SJC Long Island graduate Nicole Anthony took third place — and came back home to Bohemia with $25,000 — in Season 21 of “Big Brother,” the CBS reality show’s season finale revealed live Wednesday night.
Nicole Anthony ’17, left, and Host Julie Chen Moonves during the ‘Big Brother’ finale.
Anthony, a 2017 English adolescence education degree recipient, earned the coveted “America’s Favorite Houseguest” title on the globally popular show.
“I have learned the importance of practicing what you preach,” Anthony said in a CBS interview immediately after the finale aired. “I’ve always preached, ‘I’m awkward, I’m quirky, embrace the quirk, love yourself, I’m a butterfly.’
She continued: “And I realized coming into this game that was not the case. I preached it, but I didn’t practice it with myself. So I learned to embrace my quirk and that it’s okay to be funny, it’s okay to laugh, it’s okay to be quirky, it’s okay to love yourself. I learned to love myself and that means more than anything.”
#BBNicole shares what she'll tell her students about her #BB21 experience and what she learned this summer. #BB21Finale pic.twitter.com/TILs0DbyDQ
— Big Brother (@CBSBigBrother) September 26, 2019
Anthony — a lover of reading, listening to music and drawing — was a fan favorite on the show. Viewers loved the 24-year-old Connetquot High School graduate for her bubbly personality and her kind heart. Host Julie Chen Moonves summed it up as she embraced Anthony during the finale: “You’re definitely a butterfly lady.”
Check out how fans of Nicole Anthony (aka #BBNicole) are reacting to the ‘Big Brother’ finale on social media:
All hail America's (and the rest of the world's) FAVORITE PLAYER #BB21 #BB21Finale #BBNicole pic.twitter.com/n0ZOwDEKXa
— Wil Justice (@tearlesswil) September 26, 2019
I didn’t think it was possible to love Nicole any more than I already did. #BB21 pic.twitter.com/i3AvRjR37m
— Dalton Ross (@DaltonRoss) September 26, 2019
So happy #BBNicole won #AFP!! https://t.co/GQ3BfnX9PT
— Miss Michelle (@MichelleMG123) September 26, 2019
I am so so happy for #BBNicole winning America's favorite houseguest! You deserved it and $500,000 more. America loves you!
#BB21Finale
— Avery Steed (@avery_steed) September 26, 2019
In “Big Brother,” contestants live together in one house and face off in a number of games. Each week, one person is booted from the house and eliminated from the overall competition. The winner takes home $500,000.