The reality TV champ was unveiled on “Big Brother: Unlocked”

Survivor winner Dee Valladares officially revealed as final Big Brother season 28 player

The reality TV champ was unveiled on “Big Brother: Unlocked”

By Dalton Ross

Dalton Ross is a writer and editor with over 25 years experience covering TV and the entertainment industry. *Survivor* is kind of his thing.

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on July 10, 2026 8:19 p.m. ET

Dee Valladares on ‘Survivor 50’. Credit:

Robert Voets/CBS

- Dee Valladares joins Rick Devens as the second *Survivor 50* player to join the *Big Brother* season 28 cast.

- Dee’s announcement was unlocked on *Big Brother: Unlocked.* Appropriate.

- Did you know there are *two* other connections between *Survivor 50* and *Big Brother*? Any guesses?

Seeing as how a *Big Brother* legend could not survive a simple velociraptor attack, the show had to bring in an *actual* Survivor to replace her.

*Survivor* star Dee Valladares was officially revealed on Friday’s episode of *Big Brother: Unlocked* as the replacement for Rachel Reilly, who was tragically pushed into a volcano by an aggressive dinosaur in the year 175 million BC. (Don’t ask.)

Dee’s place on the cast seemed assured once host Julie Chen Moonves ended Thursday’s *Big Brother* premiere by time-traveling to Dec. 20, 2023 to find Rachel’s replacement — a date that also just happens to correspond to the finale airing of *Survivor 45,* won by Dee.

Dee Valladares and Jeff Probst on ‘Survivor 45’.

And we finally got our first look at the reality star in the house on Friday’s installment of *Unlocked,* hosted by Taylor Hale, Derrick Levasseur, and Jerry O’Connell. The episode began right where Thursday night’s premiere ended, and just minutes into it, Dee made her way into the backyard — sporting prehistoric mammoth fur… as one does.

“I want to be the first person to win *Survivor* and *Big Brother*,” she announced, as confident as ever.

‘Big Brother’ star Rachel Reilly killed by dinosaur in season 28 premiere

‘Big Brother’ host Julie Chen Moonves reacts to Rachel Reilly velociraptor attack (exclusive)

Dee joins Rick Devens from *Survivor 50*, *Big Brother 26* breakout Angela Murray, and *RuPaul’s Drag Race* star Jason De Puy/Salina EsTitties as previous reality competition TV veterans infiltrating the season 28 house.

Widely considered to be the best new era *Survivor* winner ever, Dee played a well-rounded, cutthroat game on season 45, even when it came to her season-long showmance with Austin Li Coon, who labeled her final Tribal Council reveal of a big lie to be a “sucker punch” when talking to ** after the finale.

Dee Valladares and Austin Li Coon on ‘Survivor 45’.

Dee returned to *Survivor 50* with plans to cause lots of mischief, but she was seen as a massive threat entering the game due to her previous outing and never could get that target off her back, especially after taking out Jonathan Young’s ally Charlie Davis. Jonathan then worked with others at the merge to vote her out and make Dee the first member of the jury.

Also on that *Survivor 50* jury: former *Big Brother* cast member Cire Fields and current *Big Brother* player Rick Devens. (To continue the full-circle connection, the person they all voted for to win, Aubry Bracco, is a former BB recapper for *.)*

*Big Brother* marks Dee’s third Paramount reality competition series as she also competed on MTV’s *The Challenge: Vets & New Threats*. No word yet on when she will begin filming *The Amazing Race**.*

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Source: “EW Big”