Dan Gheesling, winner of BB10 and BB14 runner up, would suggest the later. He has always made it known that his stance on showmances is that they are a distraction for competitors. This is a viable point because Big Brother is a mental game where you should be focusing on the social dynamics of the entire house. To be surrendering all if not most of your time on learning what a cute girl's first pet was called, isn't the smartest idea. You need five votes to win, not just one!
Another argument for anti-showmances is the lack of secrecy it brings. It's always nice to keep your hand close in the game, never letting people know exactly where your loyalties lie. A showmance is like sticking up a giant sign that says "HEY, JORDAN AND I ARE PLAYING THIS GAME TOGETHER!" Of course, a player can have more than one interaction a day, but players will always know that x will come before y when the time comes to choose...well...sometimes.
This brings me to an interesting point, because even if players but their relationships first throughout the game, how many times have we've seen one of the partners cut ties at the bitter end in order to win? In BB5 Drew cut Diane at the final three because he felt that there was no way he could defeat her in the end. This was the girl that he had been hooking up with for the last three months, the person that protected him when his alliance fell to pieces. Jon and Neda from BB Can2 could be seen as another example, although I'm not going to count them as a showmance since there wasn't any real romantic interaction in the house and I believe that classifying them as a showmance just because its a woman and a man isn't fair. Jon cut Neda at the final HOH for a lot of the same reasons Drew cut Diane, he took his personal feelings out of the equation and did what was best for his own chances. Does this mean that showmances or an alliance is effective as long as you are aware enough to realize when the time to actually cut the cord is? I think so. Lisa Donahue from season three is a perfect example of this mindset. She had the ability to vote her showmance back into the house but chose not to because she knew it was better for her game to keep the target off her back and prevent a distraction from entering the house.
Let's give showmances the benefit of the doubt for a moment because it's hard to ignore the track record. Below I have listed every winner from BB2-BB16 and the two BBCAN seasons that had a showmance or any romantic involvement. There are quite a few...
Big Brother 2-Dr. Will
Big Brother 3-Lisa Donahue
Big Brother 5-Drew Daniel
Big Brother 7-Mike Boogie
Big Brother 11-Jordan Lloyd
Big Brother 12-Hayden Moss
Big Brother 13-Rachel Reilly
Big Brother Canada 1- Jillian Maclaughlin
That's eight out of seventeen winners, a little less than half. Of course there are some exceptions to this list. Hayden won his season due to the brigade, not the fling he had in week three with Kristen. Also, we all know about the Jillian vote controversy and could argue that she wasn't going to win in the first place. Either way, it's hard to ignore statistics like this. Showmances have proven to be helpful in a lot of ways. One argument is that you're creating an aura of intimidation, no one wants to get rid of someone while knowing there's someone who's going to go after you 100% because of it. This strategy worked for McCranda for a long time in BB15. It's also great knowing that someone is always going to be on your side, and have a vote that you can control or count on.
To be honest though, everything positive that I said about showmances could be said about strong alliances as well. Take the romantic interest out of any showmance and you'll get a loyal alliance like Chilltown, the Brigade, or the Shield and vice versa. If Will and Boogie were in love with each other, which could be debated in all honesty, then they'd be marked the greatest showmance of all time. Take a look at the two most talked about showmances to play, Jeff/Jordan and Brenchel. It wasn't the sex or marriage plans that made Rachel and Brendon huge forces, it was their challenge ability. Jeff and Jordan were cute together but I think they're talk about bugs and spelling didn't do much for their game, the coup d'etat did that for them. There were other elements to their gameplay that made them successful, not the relationship itself.
There's nothing wrong with having a relationship within the Big Brother house. You're in there for three months, a long time to go without any physical activity. In the end though, I think we can all agree that showmances have their perks and their disadvantages. What really matters is that you know how it effects your game. If you're not willing to cut your better half when the time comes, you might just be cutting your chances to win instead.
Agree or disagree with my view? Let me know! Comment below or tweet jacobharpel!
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