Zach Cornell ultimately decided not to use his secret power to buy his safety in the Big Brother house, but he’s got $10,000 in his pocket now and some big plans.
“I think I’m definitely going to Wimbledon [and] take my mom there,” Zach, 27, exclusively told Us Weekly on Friday, August 15, following his elimination from Big Brother 27. “We love Rafael Nadal. He’s now retired, so we’re going to be focusing our thoughts on Carlos Alcaraz or Novak Djokovic. But that’s something that I talked to her about ever since college: we’ve always thought that.”
Zach added that going to see the iconic tennis event has been a “No. 1” must-do. Ironically, Zach nearly won a trip to London during this week’s Power of Veto competition. However, since the competition was a Yankee Swap format, Zach — the selfless player that he is — opted to trade the vacation for Cliffton “Will” Williams’ “Partners in Crime” punishment.
“I’ve always talked to my mom about going to Wimbledon to see tennis. And what’s funny is, like, it’s in London,” he reflected. “When I opened the London reward, I was thinking, ‘Oh, this is so ironic and funny, because I’m definitely going to give this to Will, right?’”
Big Brother’s Janelle Pierzina Weighs In on Zach’s ‘Dumb’ Veto Move
While Zach’s altruistic mindset is noble outside the house, it was the downfall of his game. During the first week of the show, Zach won a $10,000 prize for saving host Julie Chen Moonves from The Mastermind. However, there was an extra element to the perk. If he found himself on the block before reaching the jury, he could purchase a Power of Veto for himself with the money instead. The cash would then be awarded to the Head of Household who had put him up instead.
Zach decided not to use his power to buy his safety from HoH Ava Pearl, as he worried she would put up his ally Morgan Pope in his place.

“I took a huge gamble and it backfired, is the best way to describe it,” he explained. “Look, I stand by my move of not using the power because Morgan was my A1 in that game, and because [she] and Vince would have still been on the block together. It didn’t make sense. I would be throwing away that power when we could have used it a later week.”
The former baseball player added that he thought he was safe at the time but learned about the danger he was in when it was too late.
“I was still thinking at that point … they weren’t going to vote me out, because it was kind of a pawn situation, even though Ava didn’t make that 100 percent clear. And so that was my thought process in that moment,” he told Us. “What I can say to America is [that] the perception changes on a dime. Literally, the night before, I thought I was good. I told Morgan and Mickey about my power. And they were good. They were like, ‘Yeah, we’ve got you 100 percent.’ I wake up the next morning, and it’s not the case.”
Big Brother 27's Adrian Trusted Zach the Most, Reacts to His Betrayal
Zach was evicted from the Big Brother house in a 6-2 vote, with only Will and Rachel Reilly voting to keep him. As for why the house decided to keep Vince Panaro instead, Zach believes Rachel’s campaigning to keep him backfired.
“One of the biggest issues was the morning of [the eviction], Rachel was pushing so hard for Vince to go and [for] me to stay. And for that reason, people were perceiving that me being in the game is best for her game,” he theorized. “Because of that, and so many people wanting Rachel out, that’s really the real reason, I think, is why all those votes swung to Vince’s side, because there were a lot of people on the edge.”
Big Brother airs on CBS on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 8 p.m. ET. Fans can watch live feeds from the house anytime on Paramount+.