Big Brother 12 is the twelfth season of the American reality television series Big Brother. It is based upon the Netherlands series of the same name, which gained notoriety in 1999 and 2000. The season premiered on CBS on July 8, 2010 and lasted ten weeks until the live finale on September 15, 2010. The twelfth season saw a slight increase in ratings when compared to the past season of the series. The season premiered to a total of 7.35 million viewers, a slight increase from the previous season's launch and the highest for a premiere episode since Big Brother 8. The season finale had a total of 7.89 million viewers, continuing to average slightly above the past season and the highest since the eighth edition. In total, the series averaged 7.76 million viewers, higher than that of the previous two seasons and the highest since Big Brother 5 in 2004. Big Brother 12 was initially set to feature a total of 14 HouseGuests, though one HouseGuest left the show before entering the house and was not replaced. The series ended after 75 days, in which HouseGuest Hayden Moss was crowned the Winner, while Lane Elenburg was crowned the Runner-Up.
Format
The format remained largely unchanged from previous seasons. HouseGuests were sequestered in the Big Brother House with no contact to and from the outside world. Each week, the HouseGuests took part in several compulsory challenges that determined who would win food, luxuries, and power in the House. The winner of the Head of Household competition was immune from nominations and was instructed to nominate two fellow HouseGuests for eviction. After a HouseGuest became Head of Household he or she was ineligible to take part in the next Head of Household competition. HouseGuests also took part in Have vs. Have-Not competitions for which they would be divided into either the "Haves" or the "Have Nots" depending on their performance in the competitions. HouseGuests that became "Have Nots" for the week were only allowed to eat slop and a weekly food restriction, chosen by the viewing public, take cold showers, and sleep on lawn chairs. The winner of the Power of Veto competition won the right to save one of the nominated HouseGuests from eviction. If the Veto winner exercised the power, the Head of Household then had to nominate another HouseGuest for eviction.
On eviction night all HouseGuests except for the Head of Household and the two nominees voted to evict one of the two nominees. Before the voting began the nominees had the chance to record a final message to their fellow HouseGuests. This compulsory vote was conducted in the privacy of the Diary Room by the host Julie Chen. In the event of a tie, the Head of Household would break the tie and reveal their vote in front of the other HouseGuests. Unlike other versions of Big Brother, the HouseGuests could discuss the nomination and eviction process open and freely. The nominee with the most votes from the other HouseGuests was evicted from the House on Thursday and interviewed by Julie Chen. HouseGuests could voluntarily leave the House at any time and those who broke the rules were expelled by Big Brother. The last seven evictees of the season, known as the jury members, voted for the winner on the season finale. The jury members were sequestered in a separate house and were not allowed to watch the show except for segments that included all of the HouseGuests. The jury members were not shown any Diary Room interviews or any footage that included strategy or details regarding nominations.
HouseGuests
Fourteen HouseGuests had been cast for this season, but one, Paola Aviles, a 30-year-old real estate agent, voluntarily left during the sequester period and was not replaced. The HouseGuests entered the House on July 3, 2010.
Name Age Residence Occupation Result 24 Tempe, Arizona College student WinnerDay 75 24 Decatur, Texas Oil rig salesman Day 75 32 Bayonne, New Jersey Insurance adjuster 22 Huntington, Arkansas Hotel sales manager 34 West Hollywood, California College professor 30 Riverside, California High school swim coach 32 Elgin, Illinois Web designer 40 Texarkana, Arkansas Deputy sheriff & Sergeant 25 Las Vegas, Nevada Cocktail waitress 24 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Boutique manager 39 Miami Beach, Florida Podiatrist 24 Glen Carbon, Illinois Model 27 Tampa, Florida Bartender
Future appearances
Brendon Villegas and Rachel Reilly returned for Big Brother 13 in 2011. While engaged, the duo competed on The Amazing Race 20, and after marrying, they returned for The Amazing Race 24. Rachel later returned for The Amazing Race 31 with her sister (and Big Brother 15 HouseGuest) Elissa. Rachel also made guest appearances on Big Brother 20 to host a Veto competition. In 2018, Reilly and Villegas participated in Celebrity Fear Factor. In 2022, Reilly appeared as a contestant on the USA Network reality competition series, Snake in the Grass. In 2023, Reilly competed on the first season of Peacock's reality TV series The Traitors. In 2025, Reilly competed on Food Network's TV series Worst Cooks in America Celebrity Edition: Heroes vs. Villains. Later that year, Reilly returned to Big Brother as the surprise Houseguest on Big Brother 27.
Britney Haynes returned for Big Brother 14 in 2012 as a coach to new HouseGuests. Britney also competed on The Amazing Race 31 with fellow Big Brother 14 Housemate, Janelle Pierzina. In 2023, Haynes made brief appearances in the premiere and finale episodes of Big Brother 25. Later that year, Haynes competed on Big Brother Reindeer Games. In 2025, Haynes competed on the third season of The Traitors.
Hayden Moss competed on Survivor: Blood vs. Water with his then-girlfriend, Kat Edorsson of Survivor: One World.
In 2020, Enzo Palumbo returned to compete on Big Brother: All-Stars. In 2022, Palumbo competed on The Challenge: USA. In 2025, Palumbo competed on The Amazing Race 38 partnered with a his brother.
Summary On Day 1, the original thirteen HouseGuests entered the house. Following their introductions, the HouseGuests all learned of the Saboteur twist, in which one HouseGuest was in the house solely to cause drama amongst the group, and could target an individual HouseGuest or the group as a whole. If the Saboteur can make it past the fifth week, they will earn a $50,000 prize and will immediately leave the game. The Saboteur would play the game much like their fellow HouseGuests, being eligible to win Head of Household as well as the Power of Veto. Following this news, the HouseGuests divided into two teams of six to compete in their first Head of Household competition; due to the uneven number of HouseGuests, Andrew chose to sit out from the competition, and it was later revealed that he had earned immunity from the first eviction for doing so. HouseGuests then competed in the "Hot Dog, We Have a Wiener" Head of Household competition. For this competition, one member from each team would ride an over-sized hot dog wiener across the backyard in an attempt to reach the other side without falling; the HouseGuests would earn money depending on when they made it across, with the first HouseGuest receiving $10,000 and the amount decreasing with each person. The HouseGuests could only keep the money if their team won the competition. The last HouseGuest to make it across for their team would win the title of Head of Household. Hayden became the first Head of Household of the season, while Monet was the winner of the $10,000 prize. Upon returning inside, the lights in the house were shut off, and when they were turned back on it was revealed that the Saboteur had locked the storage room, meaning the HouseGuests had nothing except for slop to eat for the next few days.
On Day 2, Enzo, Hayden, Lane, and Matt formed "The Brigade" alliance, with the goal of being the last four HouseGuests remaining. Brendon and Rachel formed a romantic relationship early on after learning they both had a background in science. On Day 4, HouseGuests competed in the "Sweet Tooth" food competition. For this competition, HouseGuests split into three teams, with one member from each team participating at a time. The participants were required to crawl through caramel to reach a pool of popcorn where they would search for plastic teeth; the first two teams to find eight teeth would win, while the losing team would be the Have-Nots for the week. The team of Kathy, Matt, Rachel, and Ragan were the Have-Nots for the week. The Brigade alliance decided to target Brendon for eviction, fearing that he may be the Saboteur as well as a strong physical threat. The group also debated nominating Rachel for eviction due to her romantic relationship with Brendon. Despite this, the Saboteur later placed an "X" of tape on both Britney and Kathy's Memory Wall images after an argument between the two of them occurred, implying they should be nominated that week. On Day 5, Hayden chose to nominate Brendon and Rachel for eviction. When picking players for the Power of Veto competition, Andrew, Enzo, and Monet were selected to compete; Annie was selected to host. On Day 7, HouseGuests competed in the "Cinco de Mayonnaise" Power of Veto competition. For this competition, HouseGuests had to break open various mayonnaise filled pinatas, with various letter tiles inside of them. The HouseGuests would collect tiles and attempt to spell a word with their collected tiles; the HouseGuest with the longest correctly spelled word would win the Power of Veto. Brendon was the winner of the Power of Veto. Following this, The Brigade alliance debated nominating Kathy in his place in an attempt to ensure Rachel's eviction, however, they later feared that Annie had formed an alliance with Brendon and Rachel. In an attempt to cause paranoia in the house, the Saboteur later made a message stating that two HouseGuests were lifelong friends who were playing the game together; this was not true. Annie later found out that she was a candidate to be nominated, and attempted to convince Hayden to nominate Britney for eviction instead. On Day 9, Brendon chose to use the Power of Veto to remove himself from the block, with Annie being nominated in his place. On Day 13, Annie became the first HouseGuest to be evicted from the house in a unanimous vote of ten to zero.