won part two, Paul won part three. He evicted James and chose to sit beside Nicole.
How did the Big Brother 18 finale go?
Paul won the final Head of Household and made the choice himself. He cut James, took Nicole, and Nicole beat him 5–4.
Nicole had spent the last week arguing the other side of the same question.
Nicole: “I do not want to take James to final 2 because he does not even deserve 50K!”
The jury vote, 5–4
Nicole: Corey, Natalie, Paulie, Zakiyah, Da’Vonne. Paul: James, Victor, Michelle, Bridgette.
Victor took America’s Favorite Houseguest, which is a fair summary of the whole season: the man who could not be kept out of the house was the one the audience wanted.
What is Big Brother 18 remembered for?
Three things, depending on who you ask.
Victor, for the returns. Nobody before him had been evicted three times in one season, and nobody had come back twice.
Paul, for the start of a two-season run that ended the same way twice. He was a rookie nobody expected to reach the end, and he lost by one vote. He came back for Big Brother 19 and lost by one vote again, which no other finalist has managed.
And the twists, for how heavily they sat on the season. Team play, the Roadkill Competition, the Battle Back, viewer-voted powers and a jury buyback repeatedly changed who was nominated, who could vote and who could come back — and James’s Care Package flipped the week seven eviction outright.
Big Brother 18 live-feed archive
We covered Big Brother 18 on the live feeds from the premiere to the finale. The full archive is under Big Brother 18, including the week-by-week eviction results — the double eviction night, the jury buyback and finale night.
One from the early weeks, before any of it settled:
“America, quack quack! Are you with the sitting ducks or not? We’re the underdogs!”
