With seconds to decide what to do, Big Brother contestant Abiola Sanusi stunned Australia a fortnight ago when she opted to leave the commercial reality TV show in exchange for $15,000.
The decision was not hard in the moment, she says, and on reflection it was the right call.
“I think I regretted it in the 20 minutes after it happened because I had such FOMO [fear of missing out],” she told triple j’s hack.
“But then I was like, ‘nah … now I can do the things that I need to do’.”
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Big Brother returned to Australian television this year after a 2024 hiatus, with the season finale this week netting broadcaster Network 10 an audience of more than 1.1 million viewers.
Abiola’s decision to leave early is shining a spotlight on cost-of-living pressures in Australia, and the motivations of some of the contestants on the show.
“All I really wanted to do was go to the dentist and get my car serviced,” the 24-year-old told hack.
“In the grand scheme of things, there are people that I think are way more deserving of the rest of the prize money.”
“It’s cooked that we can’t even afford to go to the dentist in this country,” she said.
“I haven’t been to the dentist in over 10 years … because I haven’t had $400 to spare in my adult life.
“I’m broke as f**k!”
Data obtained by the ABC shows that patients are waiting months, if not years, for dental care in every Australian state and territory.
It is estimated 2 million Australians are skipping or delaying dental care due to the cost.
Abiola is now calling for dental care to be added to Medicare — a policy the Greens have been pushing for years.
This week the musician says she had her teeth X-rayed and cleaned before receiving some fillings.
Back to its roots
Big Brother Australia, based on a Dutch reality TV format, has been on and off Australian television screens since 2001.
Originally broadcast in Australia on Network 10, the series has also been screened by Channel Seven and Channel Nine, returning to 10 this year after a one-year hiatus and, before that, a four-season run on Channel Seven.
The 2025 season drew audiences on television and on social media platform TikTok, where a live feed allowed viewers to tune into the house at any time.
Running just a month — the shortest regular season on Channel 10 — the production was back to its original location on the Gold Coast for the first time since 2014.
Coco Beeby, a 30-year-old mother of three, was crowned the winner earlier this week, taking home $135,000 in prize money.
Abiola Sanusi says Big Brother gave her a chance to detox from her phone. (triple j hack: Arianna Lucente)
Abiola quickly became a fan favourite, introducing herself on the first night as a “fat, black lesbian”.
As a contestant, Abiola also found herself at the centre of several big moments including a heated discussion about “pretty privilege” — the idea that people who are viewed as more attractive receive more opportunities in life — clips of which were widely discussed online.
“I thought it was very important in that moment to talk about my experience … because that’s why we’re on the show, we represent different people in Australia,” Abiola told hack.
 “I think a lot of people probably don’t realise that’s the experience for a lot of, like, plus-size people.”
‘Be what you can see’
With her stint on the show over, Abiola says she is only now appreciating what her presence in the house, on TV and in social media clips may have meant to those watching, many of whom, she says, do not feel represented in mainstream media.
“I remember being little and never seeing anyone that moved the way that I did,” she told hack.
“It’s really nice to think that maybe there was some young girls who look up to me, being a queer black woman … especially masculine little girls.”
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As for what’s next, she says she is focused on getting back to her great passion in life: making music.
“I can’t imagine doing anything else and I’m just super gassed that now I have a bit more of a platform to share my music, especially with queer people.
“To talk about lesbian shit so freely, I love that so much.”
The big adjustment
Now at home in Melbourne, Abiola admits it feels surreal to return to the grind of everyday life without constant surveillance.
“I feel like I’m still being watched, and I have situations where I’m laying down and I think I’m lying on my microphone and stuff.
“The biggest thing to adjust is just realising that you’re not being filmed 24/7 and I can actually just say what I want and there’s not thousands of people watching it.”
Asked if she would ever consider another stint in the Big Brother house, the artist says she would go back in a heartbeat.
“When are you ever going to be in a situation like that again, without your phone and detoxing from the world?
“It’s kind of sad knowing that it’s all over now and there’s no going back.”