Rick Devens just became the first Survivor player to win Big Brother. He walked away with $750,000, a $50,000 America’s Favorite Houseguest prize, and an extra $10,000 from a competition. The vote was six to one from the jury, with runner-up Taylor Brown on the wrong side of that split.
Devens’s path to victory involved a twist that brought three reality TV veterans into the Big Brother house. He was joined by Dee Valladares, his fellow Survivor 50 opponent and season 45 winner, and Angela Murray, a Big Brother season 26 alum. The trio were labeled icons by the show once they entered the house, and the name stuck.
The Final Eviction That Changed the Vote
Devens chose to evict Drew Campbell at the final HOH. The decision changed the dynamics of the finale, and Devens now says he was genuinely worried about what would happen if Taylor Brown had been the one to walk out on stage instead.
“I really don’t think it would have taken much time,” Devens told reporters. “I think if Taylor walked out on stage and said, ‘Lala, we’re voting for Drew,’ Lala would have gone, ‘Okay. You’ll explain to me later.’ I think that’s all it would have taken, because those two were so tight.”
He was concerned that Taylor could have flipped Lala in seconds, setting up a final two that did not include him. “I was legitimately very concerned about it,” he said.
After the show ended, Devens had time to speak with other houseguests, including the jury members. He asked if they would have voted him to win in a Drew vs. Devens matchup.
“No, I didn’t,” he said. “I haven’t had those conversations. I now know that Drew and Taylor, neither of them were gonna take me to the final two, so that makes me feel better about it. But I haven’t had any conversations about how a Drew, Devens vote would have gone.”
The jury’s silence on that point is notable. Devens admits he has not heard from them directly, but his reading of the situation is that neither Drew nor Taylor wanted him in the final two.
“I now know that Drew and Taylor, neither of them were gonna take me to the final two, so that makes me feel better about it.”
What Melody and Barrett Would Have Done
Devens also considered the votes of Melody Morris and Barrett Pfeiffer, two jurors who were in the game with him. He believes both would have voted for Drew if given the chance.
“I think it’s very possible,” he said. “I think Drew’s and my game was super similar, very intertwined. A lot of the moves we made, we made together. We’d won about the same number of comps. He dragged me to the final three. I would have dragged him to the final two. So I think that they had every right to vote however they wanted. I would be shocked if Melody hadn’t gone for Drew, and then Barrett would have been the deciding vote.”
That would have been a tighter vote than the six to one that actually happened. Devens acknowledges the risk but insists he had to act on his instincts.
“I had to do what I had to do, unfortunately,” he said.
Cutting Dee at Final Three
When asked if he would have taken Dee Valladares with him to the final two, Devens was blunt about the dynamic between two veteran players.
“I don’t,” he said. “I think I would have cut Dee at final three to not sit next to her, and I think Dee would have cut me at final three to not sit next to me. Two Survivor players: We know each other too well.”
The exchange suggests a mutual understanding that neither wanted to face the other in the finals. Both were willing to sacrifice the other to avoid the awkwardness of sitting next to a familiar face.
What Survivor Taught Him
Devens credits his Survivor experience for his ability to pivot quickly in Big Brother. The two games move at very different speeds, and he adapted by learning to flip votes at the last second.
“On Survivor, everything is so much faster, so you turn a vote at the last second almost out of necessity,” he explained. “Dee and I came on here, and I think a lot of Big Brother is you set your vote, you decide what you’re going to do, and then you just wait ’til the live show.”
He contrasted his approach with the more cautious style of the regular Big Brother players. “Whereas her and I would go, ‘I think we can still flip this. Let’s go work on this.’ Even sometimes, to our own detriment, we were just bored and were like, We can flip this. Let’s do it. Why not?”
That willingness to change plans was a key part of his strategy. He and Dee were constantly looking for ways to shift alliances, even when it put them at personal risk.
Dealing With Rejection
Devens also talked about the difference between his approach and that of other houseguests. When he pitched an idea and it was rejected, he kept trying.
“I learned on Survivor that there’s no shame in going home early or making a dumb move and getting voted out,” he said. “Great players do that all the time, so you can’t be afraid of that.”
He compared his persistence to the reactions of other players. “On this season of Big Brother, I would make a pitch to someone, and they’d be like, ‘No.’ I think a lot of other houseguests would have gone, Oh, that didn’t go well, not doing that again.”
His response was different. “Whereas I’m like, I got all week, I’m going to make that same pitch to him tonight, and then I’ll pitch it to him again tomorrow morning. And by the end of the week, so many times they were like, ‘Okay, I get it, let’s do it.'”
That persistence paid off, but it also created tension. Devens admitted that his constant flipping could sometimes work against him.
The Icons’ Advantage
One of the central debates of the season was whether the veteran icons had an unfair advantage. Some houseguests asserted that the icons had “privileges and advantages” throughout the game.
Devens pushed back on that criticism. He argued that the regular players had plenty of opportunities to eliminate the icons but chose not to.
“Yeah, and then they blame that we had all these privileges and advantages,” he said. “It’s like, you guys had week two through 11 to come together. There’s 14 of you, there’s three of us. You could have gotten us out at any time, and you didn’t do it. Don’t blame our privilege now. Like, come on.”
He pointed out that the numbers were heavily in favor of the regular players. “There’s 14 of you, there’s three of us,” he repeated.
Who Wanted the Icons Gone
Devens broke down which players he believed made the right move and which did not. He credited some players with recognizing the value of having the icons around.
“I think some of them made a really good move; the [players] that we were working with, they realized that we were valuable to them, that we were good shields for them, and that’s what we sold them,” he said.
Others were more cautious. “Others, I think, just didn’t want to make a big splash, didn’t want to put a target on themselves, and that’s obviously something that we weren’t worried about,” he added.
The result, according to Devens, was that the icons were never eliminated despite outnumbering them 14 to three. “I feel like if you wanted us out, you could have,” he concluded.
The Next Reality Show
With Big Brother behind him, Devens is thinking about his next move. He has been asked about Survivor part three, Big Brother All-Winners, and The Traitors.
“I’m open,” he said.
The options are wide open. Survivor part three would bring him back to the game that made him famous. Big Brother All-Winners would pit him against other winners, a natural fit given his recent success. The Traitors is a newer format that has drawn interest from the reality TV world.
Devens’s honesty about the final vote is refreshing. He admits he was worried, he admits he cut Dee, and he admits he thinks Melody and Barrett would have voted for Drew.
That openness is part of what made him a favorite. The America’s Favorite Houseguest title is a fan vote, and Devens clearly connected with viewers.
His gameplay was strategic, persistent, and occasionally risky. He turned votes at the last second, pitched ideas repeatedly, and refused to be embarrassed by failure. Those qualities carried him to the top.
The irony is that the icons were never eliminated. Devens won the game, and now he gets to pick his next challenge.
What Comes Next
Devens has proven he can win the biggest reality games. Whether he returns to Survivor, takes on Big Brother All-Winners, or tries The Traitors, one thing is clear: he is not done playing.
“I’m open,” he said, leaving the door wide for whatever comes next.
The reality TV world is watching.
Source material: “Rick Devens on How ‘Survivor’ Prepped Him to Win ‘Big Brother,’ Canceling on James Gunn’s ‘Superman 2’ Cameo and If He’d do ‘Traitors’: “I’m Open”,” The Hollywood Reporter.
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