After hearing the news that Big Brother houseguest Frankie and his sister Ariana Grande lost their grandpa Tuesday, it has been widely asked when will Frankie find out about his grandpa's passing and what will he decide to do, remain in the house, or leave and be with his family. The decision is completely up to him, that is once production or Grande's family is able to inform him of the unfortunate news.
Sadly, this isn't the first time that the Big Brother franchise has had to deal with such a sensitive subject. There have been a few other instances where houseguests have lost family members or suffered family emergencies while inside the Big Brother house. While inside the house, houseguests are completely cut off from the outside world. They aren't allowed to communicate through any form of social media, have internet access, or even a television for current events. They are completely in the dark about what is happening in the world, and their lives outside of the game.
So how will Big Brother, or more importantly, Frankie, deal with the family emergency? Here are three other situations where family emergencies have occurred during the Big Brother season:
Season 13: "Evel Dick" Donato
In season 13 of Big Brother, fan favorite and Season 8 winner, Dick Donato returned to the house for a short time. On Day 6, Evel Dick made the decision to leave the house after being told about a personal emergency outside of the house. This was his statement for how the situation was handled:
I was summoned the Diary Room and the producers gave me some bad news about somebody I was very close with. Actually, they didn't even come on to the PA in the Diary Room, they came inside the Diary Room.
Big Brother Australia: Josh Moore
In 2012, Big Brother Australia fan favorite, Josh Moore, lost his brother Toby to a heart attack during his season of the show. He left the show to be with his family during the time of the tragedy and decided not to return.
Big Brother UK: Scott Mason
Also in 2012, Big Brother UK's Scott Mason was called into the BB Diary Room to be pulled from the house — for about 90 minutes — to learn that his sister had died. After spending time outside of the house, Scott decided he would return to the house and continue with his Big Brother game.
So Frankie's Big Brother future is completely in his hands. According to a tweet by Ariana, Frankie and her grandpa wanted Frankie to stay in the house if this were to happen. When he is informed by producers or a family member, he will be given the opportunity to decide for himself if he would like to stay in the house, or leave.
