Skip to main content

A month after Big Brother 22 began, The Challenge star and Cody Calafiore’s little brother Paulie shared their grandfather sadly passed away. Hopefully, the BB20 runner-up will remain strong and continue competing after he hears the news.

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. Pictured: Cody Calafiore and Paulie Calafiore
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. Pictured: Cody Calafiore and Paulie Calafiore | Charles Syke

Paulie Calafiore and Cody Calafiore both competed on ‘Big Brother’

In 2014, New Jersey-based soccer coach Cody Calafiore competed on Big Brother 16. An early member of the doomed Detonators alliance, he later settled in with the dominant Bomb Squad and formed a final two, The Hitmen, with eventual winner Derrick Levasseur.

The soccer coach excelled socially and physically as he walked away with three Head of Household and three Power of Veto competitions, the fifth houseguest in franchise history to do so.

He won his way to the end and chose the other Hitman to sit next to, only to lose by a vote of 7-2. Many people consider this one of the worst moves in BB history because he would have likely won against Victoria Rafaeli.

His little brother Paulie competed two seasons later and quickly aligned with the returning players. Although he started well, his multiple blow-ups led to him becoming a house target, and he ended up placing 8th in the competition. 

Cody Calafiore returned for ‘Big Brother 22’

While Paulie stayed in the reality competition sphere and began competing on MTV’s The Challenge, Cody started acting. However, the BB16 runner-up returned for the second edition of All-Stars to prove his ability as a competitor.

After winning the first HOH of the season, he set himself up in a good position and got into several alliances, including Final Two deals with Nicole Franzel and Cody Enzo.

A fan approached the CBS studio and broadcasted, “Nicole and Cody are playing everyone,” which spooked multiple houseguests and threatened his position in the house.

Additionally, Kaysar Ridha exposed his game in his eviction speech, again putting all eyes on Cody. However, multiple events, including a blow-up between Christmas Abbott, Da’Vonne Rogers, and Bayleigh Dayton, served as a distraction. 

Cody and Paulie Calafiore’s grandfather died

Shortly before Episode 15 aired, Paulie revealed he and Cody’s grandfather, “Pop Pop,” passed away in a lengthy Instagram post. The Challenge star explained their Pop Pop lived a year longer than doctors thought he would and called him a “bull” due to his strength.

He also noted his grandfather served as the “protector” of their family and never missed one of their wrestling matches or soccer games. It’s unclear if Cody has heard what happened or not, but he did go into the Diary Room after Paulie shared the news and has worn sunglasses around the house since.

Related

Paulie Calafiore Compares ‘Big Brother’ and ‘The Challenge,’ Says No ‘Challenge’ Stars Could Do ‘Big Brother’

Paulie believes the death will be hard on his brother but “knows how strong he is.” His girlfriend and The Challenge champ Cara Maria Sorbello commented on the post and honored the grandfather, referring to him as “a real legend.” Derrick also sent his condolences to the family.

Big Brother 22: All-Stars airs Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.

Follow Tamara Grant on Twitter.

Best in Entertainment