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‘Big Brother’ Vet Cody Calafiore Reveals He ‘Absolutely’ Warned Sibling Paulie About Showmances (Exclusive)

He vetoes this! Former Big Brother contestant Cody Calafiore told his older sibling, Paulie Calafiore, to stay away from showmances during the CBS series — but he didn’t listen! The season 16 runner-up opened up exclusively to Us Weekly about the advice he gave to the current houseguest, who he should make a final two deal with and more.

As BB fans know, Paulie, 27, is currently finishing out his second week as HOH. He’s not the No. 1 target in the house (looking at you, Frank!), but Cody fears that his cuddle sessions with Zakiyah could backfire.

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“I absolutely warned him about showmances. I said no showmances ever! I don’t think he should be flirting more because he doesn’t want to play a similar game to mine because people might catch onto that, and it would cause houseguests to become suspicious,” Cody, 25, tells Us.

Paulie and Zakiyah

“[If I could] I would warn him about how close he is getting with Zakiyah and that it is beginning to put a target on his back,” he adds. “But at this point, I feel like he is way too close to Zakiyah to pull away without hurting their relationship. So essentially I’d like to just give him a knock on the head and say, ‘Way to not listen, knuckle head!'”

He jokes: “My brother is definitely more of a ladies man than I am.”

The New Jersey resident and model knows what’s best. He previously placed second in 2014. He made it to the end by sticking with winner Derrick Levasseur and played a good strategic game. Cody hopes that Paulie continues to do the same — and that he aligns himself with two specific people.

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“James being one, and Corey being the other,” he tells Us. “The only problem with those two though is they both have huge crushes on two girls in the house [Natalie and Nicole], so I think that could be a problem moving forward.”

Another battle he might face? Cody thinks that Paulie should keep an eye on Frank and Da’Vonne. “I don’t think Frank wants a competitor like Paulie going deep in the game,” he says. “I think Da’Vonne is targeting Paulie because of how close he is getting to Zakiyah.”

Big Brother 18
CBS

For more with Cody, read the rest of his Q&A below:

US WEEKLY: What did you think when Paulie told the other contestants right away that he’s your brother?

CODY CALAFIORE: I was happy that he told the house right when the vets came in because I knew that they’d know who he was, and I didn’t want them to be able to hold that over his head.

US: How has his strategy been different than yours was?

CC: I think that he is doing a lot different than me. In the beginning I did my best to lay low and let people feel comfortable enough to open up to me whereas Paulie I feel like had to talk a lot more because unfortunately he was put right up on the block.

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US: What advice did you give him before he went into the house?

CC: I told him to make sure that he is not the person in the beginning of the game that is trying to play too hard. I told him to form strong relationships in the beginning and try to find one person you can trust above anyone else.

US: Is he better as a physical or social player?

CC: I think he is a better physical player than social. Paulie is a very intelligent person and is a fierce competitor, so I feel like that definitely outweighs his social game.

US: What could be his biggest downfall?

CC: The amount he talks without listening. I think Paulie tends to talk too much and then when he’s done talking it almost seems as if he’s trying to figure out the next thing he wants to say instead of listening. I’m hoping he can just dial down the amount he speaks and dial up the amount of listening he does.

US: What did you think of him finally being clued in about the Eight Pack?

CC: I was happy that he was finally clued in about the Eight Pack because to me it felt like people in that group were trusting him more than other members. I couldn’t believe he wasn’t clued in on it or included when he went up on the block to battle against Jozea.

US: What do you think of Tiffany being Vanessa’s sister?

CC: I love Tiffany and was hoping that Paulie would work with her right from the start. I know her sister definitely prepared her probably as much as I did with Paulie, and I felt like they should work together.

Cody and Derrick on Big Brother.
Lisette M. Azar/CBS via Getty Images

US: What is your relationship like with Derrick today?

CC: Derrick really has become family to me outside of the Big Brother house. I am pretty upset that I haven’t been able to get up to Rhode Island to see him and his family as much as I’d like to, but he still remains one of my best friends. I also get to see Frankie [Grande] a lot because I am always in New York, so I try to see him whenever he is free. He’s a very busy person!

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US: What did you do with your second place winnings?

CC: I paid off a chunk of my school loans with my winnings to help with the burden of the monthly payments I had after graduation.

US: Would you do an All-Stars season?

CC: Who knows. I like to leave everyone guessing on whether or not I’d return.

The next Big Brother airs on CBS Wednesday, July 20, at 8 p.m. ET.

 

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