Those “Big Brother” connections really came in handy for Season 16 winner Derrick Levasseur.
Levasseur competed in the 2014 season of the CBS reality show against Frankie Grande, who, of course, is the brother of singer and “Wicked” star Ariana Grande. The two Housemates were part of the show’s Team America alliance, which was formed by public vote and found them tasked with performing secret missions for additional prize money.
While Derrick went on to win the season and Frankie placed 5th out of 16 contestants, it’s pretty clear their bond has remained strong since their time together in the BB house.
Derrick’s Daughters Meet Ariana Grande
In a July 14 post on Instagram, the “girl dad” revealed that he not only took his two daughters, Tenley and Peyton, to an Ariana Grande concert in New York City, but was also able to introduce them to Grande herself backstage.
“MAJOR Dad points scored tonight… Thank you [Ariana Grande] for making my girls’ night,” he captioned a photo of his daughters smiling with the singer. He also shared a photo of the two girls posing together before the show, as well as one of them singing along during the concert.
Among those commenting on the post were “Hairspray” star and “Celebrity Big Brother” contestant Marissa Jaret Winokur, who wrote, “The best ❤️❤️❤️❤️.”
“The Challenge” competitor Wes Bergmann, meanwhile, added, “Well I loved Frankie before and now I Stan.”
Derrick later took to his Instagram Stories to share a photo of him and Frankie together at the show, making it clear Ariana’s brother helped him pull off the backstage introduction.
“What a night! Thanks Frankie! Love my BB16 fam!” Derrick captioned the photo.
Frankie & Derrick’s ‘Big Brother’ Moment
Frankie opening up to his Housemates about his sister was a pretty pivotal moment of Season 16.
The reveal came about midway through the season, with Frankie attempting to keep his identity—and the identity of his famous sibling—a secret up until that point. He hoped coming clean would buy him some additional time in the house.
“So I’ve been lying to you the entire game, since I walked in the house. I’m not who I said I was,” he shared with his co-stars on the August 2014 episode. “I’m a YouTuber, a TV personality and a social media mogul. I walked into this house with 1.5 million followers. My sister is a mega, mega pop star.”
When he reminded his Housemates of his last name, it was Derrick who asked whether “Amanda” Grande was his sister. Derrick then said he thought Frankie, who had been referring to his sibling as “Ari” throughout the season, was talking about “a dude” the whole time.
Derrick was pretty upset after the reveal, exclaiming, “Most of us are who we say we are!”
The big move also led to another hilarious question from Housemate Caleb Reynolds, who then asked, “Are you even gay?!” Revisit the iconic moment above.
“Big Brother” Season 28, meanwhile, is currently airing on CBS all summer.
