Rick Devens won Big Brother 28 after making his most painful decision of the season during the final Head of Household competition.
Devens chose to evict Drew Campbell and take Taylor Brown to the Final 2 despite having promised Drew that they would face the jury together. The decision ended a partnership so close that the two had spent much of the season joking about a father-son relationship.
In a post-finale interview with Entertainment Weekly, Devens called the move a “total betrayal” and said he wanted to acknowledge exactly what he had done rather than soften it.
The gamble worked. Devens defeated Taylor in the final jury vote and completed a reality-TV comeback seven years after falling one challenge short of the Final 3 on Survivor: Edge of Extinction.
Taylor’s Warning Changed Devens’ Final 2 Plan
Devens said he fully intended to keep his promise to Drew until Taylor approached him the night before the final competition.
In an interview with Parade, Devens recalled Taylor telling him that she would not vote for him if he took Drew to the end and that she would try to keep Lala Verrett’s vote away from him as well.
That changed the jury math. Devens believed Drew could already count on Melody Morris and Barrett Pfeiffer, leaving him worried that Taylor’s threat could give Drew enough support to beat him.
Taylor also offered to take Devens to the Final 2 if she won the last Head of Household competition. Devens told her he needed to sleep on the decision, then reconsidered the promise he had made to Drew.
His ‘Survivor’ Loss Made the Choice Feel Familiar
Devens connected the dilemma to a decision he still regrets from Survivor: Edge of Extinction.
During that season, he returned half of an immunity idol to Chris Underwood. Underwood remained in the game, eventually defeated Devens in the fire-making challenge and went on to win the season.
Devens told Parade that he still regrets allowing emotion to influence that choice and believed the decision cost him a chance at the $1 million prize.
Facing another endgame choice on Big Brother, he did not want to repeat it. “My family is my closest alliance,” he said. “I have to do what I can to bring the money home to them.”
Drew Still Voted for Devens After Being Cut
Drew was visibly emotional when Devens announced his eviction, but his reaction after the finale was less bitter than the moment suggested.
Speaking to Parade, Drew said he would have made the same strategic decision in Devens’ position. “I can’t be mad at it,” he said. “He made the right move.”
Drew also refused to let the eviction determine his jury vote. He said Devens had played a strong game and deserved his support, giving his former ally one of the six votes that secured the victory.
Devens said he approached Drew immediately after leaving the house, before he even knew how Drew had voted. He described him as a confidant, friend and equal partner in the game and said he hopes Drew remains part of his life.
Devens Left the Finale With $810,000 in Winnings
Devens beat Taylor by a 6-1 jury vote, with Lala casting the only vote for Taylor. CBS awarded him the $750,000 grand prize, while Taylor received $75,000 as runner-up.
Devens also won the fan-voted $50,000 America’s Favorite award and had already collected another $10,000 through the season’s Pharaoh’s Curse twist, bringing his announced winnings to $810,000.
After more than three months away, Devens told Entertainment Weekly that his wife and children said they had missed him and were proud of his win.
Once he was back with his family, his daughter quickly began telling him about the latest YouTube video she had watched, while his son caught him up on a new Wolverine video game.