
Very Sad Year!
My mom didn’t miss a single episode in twenty‑five years — not one. Holidays, birthdays, vacations… armed with a VCR and later a DirecTV TiVo, she always kept up. She passed away in February, so this season hits differently. She lived for the twists, and she adored Julie Chen.
I stopped watching regularly after I grew up, but premiere nights were our thing. I’d sit with her, meet the new houseguests, and watch her light up. That alone made it worth it. She absolutely loathed the AI season.
And of all the gifts I ever gave her, her favorite was a full‑scale replica house key from Etsy. She showed it off every chance she got.