‘Big Brother’ Winner Dan Gheesling Calls Playing Again a ‘Non-Option’
Although most Big Brother fans might agree that they don’t want to see returning players anytime soon after “All-Stars 2,” that doesn’t mean it’s entirely off the table. However, fans shouldn’t get their hopes up that Dan Gheesling, the winner of Big Brother Season 10, will return to the game.
Dan Gheesling is one of the most successful ‘Big Brother’ houseguests ever
Dan Gheesling is undoubtedly one of the best contestants to play Big Brother. The audience met Dan during season 10, where he played a masterful game and won it all in a unanimous 7-0 vote. After his win, many fans considered Dan one of the Big Brother greats due to his strategic thinking and ability to manipulate his fellow houseguests.
The former winner returned as one of four coaches in Big Brother Season 14, along with Janelle Pierzina, Britney Haynes, and Mike “Boogie” Malin. They each mentored three new players, but they all got the chance to play Big Brother again at the end of Week 3. And the four coaches agreed.
Dan fell right back into his old ways, and he made moves that are still talked about today. Of course, everyone remembers his infamous funeral, but he also made other cutthroat moves that cemented his place in the final two. Unfortunately for Dan Gheesling, the Big Brother Season 14 jury was put off by his backstabbing, and they awarded Ian Terry the win in a 6-1 vote.
The former player weighs in on his ‘Big Brother’ future
During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Dan Gheesling addressed whether or not he would ever play Big Brother again.
“For me, it’s a non-option for a couple of reasons,” he explained. “The number one reason is my family. I’m starting to realize when people say it goes by fast, I can already feel that. And to be gone from my three kids for three months, I couldn’t do that. At the same time, when I say I couldn’t, there’s a price tag on everything. So I just don’t see that happening ever. Maybe when they’re older, if they’re in college or something, but that’s so far away.”
Dan continued, “If we were to boil it down to like two points, one is my family. And two is, to play the game, at least how I play the game, I have to have this intense drive. Both times, I was willing to do whatever it took. I was like training before the season. I was there. I was ready.”
“And I can tell you right now, I don’t have that passion to play right now,” the former winner concluded. “I don’t really have an incentive to play. I don’t have that drive to play the game. I just don’t. I like to compete in other things, but Big Brother, I just don’t have that. I feel like I’m done.”
It sounds like Dan Gheesling is officially retired from Big Brother. However, it’s difficult to believe him completely — just look at how many times Tom Brady announced his retirement.
What changes would Dan Gheesling make to ‘Big Brother’?
Although Dan Gheesling no longer has the drive to play Big Brother, he still has some thoughts about what changes CBS should make to the game.
“I would go one season back to basics, zero twists,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “And I know that the executives wouldn’t approve that or anything like that. I just feel like that could be really, really interesting. And just see how it plays out, one season where it’s vanilla, and see what happens. Because, to me, the most interesting part of Big Brother are the people and the interactions between the people.”
Dan added, “And when you have a really good cast, and you don’t have those twists, it can give them a chance to get really creative and shine and do some things. Selfishly, I’d like to see what a vanilla no twist season would look like. It could be the most boring thing in the world, but I would just like to see how it would play out.”
Big Brother Season 24 premieres on Wednesday, July 6, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
