In the premiere of Big Brother Reindeer Games, Nicole Franzel was seen talking out her past drama with both Brittney Haynes and Cody Calafiore.
It would not be a Big Brother game without some drama. During the premiere of Big Brother Reindeer Games, season 17 winner Nicole Franzel came face-to-face with two of her former closest friends whom she had not spoken to in years. Within the first few hours of being back inside the Big Brother house, Nicole was forced to confront both Brittney Haynes and Cody Calafiore over their past dramas.
By the end of the episode, their issues were resolved. But for those unfamiliar with the ordeal, here’s a bit of a refresher for the antics that caused a years-long grudge.
The Drama Between Nicole, Brittney, and Cody Happened in Past ‘Big Brother’ Seasons
There is always some drama when competing inside the Big Brother house, but usually the drama is from the game. This time around, there was some past drama that was ultimately forced to be hashed out during the first day of Big Brother Reindeer Games. Upon entering the game, Nicole was both shocked and a little nervous about seeing Brittney Haynes and Cody Calafiore. Nicole once had very close friendships with both of these players; however, after some drama unfolded, she had not spoken to either of them in nearly three years.
Early on in the episode, Nicole and Brittney sat down privately to discuss their issues. Although they seemingly quickly hashed things out, viewers at home were left in the dark about the root of their issues. Both being a part of the Big Brother community, Nicole and Brittney were extremely close friends before Nicole competing on Big Brother: All-Stars in 2020. When Nicole returned home from competing on the show, she learned that Brittney had been speaking badly about her online. At the same time as competing in the All-Star season, Nicole was getting ready to marry fellow former Big Brother player Victor Arroyo. Before the start of the season, Big Brother legend, Janelle Pierzina, who talks negatively about Nicole quite often online, tweeted out accusations that Nicole was charging guests to attend her wedding. Brittney then re-tweeted Janelle’s tweet, in a way subtly confirming the claims.
Throughout the All-Star season, there were also claims that multiple houseguests were caught making fun of season 14 winner and fellow All-Star player Ian Terry on the live feeds. Nicole, who had a close friendship with Ian before the season, was one of the houseguests accused of laughing at the jokes mocking Ian. Brittney, who was not a part of the All-Star cast, allegedly defended Ian publicly, while also speaking negatively about those involved in the drama, including Nicole.
Because their conversation was so vague, it is unclear what truly caused the falling out between Nicole and Brittney. Nicole did state that Brittney had tweeted some mean things about her while also revealing personal information that she had shared with Brittney in private conversations. Both Nicole and Brittney agreed that they want to leave the drama in the past and move on from it. The two even agreed they are not targeting each other in this new version of the Big Brother game.
Nicole’s past drama with Cody also stems from the same time of Big Brother: All-Stars. She and Cody first met while competing together on Big Brother season 16 in 2014. While on the show together, the two formed a good friendship. Then, when they reunited for the All-Stars season in 2020, their friendship grew even closer. Nicole and Cody had a final two-deal on the All-Stars season and were nearly inseparable while competing on the show. They were also in nearly all the same alliances together as well. Nicole and Cody both successfully made it to the final three of the All-Stars season.
This is when the drama began to unfold. After Cody won the final Head of Household competition, he had an important decision to make. He had to decide which final deal he wanted to stay loyal to. His deal with Nicole or his deal with Enzo Palumbo. Cody knew he was guaranteed a win if he took Enzo to the final two instead of Nicole. Because of this, he was forced to betray Nicole in the final moments of the season. Nicole was extremely hurt by this decision and ultimately took it quite personally. Although it was simply a game move, Nicole felt that Cody truly betrayed their friendship with the way he went about this decision.
Nicole stopped talking to Cody following the conclusion of the All-Stars season. Nicole and Cody both agreed to leave it in the past and move on. Instead of keeping the drama going, Nicole and Cody, along with their fellow season 16 alum Frankie Grande, all decided to work together in the new game.
Luckily, Nicole was able to talk out her past differences with both Brittney and Cody within the first few hours of returning to the famous house. Although it was probably not an ideal situation for Nicole to walk into the house to see Cody and Brittney, now that their differences have been put aside, she can focus on playing the new holiday-themed game.
Big Brother Reindeer Games will continue to air on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays on CBS for the next two weeks. Episodes from Big Brother can be streamed on Paramount+.