Paul Ryan Christopher "Paulie" Calafiore was a houseguest on Big Brother 18 (US).
Coming into Big Brother 18 as the sibling of a former contestant, Paulie quickly aligned with the returning players. From the start, he was able to control the house, manipulate situations and eliminate many threats to his game. However, after a blowup with a fewofthe women in the house in week 7, he, along with his allies Corey, Nicole and Zakiyah became targets for a new power alliance. When the house successfully evicted Paulie's showmance partner, Zakiyah during the first half of the Double Eviction, Paulie was left devastated but safe when Corey won HoH and PoV in the second part. However, he was nominated the next week against Corey by Victor. When he or Corey did not win the Power of Veto, they remained on the block together and Paulie was later evicted by a 5-0 vote. He placed 8th and was the fourth member of the jury.
Age: 27 Hometown: Howell, NJ Current city: Howell, NJ Occupation: DJ Three adjectives that describe you: Driven, passionate, and quick-witted. Favorite activities: I love various martial arts, exercise, and instruments. I like Krav Maga the most on the martial arts side and playing the guitar on the instrument side. What do you think will be the most difficult part about living inside the Big Brother house? Being away from my family and my business. I’ll definitely have to put a lot of faith in the fact that I have good people working for me to make sure the business continues to grow, especially during the crucial months of the summer. Which past Big Brother cast member did you like most?Cody Calafiore from Season 16, for obvious reasons. Do you have a strategy for winning the game? There are multiple strategies I’ll use, none of which have any meaning prior to entering the house and seeing what pieces I’ll be playing chess with. My life's motto is... A comfort zone is a wonderful place, but nothing ever grows there. What would you take into the house, and why? A toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash because it would be impossible to be social at all with rancid breath.[1]
Player History - Big Brother 18[]
Competition History[]
Week 1
Immunity
Loss
HTR Part 1
Win
HTR Part 2
Ineligible
HTR Part 3/HOH
Ineligible
Roadkill
Loss
POV
Loss
Week 2
HOH
Win
Roadkill
Loss
POV
Win
Week 3
HOH
Previous HOH
Roadkill
Loss
POV
Loss
Week 4
HOH
Win
Roadkill
Loss
POV
Loss
Week 5
HOH
Previous HOH
POV
Not Picked
Week 6
HOH
Loss
POV
Win
Week 7
HOH
Loss
POV
Win
HOH
Loss
POV
Not Picked
Week 8
HOH
Loss
POV
Loss
Week 9
Luxury
Win
Luxury
Win*
Have/Have-Not
Unknown
HOH Advantage
Evicted
Week 10
Re-Entry/HOH
Loss
Note: Paulie actually won the second luxury on Week 9. The reason why Victor was falsely given the luxury was because the "Big Brother County Fair" occurred when Paulie was still in the house. However, the episode aired after Paulie's eviction, so the producers edited Paulie out of the episode completely.
After Big Brother 18 (US)’s conclusion, Paulie began a relationship with fellow houseguest Zakiyah Everette. However, they broke up prior to February 2017.
From January 2018, Paulie has been in a relationship with Bachelor in Paradise contestant Danielle Maltby.[2] However, they broke up once filming for The Challenge: Final Reckoning ended.
He has since been dating fellow competitor Cara Maria Sorbello.[3] The two broke up after filming The Challenge: War of the Worlds due to cheating scandals involving Danielle.[4] However, after Paulie's vows to win her back, it was rumored that they have reconciled, with the couple later confirming their reunion during the War of the Worlds reunion show.[5]
Paulie announced that he was recommended to try out for the U.S. Olympic Bobsled team by Celebrity Big Brother 2 (US) contestant, and fellow Challenger, Lolo Jones.[6]
In June 2023, Paulie and Cody competed in The Soccer Tournament, organizing and playing for the Kingdom Football Club team. Their team ultimately finished in the fifth match of the Top 16 by a score of 4-3.[7][8]
Paulie and Cody are set to return to The Soccer Tournament for its second edition in the summer of 2024, once again on the Kingdom FC team.
Paulie was set to appear on The Challenge: Vendettas alongside Natalie and Victor Arroyo, but injured himself the night before flying out. He ended up going onto Ex on the Beach instead while he healed.
Paulie appeared as one of the singles on the first United States season of MTV's Ex on the Beach[10]. His only ex was Lexi Marsella[11], and they rekindled their romance during the show, only to break up again soon after filming was over.
Paulie competed on The Challenge: Final Reckoning[12] alongside Natalie, Jozea, Da'Vonne, and Big Brother 18 (UK) contestant Kayleigh Morris. He was partnered up with Natalie as his Vendetta. They were eliminated and sent to the Redemption House in Episode 3. After losing to Da'Vonne & Jozea in Redemption challenges twice, they finally won their way back into the main game in Episode 15. Paulie & Natalie ended up making it to the Final Challenge where they placed third out of the final four teams.
Paulie and Cara Maria appeared as a couple on the 8th episode of How Far is Tattoo Far?. Cara Maria gave Paulie a tattoo of herself from The Challenge XXX: Dirty 30[13], while he gave her a tattoo of a crow from Game of Thrones with a heart, along with the coordinates of Hermanus, South Africa, where Final Reckoning took place, and where they met[14].
Paulie competed on The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2 alongside Josh, Kayleigh and Bear. He was placed on Team USA.[16] Paulie ended up making it to the Final Challenge for a second time in his Challenge career, alongside Cara Maria, Ninja, Ashley Mitchell, Kam Williams, Leroy Garett and Zach Nichols. During the middle of Stage One of the Final, Paulie ended up passing out from exhaustion and heat stroke, but was able to bounce back. Paulie got the third spot out of four Americans in Stage Two, alongside Ninja, Cara Maria and Zach, but ultimately they lost to Team UK, thus placing second in the Final.
Paulie was set to compete on The Challenge: Total Madness, but was ultimately dropped for the final cast for reasons unknown, and after he was dropped, Cara Maria pulled herself from the cast in solidarity. Had he played, he would have competed alongside Josh, Bear, Kaycee, Fessy, Bayleigh, Swaggy C, and HaAh HaGadol VIP 3 winner Asaf Goren.
Paulie participated in The Challenge: Untold History, a six-part documentary series going over the legacy of the franchise.
Paulie appeared in the launch special of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, during Cara Maria's intro package in preparation for her guest appearance as a Champion Mercenary.
Paulie appeared in the second episode of The Challenge: Home Turf, which focused primarily on Cara Maria and her Challenge legacy.[17]
Paulie is rumored to be competing on The Challenge 40 alongside Josh, Kaycee and Kyland.
Paulie's Cast Photo for Ex on the Beach 1 (US)
Paulie's Cast Photo for The Challenge: Final Reckoning
Paulie's Cast Photo for The Challenge: War of the Worlds
Paulie's Cast Photo for The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2
Paulie during a segment for The Challenge: Untold History
Paulie is the third HouseGuest to win the Power of Veto in all three situations (as HOH, as a nominee, and as a picked player), sometimes referred to as the Trifecta Veto. The first HouseGuests do accomplish were Daniele Donato and Shane Meaney.
Paulie has the worst place finish for a houseguest with 5 or more competitions at 8th place, tied with Aaryn Gries.
He is the first male to accomplish this feat.
He also has the lowest place finish for a houseguest with multiple HoHs and multiple PoVs in a single season.
Paulie is tied with Corey Brooks and Paul Abrahamian for the most PoV competitions won on Big Brother 18 (US) with three wins each.
Both times, he was HOH, the Roadkill winner was evicted.
Paulie is the third houseguest to make a cameo in a season before being cast in another, following Kara Monaco and Elissa Slater, and followed by Ross Mathews, Marissa Jaret Winokur and Kato Kaelin. Paulie and Marissa are the only ones to cameo in two different seasons before being cast in one themselves.
The first time he was shown in Cody's premiere night intro on season 16, and later he appeared with his brother as they visited Derrick Levasseur to discuss season 17.
Ross' and Marissa's cameos all happened before Paulie's did, but Paulie's counts as the third because he became a houseguest before they did.
Paulie is the first houseguest to ever be evicted by the HOH whom he evicted early on. He was evicted under the HOH reign of Victor during Week 8. He was followed by Natalie Negrotti a few weeks later, who was also evicted under Victor's HOH reign week 11.
It is heavily rumored that Paulie was an alternate for his brother Cody on Big Brother 22 (US), going through quarantine and sequester, but was ultimately unused.[18] He went on to try out for the U.S. Olympic Bobsled team instead.