Chelsie Baham, Cam Sullivan-Brown, Makensy Manbeck. Sonja Flemming/CBS (3)
When he wasn’t shouting out his dogs at the crib, Big Brother 26 third-place finisher Cam Sullivan-Brown was doing his best to keep the two most powerful women in the house on his side.
Speaking to Us Weekly exclusively after the season finale, Cam, 25, recounted how he aligned himself closely with eventual winner Chelsie Baham and runner-up Makensy Manbeck. While viewers at home saw his often flirtatious relationship with both of them — and the jealousy from Chelsie that resulted — Cam says he was leaning on his social game to set himself up for the final stretch.
“I did think they had a very close friendship throughout the house and I knew that I would have to weasel my way in between them in some way, shape or form. I didn’t do it effectively,” he said.
Cam’s most famous interactions with Makensy and Chelsie came during “Jankie Week,” a twist that kept the houseguests locked outside for an entire week, sleeping on cots, playing carnival games and eating nothing but pizza and ice cream. During that time, Cam grew closer to Makensy — literally, moving his cot closer to hers and cuddling in plain view of Chelsie.
Chelsie’s fellow houseguests caught on to her jealousy, even causing Leah Peters to joke about her “crush” in the diary room.
“I do just enjoy cuddles,” Cam added. “That’s just me. I just like to get cuddled.”
Though nothing romantic ever materialized between Cam and either houseguest, his relationship with the two of them kept him safe despite his poor track record in competitions. Cam, a former Division I football player, won only one competition all season (by comparison, 50-year-old Angela Murray won three).
During the game, his fellow houseguests speculated that Cam was throwing competitions, though Cam insists he was trying. He also said his social game powered him to the end, made all the more impressive by his failure to win power.
“I played in pressurized situations on the football field so many times, but I guess when it comes to being in the Big Brother house and doing those competitions, it truly is just the yips,” he told Us.
Despite his yips, Cam would love another crack at playing Big Brother and potentially winning the $750,000 grand prize.
“The Big Brother game is something so specific and so special, I would love to do it again,” he said. “Maybe I would do something a little bit differently, and maybe that’s just winning some competitions. But other than that I think I played a damn good game.”
