Cheating in relationships is nothing new. We’ve seen it in every aspect of our lives—family, friends, religion, media, etc. But nowadays, there are plenty of subcategories that exist in the cheating atmosphere. Some women argue that men texting other girls is cheating, while some men argue that women having celebrity crushes is considered the same. What you think counts as the act is ultimately up to you, but the real question is… would you rather it be done behind your back, or in front of your face?
Let’s back up a bit. Reality TV has been hot this summer with the popularity of Love Island USA, the newly released premiere episodes of The Golden Bachelor and Survivor, and the chaotic season 27 of Big Brother. Even if you’re not a die-hard fan of reality competition TV, chances are you’ve come across clips or headlines about these shows. And if Big Brother slipped under your radar this summer—no worries. I’ve got you.
Big Brother has been on the air every summer since 2000. The show takes 16 strangers and puts them in a house in Los Angeles, California, where they must co-exist for approximately 90 days under the watch of hundreds of cameras and microphones placed throughout the house and without any contact to the outside world. This means talking to family and friends, watching TV shows and movies, catching up on world news, and of course, having a phone is prohibited. This may sound cruel, but in the end, the winner takes home $750,000 and the runner-up receives $75,000.
The game works like this: each week all houseguests (players) compete in a mini competition, either physical or mental, where the winner will be declared the Head of Household and earn safety for the week. The HoH gets to sleep in the only private bedroom, use the private bathroom, and receives a letter from home full of love and encouragement. The HoH has the responsibility to nominate three houseguests for eviction (in previous seasons, it was two). From there, the HoH, the nominees, and two other houseguests selected by random draw compete in another mini competition for the Power of Veto which grants them safety from the eviction block. If a nominee wins the Veto, they have the opportunity to take themselves down and force the HoH to nominate a new houseguest. If a player who's not on the block wins, they can either use the Veto on a nominee, keeping them both safe from eviction that week, or choose not to use it at all. No matter what decision is made, the three nominees will go head-to-head in a live game called the “BB BlockBuster,” where the winner will automatically come off the block. The two houseguests who lost will have to face a live eviction, where all the other houseguests (excluding the HoH, unless there’s a tie) will privately cast their votes for who they want to leave the house. This process repeats every week until only two people remain. Starting around the seventh week, those evicted will go straight to the “Jury House” instead of going home. The Jury consists of seven or nine evicted houseguests (this year it’s seven) who on finale night, will crown the winner of the Big Brother season based on competition wins, social gameplay, and manipulation tactics. Totally simple, right?
The reason why this season is receiving so much attention is due to many factors. A houseguest, Rachel Reilly, is a previous iconic Big Brother winner, people are fighting left and right, some players have extremely unique personalities, but an affair scandal (gasp!) tops the cake.
Vince Panaro (34-years-old, unemployed) and Morgan Pope (34-years-old, Twitch streamer) are currently two of three houseguests left in the house. Vince has won four HoHs while Morgan has a total of seven wins between two HoHs and five Vetos. It’s safe to say these two have been dominating the game for the past few weeks. Together they ensured each other’s safety week after week and eliminated houseguests that were threats to their games. These players solidified a “Final 2,” meaning they promised to take each other to the end weeks ago, so it’s not a surprise that they spend a lot of time together. But… is it too much time?
I have to say the most interesting part about them is barely related to their gameplay. Vince has stated since week one that he has a girlfriend of seven years back home. On the live feeds and in some episodes, we hear his shoutout to her numerous times. On the other hand, we witnessed Vince and Morgan growing closer as the days went by. It’s not unusual for houseguests to grow close in this game because all they have is each other. But many fans have taken to social media to express their opinions on the duo. Plenty have pointed out how weird it is for Vince and Morgan to be sleeping in the same bed every night whilst he has a girlfriend. It doesn’t stop there either. The two have given each other minute-long hugs which clearly made the other houseguests uncomfortable, as we saw in a recent episode. Every player was hanging out in the HoH room when out of nowhere, Vince and Morgan tightly embraced and would not let each other go. The other players in the room quickly gathered their belongings and left the room. On the way out, one houseguest joked, “I thought we were on ‘Big Brother,’ not ‘Cheating Island.’”
So… sure, do whatever you want, Vince. Tell Morgan you love her over and over. Tear up at the idea of not being able to spend every day together anymore. Rub her thighs while you talk. But for the love of God, please stop turning around to say Morgan is just a friend and what you’re doing isn’t emotional or physical cheating!
It’s bad enough to be cheated on, but to have it be broadcasted on air for the entire world to see is even worse. And to make it even more gut-wrenching, Vince swears up and down that he loves his girlfriend and Morgan is just his duo. If everyone on social media is saying it, if every houseguest is saying it, then how are Vince and Morgan not seeing that what they’re doing is gross? I’m not putting the blame all on Vince, though. Morgan has an equal part in this as well. She knows about Vince’s girlfriend, and yet she still partakes in the closeness, even initiating it plenty of times. When confronted about it by other houseguests, her answer is “he’s my duo, he’s my dog!” or some other lame remark.
One of the funniest moments this season was when the beloved Zingbot came into the house. For those who don’t know, Zingbot is a character that comes into the Big Brother house every summer to roast the houseguests. His jokes always manage to say what everyone has been wanting to say. This year, he sang a lullaby about how boring one of the houseguests was, told another her clothes can be described as “hobo shit,” and made fun of the way a man smells. When it came to Vince and Morgan, it was so painfully awkward, but completely true. Zingbot beautifully delivered the line “Vince, you’re a 34-year-old cry baby, who’s unemployed and lives with his mom and dad. I’d zing you… but life beat me to it! The truth hurts, zing!” The houseguests around him dropped their jaws as I laughed hysterically. But when it came to Morgan’s zing… well, it ruined the entire Zingbot experience. Thankfully, Zingbot saved his comment about her until the end because her reaction instantly made everyone uncomfortable. Zingbot says, “Morgan, what do you call someone who lights up when Vince enters the room, gives him long, passionate hugs, and warm, affectionate cuddles?” Morgan questions, “A number one?” to which Zingbot replies, “A girlfriend!” Her reaction is very telling. The clip cuts off, but in the episode, she turns around and starts cutting a pizza while Zingbot and the other houseguests stand around staring at each other. Talk about guilty conscience, right?
Big Brother season 27 ends today and a winner will be crowned tonight at 8:30 pm EST. There are plenty of mixed reactions about the whole season, but the general conscience is that it wasn’t all that great. And unfortunately for Vince and Morgan, their “on-the-edge-of-cheating” scandal is going to be the most remembered when discussing this year’s show. It’s important to remember that these houseguests are real people who have real feelings. Yes, their actions were questionable, but at the end of the day, it’s nothing to send death threats over, which fans have already started to do. In time, maybe we’ll see them speak upon the relationship issue. When they watch themselves on the screen, I hope they’ll finally admit that what they were doing was weird and apologize to Vince’s girlfriend for the embarrassment they caused her. At this point, I’m also wishing for Vince's girlfriend (of seven years, remember!) to break up with him, if she hasn’t already. And who knows… maybe in a few years, we’ll open up Instagram and see Vince and Morgan’s wedding photos.
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