"She's always been there"— Big Brother 26 Tucker talks about his showmance with Rubina

In Big Brother season 26, fans of the reality show saw a showmance between Tucker and Rubina, as their friendship turned flirty, then something serious. The show released episode 21 on August 29, 2024, where one-half of the showmance got in trouble when their alliance member, T'Kor, became HoH.

T'Kor expressed her desire to oust Makensy but needed Tucker to be nominated and use him as a pawn. Although hesitant at first, Tucker still volunteered to help his alliance member's reign of HoH go smoothly. T’kor then proceeded to nominate Angela as the third nomination for the elimination after Cam won the Power of Veto competition.

These proceedings created a rift between Tucker, T'Kor, Rubina, and Angela's alliance, as both Tucker and Angela were in the nomination zone with Makensy. The three nominees got the chance to save themselves through the AI Arena competition, which Makensy won, leaving Tucker and Angela on the elimination block. Tucker was eventually eliminated by a vote of 5-3 against him.

While leaving the Big Brother house, Rubina and Tucker shared a long embrace and a kiss, confirming their relationship, while being applauded by the rest of the houseguests. In an August 30 interview with US Weekly, Tucker was full of praise for Rubina and explained the reasoning behind their connection.

"She’s as loud as me, which is a very attractive personality trait to me. She’s a bundle of joy … but she can be very serious. She’s always been there for me when I needed somebody, regardless of how much I was trying to cover it up. She’s very empathetic and observant," stated Tucker.

After Tucker's elimination, 10 houseguests remain inside the Big Brother house, including Angela Murray, Joseph Rodriguez, Kimo Apaka, Cam Sullivan-Brown, Chelsie Baham, Leah Peters, Makensy Manbeck, Quinn Martin, Rubina Bernabe, and T’kor Clottey, who are competing to win the prize money of $750,000.

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Tucker found genuine connection amidst sketchy circumstances of Big Brother 26

The houseguests of Big Brother had been kept in the dark by Tucker and Rubina about their romance. The couple did have a conversation with T’Kor and Kimo, after which they kissed in front of Quinn and Joseph as well. In the August 28 episode, when Leah walked in on them kissing, it led to an official announcement of sorts for the couple, with Tucker giving a speech in regard.

Tucker acknowledged to Rubina that being in a showmance could be tricky since couples are stuck in a controlled environment. They have to meet every day and interact but the real world brings different problems. Tucker mentioned that he was wary of Rubina's intentions and wondered if she felt something for him.

"It’s been an overwhelmingly joyful connection in a very rough and sketchy situation because you don’t know if someone’s using you or not [in this game],” Tucker said. “We were both skeptical [of] whether we were just being used or not. We both went in there with a negative chance of us getting into a showmance and look at us now."

Tucker also explained that when entering the house of Big Brother, he had no intention of being part of a showmance but is glad to have found Rubina with whom he wants to continue outside the reality TV realm.

"I’m at that age where I’m looking for a life partner, and I’m always scared to take that risk. All my friends know I don’t go out looking for that stuff; I go out to be with my friends and I wait for that fairy fairytale thing when two paths cross. This is a very beautiful, lovely feeling. And I hope it goes where we both want it to go," stated Tucker.

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Rubina is still part of the Big Brother house and Tucker, who lives in Brooklyn, believes after having multiple conversations, that they are excited to see where the future goes.