When Melody Morris left the "Big Brother" 28 house and first got her phone back, she expected to be completely hated.
She was not anticipating the sheer number of people who liked her; she had fans. There were still those who didn't like her, but she said, "That's cool too, right?"
She believed that people saw themselves in her and that she was real. She cited the screaming, arguing with herself in the shower and the raw Diary Room sessions as things viewers appreciated.
Morris, 24, went into "Big Brother" seeking to challenge herself, whether that was through physical competitions or being strong mentally in the house. She said she felt she achieved that. She always tried her best in competitions despite not actually being the best at them, Morris joked.
She ended the show in fifth place and was part of the Season 28 Jury.
"Being in the house is hard," Morris said. "It definitely takes a toll on your mental health, but overall I think that I found pretty good outlets. Me screaming definitely one of them to achieve that goal and I also wanted to just go into the house and be myself and always make the decision that I thought was correct and I think I also achieved both of those things. It's been absolutely so rewarding."
Morris said she went into the house really trying to be herself and she's glad that viewers saw that too.
The Melody of it all
While in the house, Morris had a sort of flirtmance with castmate Drew Campbell. People loved watching the slow-burn, friends-to-lovers sort of dynamic that they had. To the point where major brands and outlets noticed them and tons of fan edits were made.
Morris said she was surprised that everyone was talking about "MeloDrew," the ship name between her and Campbell, 22. When they were in the house, the pair thought people wouldn't like them that much.
"When I got out, the whole Melody and Drew stuff — it's a lot; it's insane," Morris said. "We were not expecting that; I definitely wasn't. But yeah, it's really cool; it's very fun to watch back because you're like, 'Oh, this is what from another perspective.'"
Despite their closeness and affection in the house, Morris said she and Drew are still just friends. She said that their living in two different states plays a role.
"I don't really know, I don't think he does either we just were out of this 'Big Brother' bubble, so it's a lot to digest, so not really sure, but we're definitely still friends," she said.
All the edits and people shipping them feel like a lot, Morris said, but it's also very flattering to see and very sweet to watch from a third-person perspective. Especially to see how hot and cold they really were.
"I enjoy it, you know, you have to be somewhat of a narcissist to go on TV, so," Morris said.
Some fans suspected that Morris and Campbell were a sort of "cheatmance" similar to Season 27's Vince Panaro and Morgan Pope. People based this on a conversation Campbell and Morris had, where some thought they saw her indicate that she wasn't single. Others also believed that Campbell was still with his ex, Vanessa Dengler, with whom he had a very public relationship.
Morris said she can't speak for Campbell, but what she told him in the house was true: She was in an on-and-off relationship before going on the show. Morris said she was single in her intro package and she reiterated that that was the truth.
For the American People
Morris was in an alliance with her friends, Campbell, Barrett Pfeiffer and Mallory Aurichio, for the majority of the season called FAP, or For the American People.
When in the house, Morris thought that Campbell kept betraying them and was the cause of all of their plans not working out. After leaving, Morris realized that fellow alliance member Pfeiffer, 28, had more of a hand in that than she initially suspected.
In fact, Pfeiffer was the one relaying most things to the Icons, or Dee Valladares, Rick Devens and Angela Murray.
"Barrett was definitely doing the most in that house, dude," Morris said. "I wish me and Mallory just would've known; we knew something was up, but we didn't realize the extent of it and I really wish we would've earlier on in the game because I feel like we could've made a better alliance with Yash and Taylor instead of Drew and Barrett. Game is game; Barrett and Drew played a very good game. Played the hell out of me and Mallory for sure, but I mean, all is fair in love, war and 'Big Brother.'"
Morris plans on staying in touch with everybody and she genuinely loves the entire cast. She specifically mentioned staying close with FAP, Yash Patel and Valladares.
When asked about her friendship with Taylor Brown, Morris said she does plan on staying in touch with her. She said she loves her and needs to text her. The two were really close in the house; she thinks Brown is so funny and cool. She did feel bad for calling her "boring" in one of her exit interviews and she said a lot of people started to come at her for that.
"I genuinely feel bad, like I need to apologize," Morris said. "They made me do my press at like seven in the morning; I just got evicted and I feel bad. I didn't mean she was boring; I felt like her game might've been a little bit boring, but I really like her and I would love to stay friends with her."
She did see the videos fans made shipping herself and Brown, and Morris said she loves them.
Eagle-eyed fans also noticed that Morris and Lyric Medeiros did not follow each other on Instagram, despite being in two alliances together while in the house.
As for the two being friends, Morris said that they can be, but she feels like they are very different and there's nothing wrong with that. She said Medeiros is an amazing person; she is very smart and very kind. She just doesn't know if they would be super close because she is not very sweet while Medeiros is, so it can be a bit of a clash.
Morris said it sucked when she heard Season 28 winner Devens, 42, putting her down to Campbell after leaving the house. However, she knows she has said things in the house that she didn't necessarily mean.
"It definitely hurts my feelings a little bit, but also I completely understand," Morris said. "I still think Devens is awesome. I don't have much to say that's bad about him; he played a really great game. Some of the comments he made about me are a little bit insane, especially since I'm literally just a 24-year-old girl, but it's all love, I guess."
Life after 'Big Brother'
Before entering the show, Morris worked as a game show host in Arizona. Prior to leaving, she asked if she could return to work following "Big Brother." They told her they would love to have her back, but they also hoped that this would bring her a different opportunity.
Morris is also a comedian and has been a part of the comedy show Falling Apart in Phoenix. She said she is so excited to see all of her stand-up friends. She said she was on a comedy hiatus before going into the house. When she was on "Big Brother" 28, she realized how much she missed doing stand-up and is excited to get back into it.
Morris is definitely going to stay in Phoenix for a while; California is extremely expensive, she said. It is still her dream to move to San Diego and she wants to do that by some time next year. For right now, she is going to stay in the Valley, save up her money and figure out the logistics of how to move out there.
As for whether she would go on "Big Brother" again, for Morris, it's a no-brainer.
"If 'Big Brother' asked me to come back every single summer, I would say yes every single time," she said. "I would definitely love to go on any other reality show; I love reality; I have been watching reality TV since I was a kid. I've been obsessed with all of these shows forever. Playing on 'Big Brother' was a dream, so I would definitely do it again and I'd do a bunch of other reality shows too."
While Morris said she would go on any reality show, she's not quite sure about "Love Island." She gave a shout-out to everyone who does that and said that everyone is tea as hell on there, but she doesn't want footage of her making out with a bunch of people. She said it's cool, but it's just not for her.
As for advice for anyone applying to "Big Brother," Morris said seriously just be yourself.
"I submitted my video in one take, I took one take for my application video and that's what got me on the show," she said. "When I applied previously I had rehearsed my video and recorded it about a million times and I think that came off as a little bit less sincere than just a one take. I think they want everyone to be completely themselves at any given moment and just tell your life story in two seconds; I think that's the best advice I can give."
Do you have a tip or a question you need answered? Reach the reporter at dina.kaur@arizonarepublic.com. Follow @dina_kaur on X, formerly known as Twitter, and on Instagram @dina_kaur.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Melody Morris is unapologetically herself, in and out of 'Big Brother'
