Who Won Celebrity Big Brother Season 2? Find out How Kandi Burruss Did in the Competition
The Real Housewives of Atlanta's Kandi Burruss got support from some surprising places.
The winner of Celebrity Big Brother Season 2 was finally crowned on Wednesday, February 13 after these superstars spent several weeks away from their loved ones, social media, and red carpets. Kandi Burruss made it to the final five houseguests featured in the season finale episode, along with Tamar Braxton, Ricky Williams, Lolo Jones, and Dina Lohan.
So, was Kandi able to bring it home and win the $250,000 top prize, along with all the glory that comes with being a Celebrity Big Brother champion? (Spoilers ahead!)
Unfortunately, this is one award Kandi wasn't able to win. After being nominated for eviction more than any other houseguest this season (four times, to be exact), Kandi was sent home in fifth place by Head of Household Ricky after she and fellow nominee Dina tied for votes.
Prior to the live vote taking place, Kandi got emotional while giving one final plea to her houseguests to keep her in the house. “Well, first of all, I wanted to say, guys, it’s been a pleasure to be in the top five with you," Kandi gushed, before telling the other four houseguests what she admires most about them. "Guys, I can’t tell you how to vote. I just want to ask you for another opportunity. For one, I want to stay in the game. For two, I want to make Celebrity Big Brother history as the person who has survived the block the most times yet in Celebrity Big Brother so that you will have to continue to say my name on future seasons."
When Ricky chose to evict Kandi, the live audience audibly gasped out of shock. Celebrity Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves asked Kandi after her eviction if she was as surprised as the audience that she was sent home. “Kind of, because Tamar said they wanted to get rid of me, but they felt like I was a stronger player than Dina.”
When asked if she felt like Ricky did the right thing by evicting her, Kandi (naturally) disagreed. “No, Ricky didn’t do the right thing because I’m a woman of my word, and he asked me the other day, he said, ‘If I have to save you and you got to the end, I ask you to take me to the end.' So if he would have saved me, I would have been a person of my word," she explained. "But he didn’t, and that’s fine. I’m OK. I said I’m not holding any grudges about this game. I honestly didn’t think I was gonna make it this far. I was just trying not to get kicked out the first week because my family said they were gonna roast me if I did.”
Despite how her time on Celebrity Big Brother ended, Kandi said she loved her time in the house. “Yes! Yes, yes. I made some great friends, and I plan to keep in touch with everybody,” she shared.
Perhaps one of the best things to come out of the whole experience is that she and Tamar were able to squash their beef and actually become friends while in the Celebrity Big Brother house. “Oh my god, like y’all don’t know, we needed this, we really did. I didn’t even realize we’ve known each other for 20 years, and we’ve never been like this. And that’s crazy to know somebody that long and you can’t really depend on each other, you know?" Kandi said. "And so that first week, I was like, ‘Oh, this is about to be terrible.’ But then some kind of way we turned it around, and we really supported each other, and I’m so thankful for it.”
Kandi even now has a new fan in former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, who was only in the house for six days as part of a secret Celebrity Big Brother twist. “I think she’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. Tom Green and I taught her chess in like the first 24 hours, and she was beating the pants off us 36 hours later," he told Julie prior to Kandi's eviction in the season finale. "So I told Tom, I said, ‘Whatever happens here, she’s gonna be in the final five because she’s just wickedly smart.’”
Brandi Glanville, who competed in Season 1 of Celebrity Big Brother, also showed her support for Kandi after her eviction. "I [love] you @Kandi," she tweeted. "I believed and trusted my crew also because like you I am a woman of my word as well!"
After nearly a month in the Celebrity Big Brother house, Kandi reunited with her husband, Todd Tucker, her daughter, Riley Burruss, and her son, Ace Wells Tucker, who supported The Real Housewives of Atlanta mogul in the live studio audience at the show's season finale.
Todd defended Kandi's decision to join Season 2 of Celebrity Big Brother during an interview with TMZ on his way to the Celebrity Big Brother Season 2 finale in Los Angeles, saying, "It was a family decision. It's about experience, life experiences. It was something my wife wanted to do, something she wanted to try, her daughter supported it, and it's like, yo, let people do their thing. You know what I mean? Our family's OK," he said. "We're all happy. I think everybody should just try to form a similar unit of working together taking care of their family and allowing each other to do things that they want to do. Live your life, that's the biggest thing. Live your life."
Riley also told TMZ that she gave her mom her blessing before she signed up for Celebrity Big Brother. "She called me when she found out, and I watch the show, so I'm the one that told her to go, so she probably wouldn't have went if I didn't [want her to]," she said.
Kandi's friend and fellow Georgia Peach Tamar ended up winning Season 2 of Celebrity Big Brother after a unanimous vote. Tom was voted America's Favorite Houseguest by Celebrity Big Brother fans.
This season of Celebrity Big Brother may be over, but Season 11 of RHOA is still heating up! Check out a sneak peek of an all-new episode coming at you on Sunday at 8/7c, below.
