Over the past few days, the conversation about CBS's Big Brother has completely changed. Viewers quickly went from speculating about showmances and rooting for their favorite players to expressing condolences for Frankie Grande after the death of his grandfather on Tuesday. Then, as the houseguests and fans alike were still watching Frankie cope with his loss, Derrick Levasseur's grandfather passed away on Friday night. Derrick cannot leave the Big Brother house to see his family without self-evicting, and like Frankie, he has chosen to stay in the game, citing his family as his inspiration.
Derrick received a letter from his family containing the sad news of his grandfather's death and the live feeds show he was immediately given support from his fellow houseguests, including Frankie, who has a deeper understanding of exactly what Derrick is going through than anyone else. Not only have they both just lost their grandfathers, but they lost them while competing on Big Brother, where they cannot communicate with their families and are constantly being watched. Hopefully the two houseguests can put the game aside and lean on each other as they both go through such a difficult time in the house.
When Frankie decided to stay in the competition, he said it was what his grandfather would have wanted him to do, which his sister Ariana confirmed on her Twitter. Derrick's reason for staying is also family-oriented: he wants to win the game for his wife and young daughter.
Though he cannot directly speak to them, Derrick is planning on recording a message in the Big Brother diary room to send to his family for his grandfather's funeral. Aside from the letter bearing the heartbreaking news, Derrick can't hear back from his family until he becomes Head of Household and gets a letter from home.
In an upsetting twist, Derrick could've been HoH this week, but threw the competition so that Frankie could win and receive another letter from his family. Hopefully if Derrick makes it through this week's evictions, he can become HoH again, either through winning the HoH competition on his own or receiving the same kind of sympathy that he showed Frankie, so that he can hear from his own family again.
Our thoughts are with Derrick and his family during this difficult time.
Image: CBS
