Since the power of veto was introduced during Big Brother 3 in 2002, houseguests nominated for eviction have used it to take themselves off the block.

Winning the veto competition is the only sure-fire way for a nominee to guarantee their own safety. Sure, they can try to get another player to use the veto on them or campaign for votes ahead of eviction night, but there’s no greater relief for a nominee than getting the golden power of veto hung around their neck.

You’d have to be a little crazy to get nominated for eviction, win the power of veto and not use it on yourself. Yet six houseguests have done exactly that.

Keep scrolling to see every Big Brother player who didn’t use the power of veto on themselves while on the block.

Marcellas Reynolds — ‘Big Brother 3’

Marcellas won the power of veto during week 9 while being nominated alongside Amy Crews by his longtime allies Danielle Reyes and then-Head of Household Jason Guy. In a highly emotional moment, Marcellas chose not to use the veto and was evicted by Reyes and Guy. Reflecting on the experience, Marcellas tells Us Weekly, “The lesson here is never to trust anyone in the Big Brother house, because no one, not even your friends, can be trusted when money is at stake.”

After Marcellas was evicted, Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves playfully smacked him on the side of the head with a cue card to convey her disappointment with his decision.

Dick Donato — ‘Big Brother 8’

During week 6 of the 2007 season, Dick was nominated for eviction alongside his daughter, Daniele Briones. He won the power of veto and decided to use it on Daniele instead of himself. Dustin Erikstrup then volunteered to be the replacement nominee, believing he had the votes to stay against Dick. Dustin was blindsided on eviction night when he was voted out 4-2 while Dick and Daniele went on to place first and second, respectively.

Daniele Briones — ‘Big Brother 8’

Daniele had an opportunity to repay her father during week 10 of Big Brother 8 when the pair found themselves on the block next to each other once again. This time around, Daniele won the veto and used it on Dick instead of herself. Given that they were in the final 4, Jameka Cameron was the only available option for a replacement nominee. Dick cast the sole vote to evict her.

Brendon Villegas — ‘Big Brother 13’

During week four of the 2011 season, Brendon found himself on the block next to his then-fiancée, Rachel Reilly. He won the veto but chose to use it on Rachel instead and was then evicted over the replacement nominee, Jordan Lloyd.

Rachel went on to win the season, and she and Brendon tied the knot in 2012. They welcomed daughter Adora in 2016 and son Adler in 2020.

Matt Clines — ‘Big Brother 19’

Matt won the veto during week 7 of the 2017 season and used it to save Jason Dent despite being on the block himself. Cody Nickson went up in Jason’s place and was unanimously evicted.

Tucker Des Lauriers — ‘Big Brother 26’

Tucker volunteered to go on the block during week 3 of the 2024 season. Due to the BB AI arena twist, he was nominated alongside two other houseguests, Angela Murray and Kenney Kelley. After winning the veto, Tucker hatched a plan to use the veto on Angela in the hopes that Head of Household Cedric Hodges would then backdoor Quinn Martin.

Cedric ultimately decided the move was too risky and told Tucker to use the veto on himself. However, Tucker still went through with his gutsy move to use the veto on Angela and remained on the block for eviction night. He competed in the BB AI arena against Kenney and America’s nominee, Quinn, emerging victorious. Kenney was then evicted.

Zach Cornell — ‘Big Brother: 27’

While Zach didn’t win the traditional veto during his time on the block, he did have a special safety power that he opted to not use instead. Zach could have bought himself safety with the $10,000 he won during the first week of the 2025 season. The money would have gone to the HoH, who put him up, which was Ava Pearl. Zach chose not to use his power and kept the money for himself. He was subsequently evicted in a 6-2 vote.

“I played it too close to the edge … I knew I was taking a huge gamble, but I knew if it did pay off, I would be a legitimate front runner,” the former baseball player exclusively told Us Weekly in August 2025. “In my perspective, if I was in the final two and I revealed to everyone that I had this secret power that I never had to use, that is a huge step up on whoever I’m up there against. I obviously wasn’t thinking that far ahead. Still, I was thinking, once I get to jury, if I can do that, then it’s going to be an incredible opportunity to really run the numbers.”