While Matt and Jag made it to the final two ‘Big Brother 25’ finale, they were not the only duo that was formed throughout the milestone season.
Big Brother 25 came to an end on November 9, 2023 when Jag Bains was crowned the winner. Jag sat next to his closest ally in the game, Matt Klotz, in the final two. The two had worked closely together throughout the entire duration of the game in an alliance they named “The Minutemen.” After a grueling interrogation by the seven jury members, Jag ultimately took home the $750k grand prize with a five to two-jury vote.
Both Matt and Jag put up a fight during the finale in their final fight for the cash prize; however, Jag delivered a more harsh speech in which he took full credit for all major game moves. This speech ultimately convinced the jury that he was in fact the better player of the Minutemen alliance. Leading up to the finale, Matt and Jag had been working closely with Bowie Jane Ball.Bowie Jane became the last jury member during the live finale after Jag used his final Head of Household reign to stay loyal to his Minutemen alliance.
Leading up to the finale, Matt, Jag, and Bowie Jane consistently held the power in the game for numerous weeks. In doing so, the trio continued to evict all the remaining houseguests until it was just their three-person “Mafia” alliance left in the game. The trio was ultimately able to get some big targets out of the game including Cameron Hardin, Cory Wurtenberger, America Lopez, and Survivor legend Cirie Fields.
In the months leading up to the season premiere, many rumors speculated that the cast would consist of past Big Brother players. These rumors ultimately were proven to be false when a cast of brand-new houseguests was revealed. Upon moving into the famous house, relationships and alliances were quickly formed. Although Matt and Jag quickly had one of the first bonds of the game, there were numerous other duos that formed throughout the duration of the season as well.
5
Cory Wurtenberger and America Lopez
Among the cast of brand-new houseguests were two super fans of the show, Cory Wurteberger and America Lopez. At just 21 years old, Cory was the youngest cast member of season 25. Aside from being a huge fan of the show, reality TV runs in Cory’s family. His brother, Zach Wurtenberger, competed on Survivor season 42. While also being a reality TV fanatic, America is a 27-year-old medical receptionist. The two quickly hit it off upon moving into the famous house to live out their dream. In a shocking twist, America and Cory became one of two showmances that formed inside the Big Brother house this season.
Aside from being romantically interested in each other, the duo also worked well together in the game. Between the two, Cory and America had only won one competition all season long. Cory secured his only Head of Household reign during the first double eviction of the season. He used his short-lived power to evict Jared Fields from the game; however, this ultimately backfired as Jared soon returned to the house as a Big Brother Zombie.
Despite not winning many competitions together, Cory and America had a strong mental and social game. They understood all the small details of the game, making them capable of analyzing every little game move that took place. Unfortunately, while Cory knew exactly how to have successful game conversations with other players, America was not as good at it. Her constant talking and oversharing were ultimately the cause of their demise. During Jag’s secret Head of Household reign, he backdoored both America and Cory. Cory was the first of the duo to head to jury, with America following the next week.
4
Felicia Cannon and Cirie Fields
A more lowkey duo of the season was Felicia Cannon and Cirie Fields. With Felicia being the oldest female to ever compete on the show, the duo was a part of the group of older houseguests this season. All of the other houseguests looked at both Felicia and Cirie as the moms of the house. Nearly every night, Felicia and Cirie would cook dinner together for the entire house. They were also roommates. Therefore, they spent a majority of their time together. Similar to Cory and America, the two only had one combined competition win.
As the game began to near the end, Felicia and Cirie’s closest allies were getting evicted from the house one by one. Together, the two moms made it to the final five; however, things quickly began to go south for them. After Matt secured his first Head of Household reign, he nominated the duo. Then, he, along with Jag and Bowie Jane, began isolating themselves from Cirie and Felicia. The two ladies had no one else to spend time with besides each other. Unfortunately, this friendship was not long-lasting as Cirie and Felicia have not spoken since the finale.
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Cirie Fields and Jared Fields
The only duo of the season that was kept a secret was between Cirie and Jared. One of the major twists of the milestone season was not only that a Survivor legend was competing on the show, but that she was also secretly playing alongside her son. Although it was difficult to keep their mother-son relationship a secret, Cirie and Jared were still able to work together in the game. In fact, Cirie spent the first half of the season trying to protect Jared after he continued to put a target on his back.
Throughout their time together in the game, Cirie and Jared worked together in many of the same alliances. While doing so, they also formed their own, individual relationships with other houseguests. They would then continuously relay information back to each other to help them advance in the game. After dominating the game together for nearly the entire first half of the season, Jared was evicted during the first double eviction of the season. He then returned to the house for a week as a Big Brother Zombie. After losing his opportunity to win his way back into the game, Jared was ultimately evicted for good. Then, following his eviction, Cirie began to play a much more low-key game. In doing so, she made it all the way to the final five before being sent to the jury house.
The mother-son duo was not reunited until the live finale. During the finale, Cirie and Jared’s big secret was finally revealed to the entire cast. All the houseguests who were evicted prior to the start of the jury were made aware of this secret during their eviction interview with host Julie Chen Moonves. Then, the jury members were told the secret during the finale. With no surprise, nearly every single houseguests was left in complete shock upon learning the season’s biggest twist. The only person that had figured out their secret prior to this was Izzy Gleicher. Izzy revealed to Cirie and Jared during the premiere night that she knew their secret. Luckily for them, Izzy was loyal to the duo and kept their secret for her entire time in the game.
2
Jared Fields and Blue Kim
Aside from Izzy, there was only one other houseguest who eventually knew Cirie and Jared’s secret: Blue Kim. Jared and Blue were the second, more controversial, Big Brother showmance of the season. Similar to Cory and America, the duo were nearly inseparable; however, they had more combined competition wins than Cory and America did. Jared won two Head of Household reigns as well as one Power of Veto. Blue, on the other hand, only had one Power of Veto win throughout the entire season.
As the season went on and Blue and Jared became closer, Jared shared his secret with Blue. Similar to Izzy, Blue did not betray Jared and Cirie by revealing their secret to the rest of the house. In fact, Blue was not even sure if Cirie knew that she was aware of who she was. It was not until the day before Blue was evicted that she sat Cirie down to let her know that Jared had shared their secret with her. She assured Cirie that she would not say anything on her way out of the house or in the jury. It was then revealed during the finale that Blue also knew the secret.
1
Matt Klotz and Jag Bains
Without a doubt, the most powerful duo that was formed during Big Brother 25 was Matt and Jag. The two quickly formed a close friendship upon moving into the Big Brother house, which then turned into an alliance. When Matt won the Power of Invincibility, he used it to save Jag from being evicted by a unanimous vote. Then, when Jag won the final Head of Household, he chose to bring Matt with him to the final-two. As the game neared the end, Matt and Jag dominated it. Matt did not sit on the block until the final-four, while Jag had a total of ten competition wins. Jag not only won three Head of Households but also broke the record for the most Power of Veto wins in one season with seven total. They were the biggest threats of the game, yet no one could get them out of the game. This is why they ultimately found themselves sitting in the final two chairs together. There is no question that Matt and Jag were the duo that dominated the Big Brother game this season.
Season 15 of Big Brother can be streamed on Paramount Plus. A holiday spinoff, Big Brother Reindeer Games, premieres on December 11 on CBS.