Rachel Reilly won Big Brother 13 in 2011, beating Porsche in a 4–3 jury vote for $500,000. She has played three seasons across fifteen years — Big Brother 12, Big Brother 13 and Big Brother 27 — and won more Head of Household competitions than almost anyone who has ever played.
- Seasons played: Big Brother 12 (2010), Big Brother 13 (2011), Big Brother 27 (2025).
- Best finish: Winner, Big Brother 13.
- Jury vote: 4–3 over Porsche.
- Head of Household wins: 7 — two in BB12, four in BB13, one in BB27.
- Power of Veto wins: 2, both in Big Brother 13.
- Other finishes: 9th in both BB12 and BB27. First juror both times.
Did Rachel Reilly win Big Brother?
Yes — Big Brother 13, in 2011, on her second attempt.
She won the final Head of Household, took Porsche to the end rather than Adam, and the jury split 4–3. Brendon, Jeff, Jordan and Shelly voted for her. Daniele, Kalia and Adam voted for Porsche. One ballot the other way and the season belongs to somebody else.
It was a close vote for a reason. She was nominated repeatedly through the middle of that season and survived a 3–2 eviction against Jeff. She did not coast to the end — she won her way out of trouble over and over, which is what made the competition record matter more than the social game.
Which seasons was Rachel Reilly on?
- Big Brother 12 (2010) — 9th. Evicted on Day 41 by a unanimous 6–0 vote, the first member of that jury. She won two Head of Household competitions before going out, and was targeted from the start as half of a pair.
- Big Brother 13 (2011) — Winner. Returned as one of the duos alongside Brendon. Four Head of Household wins, two vetoes, and the last vote of the season.
- Big Brother 27 (2025) — 9th. Entered as the surprise seventeenth houseguest and the only returning player. Out on Day 60, first juror again.
She also turned up on the Big Brother 28 premiere in July 2026, appeared to be joining the cast, and was written out of the episode in the same hour by way of a volcano. Treat that as a cameo rather than a fourth season.
How many competitions has she won?
Seven Head of Household and two Power of Veto across her three seasons.
- Big Brother 12: two HOH, Weeks 2 and 4. No vetoes.
- Big Brother 13: four HOH — Weeks 1, 3, 9 and 10, the last of those being Parts 1 and 3 of the final. Two vetoes: a Week 1 co-win with Brendon, and the Week 8 endurance veto.
- Big Brother 27: one HOH, in Week 6. No vetoes.
Seven is a total very few players reach, and it is why she keeps appearing in conversations about the strongest competitors the show has had. The interesting part is the shape of it: she won when she had to. Both of her BB12 wins came in weeks she was already a target, and the final HOH of BB13 is the one that decided her season.
Rachel and Brendon — the Brenchel years
The showmance started in the first week of Big Brother 12 and the house never stopped treating it as the problem to solve. The Brigade went after them precisely because they were a pair, and the strategy worked — she went out ninth.
They came back the following season as one of the returning duos, by then engaged. That is also where the longest feud of her career started: Daniele put Rachel and Brendon up against each other, and the two of them were never right again for the rest of the season. Daniele voted against her at the end.
They married in 2012 and have played several shows together since.
The moments feed watchers still bring up
- “Floaters, you better grab a life vest.” Big Brother 12, Week 4, aimed at Kristen from the Head of Household chair. Fifteen years later it is still the line most associated with her, and it is still quoted at players who have never seen the season.
- “Nobody comes between me and my man.” Big Brother 12, Week 1 goodbye messages, and then reused whenever the situation called for it.
- The 24-hour return. After her BB12 eviction, Brendon opened Pandora’s Box and she came back into the house for roughly a day. Production has rarely handed anyone a better parting gift, or a crueller one.
- The Week 8 endurance veto. Big Brother 13, near the final six — she took it, kept Jordan safe, and sent Shelly up instead.
- The final jury vote. Daniele’s remark at the end, that Rachel was lucky it was not a personality contest, is the line that closes out that season.
How her Big Brother 27 run ended
Not by a vote. That is what made it unusual.
She went out on Day 60 in the White Locust maze — last in a timed chain, by around three and a half minutes. No veto, no Blockbuster, no house vote against her. She became the first juror having never had a single eviction vote cast in her direction all season.
For a player whose whole record is built on winning competitions, going out on a timer rather than a ballot is a strange kind of ending. It is also the second time she has been the first person on a jury.
What else has she competed on?
- The Amazing Race 20 (2012) — third, with Brendon.
- The Amazing Race 24, All-Stars (2014) — third again, with Brendon.
- Celebrity Fear Factor (2018) — won, with $50,000 going to a lung cancer charity.
- The Amazing Race 31 (2019) — seventh, this time with her sister Elissa.
- Snake in the Grass (2022) — co-winner, splitting the prize with two other players.
- The Traitors, season 1 (2023) — eighth, a Faithful, banished in episode eight.
- Worst Cooks in America 28 (2025) — eighth, on the Villains team.
She has also been back inside the Big Brother house more times than she has played it — handing her sister a key on the Big Brother 15 premiere, turning up as a Pandora’s Box prize in Big Brother 14, hosting a veto in Big Brother 20, and announcing a pregnancy on air in Big Brother 17.
What is Rachel Reilly doing now?
Living in Alabama with Brendon and their two children. They married in 2012 and were talking about a fifteenth-anniversary vow renewal as of mid-2026.
She has kept acting — a recurring role on The Bold and the Beautiful going back to 2010, with a return in November 2025 after an eleven-year gap, plus film work. She was at the Big Brother 1000th episode celebration in August 2026.
And she wants to play Survivor. She has said outright that it is her dream, that she auditioned after being told to apply, and that Brendon has been teaching her to build a fire.
