Big Brother 27 houseguest Keanu Soto’s improbable run to the final five came to an end on day 77 after Head of Household Vince Panaro nominated him for eviction.
Looking back on their relationship, Keanu, 33, admitted he was wrong to continually trust Vince, 34, who betrayed him multiple times throughout the season — it just wasn’t in his nature to turn on a friend.
“I felt like he and I had that big brother, little brother relationship and I would never turn my back on any of my siblings,” Keanu, who has seven siblings in real life, told Us Weekly exclusively after his eviction. “So that’s why I kept feeling the need to forgive him.”
Vince has made his mark in the game as a player who will tell fellow houseguests what they want to hear, then turn around and do what is best for his own game instead. This happened multiple times with Keanu, including just days before his eviction when Vince told him he would not be going on the block.
Keanu long suspected that it was Vince’s ally Morgan Pope who was really pulling the strings during his HoHs, but still thought he would ultimately choose Keanu over his “flirtmance.”
“When he would have those moments of weakness, I always felt the need to show him grace, kindness and let him know, ‘Hey man, don’t worry. We’re human. We’re going to have those human moments,’” Keanu continued. “When I had those human moments throughout the season, I was forgiven, so I felt the need to show him the same courtesy.”
Regardless of Keanu’s intentions, other houseguests repeatedly urged him not to trust Vince. That includes Big Brother legend Rachel Reilly, with whom Keanu developed a love-hate relationship and an alliance he dubbed “The Frenemies.”
“Had I followed [Rachel’s advice] I wouldn’t have trusted him and I probably would have purposely targeted him, and maybe [been] on the other side of votes to possibly get him out,” Keanu said. “I definitely should have listened to her, definitely shouldn’t have trusted him as much as I did. I hate to use the word regret, but if I had one, that would probably be one.”
Keanu’s struggle to read other players in the house often got him into trouble, and he had to rely on his competition prowess to stay in the game. He finished his run with four Power of Veto wins (though one was actually won by guest Kaycee Clark and given to him) and two BB Blockbusters. Almost all of them came at a time where he would have faced certain eviction otherwise.
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Now, Keanu will wait out the rest of the season in the jury house (where he is already fighting with Rachel, he told Entertainment Weekly). He and the six other jurors will vote on the winner of Big Brother 27 during the live finale on Sunday, September 28.
Big Brother airs on CBS Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 8 p.m. ET. Fans can watch live feeds from the house anytime on Paramount+.