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Who won 'Big Brother 26'? Recapping Sunday's season finale
Charles H. Sloan View
Date:2025-04-08 15:37:13
"Big Brother" Season 26 is officially over.
The latest season featured 16 houseguests who moved into the "Big Brother" house and, for the first time ever, had the power to vote in a 17th houseguest. The season's houseguests included a celebrity chef, a former undercover cop, a former marine and a crochet business owner, among others. The season's theme was "Big Brother Artificial Intelligence," or "BB AI."
After 90 days, how did it all end? Here's a recap of the season finale, along with the winner and the result of the America's Favorite Player vote.
Who won 'Big Brother 26'?
Chelsie Baham won in the final two over Makensy Manbeck by a vote of 7-0.
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Who won America's Favorite Player on 'Big Brother'?
Tucker Des Lauriers won America's Favorite Player for Season 26, becoming the first pre-juror to win the award.
What happened during the 'Big Brother' Season 26 finale?
The episode started with Chelsie Baham, Makensy Manbeck and Cam Sullivan-Brown in the final three. They then competed in part one of the Head of Household competition.
Makensy was first eliminated after approximately 25 minutes. Cam dropped a little over 10 minutes later, which led to Chelsie earning the victory in the first portion.
Season 16 winner Derrick Levasseur returned for another cheesy segment, leading into part two of the HOH competition between Makensy and Cam.
Makensy came out victorious, securing her spot in part three against Chelsie.
Makensy talked to the diary room about not knowing who she would take to the final two in the event she wins part three. Chelsie also had a similar conversation in the DR, saying she was unsure between Makensy and Cam.
The jury roundtable, hosted by Season 24 winner Taylor Hale, aired. Rubina Bernabe joined the jury and revealed how the previous week played out.
The evicted houseguests discussed their thoughts on Makensy and her case for winning, highlighting her ability to win so many competitions. Quinn Martin, however, expressed his confusion with Makensy sending Leah Peters out of the house.
Everyone then chatted about Chelsie's game as a strategist. Angela Murray said she could have had better jury management, but T’kor Clottey said Chelsie's gameplay held more weight for her than Makensy's resume as a comp beast.
The jury members talked about Cam and how he is great socially but has performed very poorly in competitions, which is a stain on his resume.
Makensy and Chelsie competed in part three of the final Head of Household competition, which came down to the final question as they both answered every question correctly until the final one when Makensy got the answer right and Chelsie didn't. Makensy ultimately won part three 6-5, securing the final HOH of the season.
Makensy voted to evict Cam, taking Chelsie to the final two.
Cam left the house and talked to Julie. He said it would be hard for anyone to sit next to Chelsie considering how well she has played the game. Cam also talked about how much it bothered him to lose so many competitions, and he revealed he likely would have went to the final two with Chelsie.
The jury members then went onto the stage and learned about Makensy's decision to evict Cam before asking their questions to Makensy and Chelsie.
During the questioning, Chelsie denied lying and deceiving her houseguests, saying she knew when to keep quiet and when to speak up. Makensy, on the other hand, said the move she did on her own that benefitted her game the most was getting Leah out of the house.
Chelsie and Makensy then gave their final two speeches before the jury voted for who they wanted to win.
The pre-jurors returned. Joseph Rodriguez, who is from Tampa, revealed he almost didn't come to the season finale because of how Hurricane Milton affected his family and people he knows.
Tucker Des Lauriers apologized to Cedric Hodges for being wrong in the argument during the season that led to him not using the veto on himself and staying on the block. He also gave flowers to Rubina.
Julie asked Makensy about the status of her relationship with Matt Hardeman. Makensy said she would see where things go.
Matt addressed Angela about their big argument during the season and said it turned out for the best. He gave Angela a hug, and she said she wasn't sorry for how she felt but she was happy to see him.
The houseguests watched the segment about Brooklyn Rivera and others eating Angela's charcuterie. She then apologized to Angela for eating her meat and cheese and said she will have a charcuterie board made for her in Utah.
Tucker revealed to the houseguests he was responsible for the fake AI messages in the house, and he apologized for accidentally upsetting Rubina with one of them by outing their showmance.
Julie lastly told the jury and Chelsie and Makensy about President Joe Biden dropping out of the election and Vice President Kamala Harris taking his place as the Democratic nominee.
Julie counted the votes, revealing Chelsie as the winner. The first four votes were for Chelsie, clinching the victory for her. Julie later revealed all seven votes were for Chelsie.
The host also named the top three for America's Favorite Player, listing off Tucker Des Lauriers, Quinn Martin and Angela Murray. Tucker ultimately won the award.
The show then ended with everyone singing the Jankie World theme song.
Who won part 1 of the final Head of Household competition on 'Big Brother'?
Chelsie Baham won part one of the final HOH competition.
Who won part 2 of the final Head of Household competition on 'Big Brother'?
Makensy Manbeck won part 2 of the final HOH comp.
Who won part 3 of the final Head of Household competition on 'Big Brother'?
Makensy Manbeck ultimately won part three 6-5 over Chelsie Baham, securing the final HOH of the season and a spot in the final two. She also received the opportunity to pick who went with her to the final two, either Chelsie or Cam Sullivan-Brown.
Who made the final two on 'Big Brother 26'?
Makensy Manbeck voted to evict Cam Sullivan-Brown, bringing Chelsie Baham to the final two.
Contributing: Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY
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