The reality legend talks to EW about getting soapy.
She’s baaaaaaaack!
Rachel Reilly, reality TV star and former Big Brother winner, isn’t just returning to the CBS competition franchise in 2025—she’s also making a guest appearance on The Bold and the Beautiful. Fresh off her season 27 stint in the Big Brother jury house, Reilly will reprise her role as “Rachel,” the Bikini Bar server.
This time, however, there’s a twist: her character has taken on a side gig as an “energy healer and spiritual cleanser.” In a playful nod to her reality TV roots, Rachel’s character also has “experiences with toxic houses.” (Whether this spiritual cleansing involves life vests remains a mystery.)
The woman featured as Iconica on her BB Comics cover will appear in two new episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful, set to air Thursday, November 13, and Friday, November 14, and is filming her scenes today. She will share the screen with Don Diamont (Bill Spencer), Heather Tom (Katie Logan), and Scott Clifton (Liam Spencer).
“I shook the Big Brother 27 house with boldness, beauty, and a touch of betrayal,” Rachel said about her return. “So naturally, I’m stepping back into the Forrester world where drama meets couture. As an icon, I serve both and couldn’t be more excited to be back.”
Rachel is best known for her three seasons on Big Brother, including the most recent season in which she was eliminated in a controversial twist and became the first jury member. She has also competed on shows such as The Amazing Race (twice), The Traitors, Celebrity Fear Factor, and Snake in the Grass.
Rachel Reilly is now a bona fide soap opera veteran, having appeared on The Bold and the Beautiful in multiple episodes between 2010 and 2014. Her two upcoming episodes will mark her 30th and 31st appearances on the long-running daytime series, which has been on the air since 1987. This is the highest number of appearances for any Big Brother alum on the soap, followed by her husband Brendon Villegas with 18 episodes. Even her sister, Elissa Reilly Slater, has guest-starred six times, also portraying a Bikini Bar server.
It’s been an eventful year for Rachel. Though she didn’t win her third stint on Big Brother, she was a formidable presence in the house and was never voted out by her fellow contestants.
“I would argue that I played the best game of Big Brother 27 of the people in the jury house,” she said ahead of the finale. “I was never nominated. I went home without going through an eviction—on a twist. Most of the evictions this season were influenced by the strategic gameplay I executed. I really think I played the best game this season, and I hope America—and the jurors, maybe everyone—feels the same way.”
Now, she’s moving from one drama-filled show with backstabbing to another, stepping back into the world of daytime soap intrigue.