“It’s disappointing that people can take someone being nice and genuinely caring as fake.”

If there’s one thing Big Brother‘s Vinnie wants Australia to know, it’s that he really was being himself in the Big Brother house. Ever since Jane was eliminated, the house had been swirling with claims that Vinnie was taking on a “fake” persona. These whispers continued with Holly, and then Ed, who issued Vinnie with a staggering seven votes for “not being as authentic as Australia thinks he probably is”.

But if you ask the 21-year-old barber, his maturity and penchant for giving life advice wasn’t fake, it was simply how he is in the real world.

“I really want to make it known that maturity does not come with age,” Vinnie tells TV WEEK.

“You can be 67 or 15, but just because you are older, does not mean you are mature. Maturity comes with wisdom, lived experiences and sink or swim moments. If my maturity came across as fake, that’s not my problem.

“It’s disappointing that people can take someone being nice and genuinely caring as fake.”
Vinnie is a 21-year-old barber from a big Italian family. (Image: 10)
Throughout Vinnie’s time in the Big Brother house, he was constantly told by the other housemates that he seemed older than 21-years-old. Vinnie says his conflict resolution skills and emotional maturity were the result of some “sink or swim” moments as a kid.

“I come from a child of divorced families. My parents got together very young and I saw a of arguing, a lot of stuff that I shouldn’t have seen as a kid,” he explained.

“I would never wish it on my worst enemy to see some of the stuff, the family court and a lot of the alienation I went through as a kid.”

Vinnie says these days, he has a beautiful relationship with his family but the tough times made him who he is today.

“No family is perfect and, ultimately, I give credit to my family for the man I am today,” he shares.

“So, I’ve been through some sh*t but it’s up to you how you react to it.”

Vinnie stands by his explosive letter

Once he was eliminated, Vinnie was given the opportunity to leave one last message for his fellow housemates.

While messages to his friends Emily and Bruce were touching, others were pretty confronting for the housemates. But, as he watched on from the outside world, Vinnie loved watching the chaos play out.

“I meant every word in that letter,” he says.

“I do think Alannah should stop analysing people and I did feel like our relationship was a constant test that not many people would be able to pass.

I would like to say, it was hilarious watching Alannah say I can’t cop criticism and then complain for the next hour about the criticism she had received from someone. It is very ironic and I think shows more about her character than people think.”

What Vinnie thought of his “brutal” elimination

It’s fair to say that Vinnie had one of the most brutal eliminations in Big Brother history. In case you missed it, the housemates were woken up in the middle of the night for a Christmas challenge where they were expected to chuck on festive gear and dance and sing to Christmas Carols. But when they got to the end of “Jingle Bells”, Big Brother changed the lyrics to reveal that Vinnie had been voted out. He then had 30 seconds to pack his things and leave.

According to folks online, it was one of the most brutal things they’d seen on reality television.

“This was THE most brutal thing on reality television I’ve ever seen in the lightest/darkest way and I absolutely loved it!” wrote one fan on Instagram.

“Sorry but this was great TV,” wrote former Big Brother star Tilly Witfeld.

While it was admittedly rough at the time, 48 hours later, Vinnie is laughing at how ridiculous the situation was.

“It was hilarious and it’s the way I would have preferred to go,” he admits.

“No anxiety for a whole Sunday. I woke up, sung some “Jingle Bells” and got evicted in the most savage way possible,” he laughs.

“I’ll never be able to listen to that song again but what a laugh.”