DC ExtraTime: Someone You Should Know - Big Brother's Swayleigh

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Chris "Swaggy C" Williams & Bayleigh Dayton,
with BB host Julie Chen (center; from CBS)

As we enter the Christmas portion of what is referred to in the social media verse as "cuffing season," love is in the air for reality TV fans. A new season of Ex On The Beach begins in a matter of hours from now with an Are You The One? love triangle and reality villain Chad Johnson being part of this season's cast of singles. Former NFL receiver Colton Underwood is waiting in the wings as the next leading man on The Bachelor, while one of the most controversial reality shows ever created, Temptation Island, will return in the new year.

Finding a couple who met on a reality show and them making it work after the cameras turn off is about as rare as the matchmaking process that those who follow AYTO as much as this site does can attest. But when true love is found, everyone has reason to celebrate: Amber & Ethan Diamond are the epitome of relationship goals to fans who handicap who are perfect matches while their original show airs... and they're one of a handful of those who have made love work in the long run among couples that met on a reality television series.

For 2018's romantic reality success story, the couple of our focus here met inside the most scrutinized summer house in this country: dozens of cameras and millions of eyeballs fixed on every move, televised and edited to viewers every year. One was a representative from the Midwest in an event ExtraTime focused on back on Tuesday, while the other is (like just about everyone in this blogger's family) an avid basketball enthusiast who shares a nickname as one of the NBA's most celebrated non-megastars. Their story of them meeting in the house and everything that occurred since has been well documented, and it's what happened when they left the house that is sure to be one of 2018's biggest reality TV moments.

And with the help of another couple who also met on reality TV and are still together a year later which they met last week, here's our chance to introduce you to Someone You Should Know: the couple from Big Brother 20 known simply as #Swayleigh.

This summer while DCBLOG was focused entirely on MTV matters -- Season 32 of The Challenge, Season 7 of Are You The One? and Season 2 of Floribama Shore, there was another reality show that, in all likelihood, you were glued to almost every day on television or the live internet feeds. Of course, we are talking about Big Brother: once ridiculed for not matching the immense impact it had when it launched in Europe at the dawn of the reality boom, the American version has become a summertime TV powerhouse ever since.
   The landmark Season 20 of that franchise took place earlier this year, where what happened late in the season with the husband of the show’s host Julie Chen, now embattled CBS president Leslie Moonves, cast a shadow over the summer & fall for both the show and the network itself as the boss was struck down by the #MeToo bullet. As The Challenge did for their 30th season last year and Real World for their 20th a decade ago, Big Brother gathered many series alumni for their anniversary season launch: recent Challenger Da'Vonne Rogers, Season 17 sister act Julia & Liz Nolan, Season 18 fave Zakiyah Everette and Season 19 winner Josh Martinez help pass the torch to Season 20... and this season gave nods to prior seasons all summer.
   This year's fun fest brought sixteen houseguests to a 100-day LA vacation that culminated with reality's biggest night: the BB20 finale airing after the premiere of Season 37 of CBS' other reality staple Survivor, which concluded last night. Moonves aside, there were numerous controversies among the houseguests: JC Moundrix getting too up close with some of the cast and getting roasted for making fun of #MeToo; Angela Rummans, Rachel Swindler and Kaitlyn Herman getting rung up for racism; Haleigh Broucher being blasted for making fun of disabled people, and Brett Robinson, Angela "Rockstar" Lantry and Scottie Salton having their moments at eviction. In the end, the jury handed a 5-4 verdict to Kaycee Clark, a female pro football player who celebrates her birthday next week, over South Carolina lifeguard & Favorite Houseguest Tyler Crispen for the $500,000 top prize.
   Technology played a part in the season's twists with an app and a hacker competition being part of the year's twists, along with BB’s take on the Redemption House, the Battle Back. One of those who took part in the same scenario that Paulie Califiore just went through with Natalie Negrotti on The Challenge in overcoming many of those to make the final on Final Reckoning, is one-half of this year's two BB love stories (along with Tyler and fellow SC girl Angela).
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In DCBLOG’s look at the 2017 Miss USA Pageant that focused on AYTO Season 7 alum & Miss West Virginia Lauren Roush, another lady who was in the running for the crown that night was Miss Missouri: Bayleigh Dayton from outside Kansas City. The one who was voted by her pageant peers at "Miss Congeniality" that summer week a year ago in Las Vegas was taking a summer's break from a job as a flight attendant, and who saw herself in her cast bio as "engulfing, adventurous & unpredictable." Going into the house, Bayleigh's plan to make it to the end was to be true to herself, yet be someone the house can find themselves comfortable living with and stay out of the fireworks.
   Meanwhile, Chris Williams came to Cali from Bridgeport, CT as a day trader who regularly commuted to the Big Apple for fun with stocks & numbers, but whose passion comes on the court as a basketball fanatic... he has, after all, the same "Swaggy" moniker as Laker turned Warrior turned Nugget Nick Young. Swaggy C. called himself "outspoken, rebellious, and analytical" in his bio, while also enjoying getting to entertain his Snapchat followers and wishing Paul Abrahamian had won BB18 if not for Nicole Franzel pulling an Ashley as a late comer and winning that season. The biggest challenge he had going in: having to survive a world with no outside contact other than just outside the house windows.
   When Bayleigh and Swaggy C met each other in the Big Brother house on move-in day of June 27, they formed a bond - both romantically and strategically. Along with forming alliances and connections as is typical at the beginning of any Big Brother summer, he got off to a flying start in winning two early competitions in Week 1. But being limited in what to do when not being up for eviction, soon enough Chris was on his way out as the second houseguest eliminated and falling short of the point where those like Paulie and Da'Vonne were in Battle Back trying to regain their keys.
   It was not the end of Swaggy there, as he then showed up a few weeks later when he got to meet the mom and dad as part of Bayleigh's time to meet her parents. That came in Week 5 in the house as after several tries, she finally gained Head of Household honors and shortly after JC used a racial slur towards her. It was the flight attendant/pageant queen who fared better than the basketball player in this season, as Bayleigh was shown the door in Week 7 but didn't go entirely as she joined the jury panel who held the hand in the final voting outcome, with her voting for Kaycee.

Just on Tuesday, we saw Challenge badass CT get married to Lili in front of family, friends and a few of his Challenge colleagues getting to witness his crowning moment... and earlier this month, we saw Tony Raines get down on one knee to his girlfriend Alyssa for a proposal that was a happy end to a most eventful Season 32 of The Challenge. But on finale night of September 26, and in just about the same manner as what we saw at the Final Reckoning reunion (as well as Amber & Ethan on their AYTO1 reunion), Swaggy shifted the attention from whether Kaycee or Tyler should win to who he should spend the rest of his life with: a proposal to Bayleigh if she wanted to marry him as he got down on one knee, and she got to say, "Yes!"
​   Swaggy and Bayleigh's big moment was the second proposal of this landmark Big Brother 20 season, as earlier in the month Nicole Franzel returned to the house to host a competition which was then sabotaged by her boyfriend and fellow Season 18 HG Victor Arroyo - last seen getting eliminated on Vendettas as Big Brother's MTV invasion began to take shape, who also proposed and got engaged on the spot. But it was shortly after they left the house that the joy of that moment seen on live TV would give way to one of life's most cruelest hands: during week 6 in the house, Bayleigh found out that she had gotten pregnant with Swaggy before his week 2 eviction... the first houseguest to ever get knocked up. However while waiting the summer out in the Jury house, in a heartbreaking YouTube video they posted shortly after Bayleigh found out that she had suffered a miscarriage.
   Nonetheless, that traumatizing news has not totally affected #Swayleigh, as after they just bought a new house the attention turns to planning their big day of officially becoming husband & wife after a most memorable summer. Last week - and just off the plane from a post Thanksgiving trip to Thailand, Swaggy and Bayleigh spoke to Entertainment Tonight where he told the outlet on the red carpet at an WE TV premiere in Los Angeles, "I couldn't have asked for anything better. Everything I envisioned while she was in the jury house, exactly what's going on right now. So, I'm very happy." And she added, "I'm still in shock. He does everything that I want him to do, so it's good."

IG @SwaggyCTV / @BayyDayy / @unwosu

Earlier this week, Bayleigh and Chris got an opportunity to meet up with another couple who met on reality TV and have made it a full year in their relationship in a world that reality romances have varying lengths of shelf life. Florida fitness guru Clinton Moxam and Nigerian-raised Uche Nwosu met on Season 6 of Are You The One? last year and are still together from a season that pulled out an epic last-minute comeback to win $1 million. After various other romances among that group faded out, it left the self-named #Cluche as the only couple still left standing... though they are one of the many AYTO fan favorite couples stung by a truth booth no-match in its seven seasons.
   When they met up at a West Hollywood restaurant while they were in town for both that red carpet as well as sitting courtside for LeBron James' last game against friend Dwayne Wade - and taking a picture with Lakers boss lady Jennie Buss, everyone in the social sphere had reason to believe in love including both Swayleigh and Cluche, as they captioned the above photo on Instagram.

• @swaggyctv: "Big Brother x Are You The One ☔️👫 Swayleigh Gang x Cluche Gang inna’ building 🤩 Y’all already know to recognize superstars when you see em! Peep me & Bayydayy on the left. Matchin’ jean jackets & the matchin’ melanin skin is so fire 💭🔥 Cluche is in this picture too so they gotta get introduced to the GAS STATION! It’s not fair for Clinton to be lightskinned trainer w/ dreads .. & he got a dope ass girl by his side 💧🌴 Dopest couple we know. Alongside Swayleigh ✈️👏🏾 #PopOutSZN #GangGang #Drippppp 🙏"
• @bayydayy: "Quick story! @unwosu sent me a message right after the BB season ended saying how her and Clinton felt connected to our experience and we immediately clicked! There wasn’t even any hesitation to be friends with these two and after this dinner, they’re stuck with us. It was SO refreshing to find another couple so similar ❤️ I feel like we’ve known each other for years and I cannot wait to see what this friendship brings ✨ all I know is that God sent them and we are happy to have them as our new couple friends! Love you guys 💕"
• @unwosu: "It’s not often you meet people and immediately have an undeniable bond. Two of the most genuine, beautiful, all around amazing people I have EVER met. So grateful to now have these two in our lives as forever friends ❤️ #BIGBROTHER meets #AREYOUTHEONE"

WAIT TF UP. I wasn’t ready for this collab! Swayleigh AND Clinton/Uche

I- pic.twitter.com/1sviFcNwZP

— Mel Brown (@melbrown0) December 13, 2018

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

Tonight, love will be in the air in MTV land once again, but this time it might be a bit more on edge than usual. One of those Clinton & Uche shared quarters with in the AYTO Season 6 house, Malcolm Drummer, is among the ten singles who'll be taking their talents to Ex On The Beach Season 2, where he'll ultimately have to again be the object of two girls who went bananas for him in Nurys Mateo and Diandra Delgado. We'll see how they, BB alums Corey Brooks & Morgan Willett and other familiar faces handle the heat when #DCNOW live tweets tonight's season premiere and the Floribama Shore cast's Mexican invasion tonight at @DC408DxNow. And make sure to rejoin DCBLOG this holiday weekend when we'll be covering both shows with all the action, reaction and interaction on a double serving of the SocialPulse and much more. Enjoy the night to come...

- I AM DC
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