SARASOTA, Fla. — Every summer, fans of the hit reality TV show "Big Brother" watch as 16 houseguests compete for a life-changing amount of money.
And this season, fans in Tampa Bay can root for a hometown girl.
Alyssa Lopez usually calls Sarasota home, but she’s currently living in isolation in the "Big Brother" house, cut off from the rest of the world. This year, the grand prize is $750,000, an increase from $500,000 in past seasons.
As of this writing, Lopez is still in the game. Two others have already been “evicted” from the house, as each week at least one person gets voted out. She ended up on “the block,” meaning she was at risk of going home, in week one but fortunately for her, she survived.
It’s a good thing she did, too. After all, she’s living out her dream.
“I am most excited to just live out my number one bucket list goal,” Lopez’s "Big Brother" bio reads. “I have religiously watched "Big Brother" since I was 11 years old and I have applied four times.”
“It will also be exciting to meet new people around the U.S. and live somewhere different then Sarasota. I have never lived outside of Sarasota in my life,” she continued.
This week, in the “Diary Room,” a room where cast members sit in front of the camera and share their most intimate thoughts & strategy with the audience, Lopez talked about her hometown and what she misses most.
“My hometown is Sarasota, Florida, and I love just the weather,” she said. “I don’t like cold weather. I don’t like being cold. I love the weather, the heat, being tan all the time, the beach is just five minutes away, so definitely just the beaches and the weather is amazing.”
The show tapes in Los Angeles, so she didn’t have to leave the warm weather behind. But she did say she’s missing certain parts about being home.
“The place I miss the most when being in the "Big Brother" house is definitely Siesta Key Beach. It’s only 10 minutes away from me and I go all the time to watch the sunset and I definitely miss just relaxing there,” Lopez said.
You can watch the Sarasota-native on "Big Brother" Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays on 10 Tampa Bay.
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