'Big Brother 27' Runner-Up Vince Panaro Admits the Mistake That Cost Him the Game: 'My Jury Management Wasn't There' (Exclusive)
After 83 days inside the Big Brother house, Vince Panaro came up just short of the grand prize, finishing as the runner-up of Big Brother 27 to winner Ashley Hollis in what some consider a major upset.
The California native, 34, seems to know where he went wrong. "I did tell too many lies and I had too many Final Twos, and it was just that self-preservation desperation," he admits exclusively to Men's Journal a few hours after the finale. "I’ve wanted this for so long. I can’t lose. I can’t go out early. And then before you know it, you’re at the end and I’m looking around, I’m like, sorry. It’s almost… My jury management was not there."
When asked about facing the jury, Vince acknowledges that Ashley delivered a much stronger performance, which she had been practicing for days. "She’s a good public speaker. I am an introvert who is not good at public speaking," he says. "I knew I was going to get grilled. I didn’t give great answers. I thought about it nonstop, but then you’re asked it on the spot and the lights went out. It was just part two of HOH over again. The gears just stopped turning."
Vince admits he let emotions get the better of him. "One of my Big Brother idols is [season 22 winner] Cody Calafiore, and he’s calm, cool, collected, always composed. And I was like, I want to be like him. And I do the polar opposite, and I get emotional and I cry, and then find myself getting upset. I learned a lot about myself of needing to compose myself better in high-stake situations."
He adds, "I’m going to learn from it, and I’ll be a better person because of it. I’ll be able to laugh at myself looking back as I watch the season eventually."
Much of Vince’s game centered around his close alliance with Morgan Pope, who had been essentially running the game alongside him for weeks. Their relationship — and the way it was perceived by the outside world given he had a longtime girlfriend back home — was a recurring theme of the season.
"Morgan was my best friend in the game, and you’re in a game where you assume everyone’s lying to you. Her and Lauren were the only two that I didn’t think ever lied to me, and that’s hard to find. So you get close to these people," Vince explains. "Morgan was a great friend to me, and she always went to bat for me. She was very proactive with having my back. I’m proud to have played the game with her."
When asked if he had planned to cut Morgan if he had the chance, Vince says he wrestled with the decision. "I was very back and forth on it. Entering part two of the HOH, I was thinking I was going to take her to the end because I could showcase loyalty," he says. "If I took her, it could be like, look, everyone thinks I’m a liar, and I was loyal to at least one person."
Despite the heartbreak of coming so close to winning his favorite show, Vince insists he wouldn’t trade the experience: "Believe it or not, I would do this every summer for the rest of my life if I could. It’s been the best experience of my life. I stand by that. If I ever played again, I would play totally different because now I don’t have that panic mindset."