Big Brother finally wrapped up on Monday, December 8, but is it the end for one couple on the show?
Colin, 21, and Holly, 31, made waves in the house with their budding romance and were forced to defend themselves against accusations that it was fake.
Holly was evicted mid-way through the competition, but Colin made it all the way to the final, coming in third place overall.
And he hinted that this isn’t the end for him and Holly as he made a very grand declaration while she proudly watched him from the audience.
When greeted by host Mel Tracina, he was asked if he had any message for Holly, to which the nervous MMA fighter seemed unsure what to say.
However, with his Mum by his side on stage, he then shouted out, “I love you!”
His bold gesture came after Holly dropped the L-bomb in her parting video message upon her eviction, with Colin being reduced to tears over not being able to say it back.
Scroll on for everything you need to know about their relationship.
Are Holly and Colin from Big Brother still together?
Speaking exclusively to New Idea after her elimination on November 30, Holly had revealed what is next for her and Colin in the real world.
“I can’t wait to see him! I have the livestream so I can tune in at any moment and see what he’s up to in there,” she gushed.
“He’s an exceptional human being, and I’m very grateful I was able to connect with him right from the very beginning of the season.”
“He brought so much positivity and had my back so hard in the whole experience, and that’s something to be admired. His mother raised such a great boy, so she should be very proud.”
The model, 31, also addressed the major backlash to their relationship within the Big Brother house, admitting that despite the difficulties it posed, it actually strengthened her and Colin’s bond.
“If anything, it ended up bringing us closer together because we had to defend everything and every decision we made,” she explained.
“In the real world, people wouldn’t have to do that. If we were walking down the street, nobody would bat an eyelid; we would be fine.”
“There’s a lot of Karen mentality in the house and not a lot of compassion,” she poignantly added, revealing that she felt unfairly “judged” within the house.
What did Holly say about those “game plan” accusations?
As for whether she had a “game plan” in the house? Holly insisted she certainly did not.
“I did not come in with a tactic or a game plan at all! I think that’s pretty obvious to everyone,” she insisted.
“I’m very unapologetically me, and I just wanted to come in and be the big sister and be there for people, but they didn’t want that. Anything I said was used against me, and I’m not perfect.
“I do say words the wrong way from time to time, especially when you’re under that pressure and stress 24/7.”
Holly said it meant “a lot” to her that she was able to connect with Colin while in such a “high-pressure” situation in the house as she discussed their connection.
“When you’re in such a high-pressure situation, and you find someone that you click with like that, it means a lot,” she added.
Holly and Colin were forced to repeatedly defend their relationship against accusations that it wasn’t genuine from their housemates.
Before Holly’s eviction, she and Colin had opened up to their housemates and explained their connection, which they said they would not be putting any “labels” on for now.
“For me, it’s just like a thing where it’s no labels,” Colin explained.
“But I will say that until I met [Holly], when I looked at my confidence and myself, I didn’t really see much in myself, and I thought that with the way my brain moves, nobody would have similar experiences, but through talking with Holly, I’ve come to understand we have a lot of similarities.”
Holly then admitted she had not expected to bond with Colin when she entered the Big Brother house and opened up to the housemates about the topics they had bonded over.
“I was not expecting when I walked through the doors to meet this individual, at all,” she gushed.
“Something I respect about him is his individuality, and the fact of the matter is not to judge a book by its cover. I did not know on the first night that I was going to sit down and have such a deep and meaningful conversation with him about something that our brains [connected] over.”
Holly then explained that they bonded over the “stigma” that surrounds learning disabilities and urged the housemates to show them more understanding.
Holly suffers from auditory processing disorder (APD), dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
“I just related instantly to that, and that’s why I followed him out and gave him a big hug and said, ‘It’s OK’,” she continued.
“I would love us all to show a little bit more compassion and love together in this house because it would go a long way.”
Bruce and Alanna both said they were happy that the pair had given them a deeper insight into their connection, admitting it had helped them understand better.
What did Colin and Holly’s housemates say about their relationship?
The first housemate to be evicted, Michael, had previously stirred things up with a parting message that left Colin doubting his connection with Holly.
“Holly, well done for your fake relationship with Colin,” Michael said in a video message upon his exit in a parting blow.
“We all know that relationship will not last until halfway down the eviction runway. I do think you played the game. I don’t think you’re into Colin at all.”
After Michael’s bombshell comments, Colin was left doubting their connection, and he broke down in tears in the diary room on Monday, November 17.
“I can’t even comprehend why she’d like me… If something’s too good to be true, it usually is, right?” he said.
“I can’t think of any girl off the top of my head that would run to me. Why would it be her? Why would it be the model? Why would it be the most beautiful girl that I’ve seen in my life?”
Colin then spoke to Holly about his doubts, admitting it makes him doubt her feelings when she mistakenly calls him Connor, the name of their housemate, instead of Colin.
Later, voicing her frustrations to Coco, Holly once again got his name wrong and called him Connor.
Their relationship was at the centre of speculation both inside and outside the house, and evicted housemate Michael, 49, was less than convinced about their apparent romance.
Speaking exclusively to New Idea, Michael dished, “A connection? No! She’s the puppet master in that sense.”
“She’s just using that showmance to further herself in the house, then pretending she wants to go, and then she doesn’t want to go.”
“She’s in the double bed with Colin, and then she’s telling Colin I don’t think I should be in the double bed tonight, that was yesterday, and then it was ‘oh maybe I will, I’ll decide later’, she’s just a headache.”
Michael made waves in the house with his strong and controversial opinions, and he certainly didn’t hold back while issuing his verdict on the lovebirds.
“Anyone can see that [it’s a game plan], he needs a few more 00s on his bank balance to bag a girl like Holly,” Michael added.
Holly was hit by speculation that she was using Colin to stay in the Big Brother house when they shared their first kiss after she was nominated for eviction for the first time.
However, Holly insisted that she’s formed genuine “romantic” feelings for Colin as she set the record straight while speaking to Big Brother in the diary room on November 16.
When asked how she defined their relationship, she replied: “He’s my dawg. I don’t know, we connect on a level, I enjoy my time with him, I’m sad that like – I’ll for sure see him ion the outside world, for sure.”
She was then quizzed on whether her feelings were “genuine”, to which she said: “Yeah, it’s romantic. I love romance. I feel like I’d be a cold-hearted human if I didn’t say it was, it’s romantic for sure.”
The pair raised eyebrows in the house when they shared their first kiss, particularly with housemate Vinnie, 21, who fans theorised had also been interested in Holly.
The pair were sharing a hug on the bean bag after Holly found out she was put up for eviction when the intimate moment occurred.
“Damn, 21-year-olds really know how to kiss these days,” Holly told Colin as they hid underneath a blanket to share another secret smooch.
Speaking in the diary room after, MMA fighter Colin jumped in excitement and grinned as he appeared overjoyed by his new connection.
Colin and Holly’s kiss also divided viewers, with some rooting for the couple, while others speculated it might have been a game plan for Holly to stay in the house.
Holly was nominated for the first eviction on November 16, but narrowly avoided going home as Michael became the first person to be eliminated.
Commenting on the kiss, one viewer wrote on Instagram: “I can see the heartbreak coming.”
Another theorised: “She’s playing you Colin.”
“Holly will do anything to try to stay in the house,” a third claimed.
“Bros about to get his heart broke,” another added.
However, others shared their support for the couple, with one saying: “Let them be happy!”
Who has Holly previously dated?
Model Holly is the BFF of Married At First Sight bride Carina Mirabile, and also has some other high-profile connections.
Last year, Holly reportedly had a whirlwind romance with Luxe Listings Sydney star Gavin Rubinstein.
The pair allegedly went public with their romance in August 2024, but split soon after following an “intense” holiday.
“Things got complicated when they started travelling together,” an insider told the Daily Mail.
“It was fast-paced from the beginning, but they were just in different places in life.”
According to reports, Holly was also briefly linked to Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt in 2017 after they met at the Crown Melbourne.
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