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‘Big Brother’ Elimination Recap: Karma Comes to Play, a Surprising Kiss Occurs

Payback’s a bitch! After Big Brother‘s explosive week of retribution, Paulie sits on the block, positive he’ll be sent home at the finish of the Thursday, August 18, live elimination episode. He and his BFF Corey have remained on the chopping block after Victor dominated the HOH and veto competitions.

Big Brother Cast
Big Brother Cast

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The all-male Executives alliance is officially caput following Paulie’s explosive good night to Natalie: “You’re as fake as those things on your chest.” The former master manipulator dug his own grave with his antics prior to August 11’s double eviction, and it would seem karma has decided his fate. But nothing is over in the BB house until Julie Chen sings (or announces your elimination).

Will Paulie get the boot, or will he mastermind a way to oust Corey instead?

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The Many Shades of Paulie

First, Paulie breaks down and metaphorically throws in the towel. Then he reboots and hustles harder than viewers were prepared for. Never count Paulie out. After a near breakdown and poor show of sportsmanship — he refused to bake an apple pie, which was his punishment from the veto competition — everything turned around when Corey gave the down-and-out hunk the ultimate pep talk.

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Theirs is the truest showmance of BB18. There’s more love between those gorgeous men than most couples that appear on the CBS show. Paulie was on the verge of tears when Corey said, “I want to see the best person you can be.” He added, “Don’t break my heart. As your brother for life, brush it off. I love you, dude.” All that because Calafiore refused to bake some punishment pie … #swoon.

#Brenchel Had a Baby!

We all love a BB throwback! This week’s edition: BB12 and BB13’s Rachel Reilly and Brendan Villegas. Rachel won season 13 after the pair linked up on the reality series’ 12th edition. Since their joint summers in the house, the couple has gotten married and competed on The Amazing Race, and now they’ve welcomed a baby: Adora Borealis.

The couple — with baby in tow — shared that they haven’t quite shed their BB skin, and compared parenthood to the famous game. “There’s a lot of whining, a lot of crying and you’re usually messy,” said Brendan. Added Rachel: “It’s more stressful to be on Big Brother.” That’s right — BB is tougher than motherhood!

As for the gameplay on BB18, Brendan admitted: “We really are just scratching our heads at what these people are doing.” And Rachel said she’s ready for another female winner (she was the last woman to win in 2011): “Girls, step it up! They need to ditch the guys.”

Spill That Tea, Jury House

We then got our first peek inside the jury house! Da’Vonne was obviously chilling with a cool drink by the pool when Zakiyah rolled up in a BB-plated town car, and Da’Vonne wasn’t pleased about the new arrival. Da tearfully hugged Z and uttered a shocked, “No.”

As Z filled Mama Da in on the happenings since her eviction, Da couldn’t help but #SMH: “Wait a damn minute. He won the veto, and you’re sitting next to me? If that isn’t a damn wake up call …” Z thought so, too: “Clearly, I’ve been blind the entire time.”

Then Bridgette rolled up in her town car, and the first three jury members sat down for a viewing party. The trio offered middling commentary, but the best tidbit came when Da uttered, “I need a glass for all this tea.”

Love Is All You Need

Back to the BB house we go! Julie Chen kicked off the eviction, and Paulie gave the best speech yet. He basically said he loves everyone and went down the couch saying sweet somethings to every single houseguest. Nat and Nicole have hearts of gold. He can’t wait to see everyone outside the BB house, and Corey, of course, is a brother from another mother: “I have truly created a bond with you. I consider you a part of the Calafiore family.” It was a verified love fest, especially when he dipped and kissed Michelle. What a showmantic moment.

So how did Corey top that? Well, he didn’t try. His response: “Paulie hit it straight on.” But he had a little something for his lady love, “Nicole, you are the sweetest, cuddliest, most harmless snake I’ve ever met.”

Shortly after, Paulie was evicted in a unanimous vote. Peace and blessings were felt as the crew hugged it out.

Aw, Shucks, Julie Chen

Paulie triumphantly exited the house and swooped Chen into a glorious hug, and she was lovingly cheeky as usual: “That’s not going to get you back in the house!” To that, he replied, “I want to stay here with you.” So flirtatious for a Thursday night!

As the typical grilling began, there was a giddiness in the air. Paulie wasn’t upset or shocked that he left, and didn’t seem disappointed. Chen asked about his downfall, and he admitted it was inevitable: “Eventually people are going to figure things out.”

But about the crying? “At the end, it was all strategy,” Paulie said. “I was trying to get some sympathy in the house. [But] crying doesn’t work for men as much as it works for women.” Viewers also got a hint about his and Zakiyah’s relationship potential. The fourth jury member said, “It’s hard to have an emotional connection in this game. I think it’s a little too early to tell.” But our meters tipped negatively when he added, “There were some things I was shown in the house that made me nervous.”

BB Updates

The twists are winding down. The BB airplane tickets officially expired, but all the houseguests opened theirs just to see. Somehow, Paul was right the entire time, and his did contain the round trip. Although it meant nothing, Chen offered her congratulations.

Only two America’s Care Packages remain, and the next one is huge. The winner, who can only be Corey, Michelle, Victor or Paul, will receive safety and become co-HOH.

Tell Us: Did Paulie deserve his eviction?

Big Brother airs on CBS Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET, Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET and Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.

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