Big Brother’s Jordan Sangha and Henry Southan reveal the REAL reasons they applied for the show as they detail their ‘very romantic’ post-final reunion and TV plans after settling into domestic bliss

Big Brother stars Jordan Sangha and Henry Southan have settled into domestic bliss after finding love – and a dedicated army of fans – on the ITV show last year.

The pair both entered the famous house with no intentions of finding a partner, yet they left viewers gripped when their close friendship blossomed into romance, and just a week after their BB exit, they made things official.

Now, in an exclusive interview with MailOnline, the pair have shared how they were  ‘taken aback’ to see the ‘endearing’ reactions from fans on social media, with Jordan admitting he’s still getting to grips with the ‘whirlwind’ following the show. 

The couple, who moved in together in January, also shared their plans to kickstart their TV and writing careers, as well as the ‘very romantic’ moment they first reunited three days after leaving the house in November.

Jordan and Henry also shared the candid reasons they originally applied to take part in Big Brother after it was revived by ITV, with the former eventually going onto to win the show, and £100,000 in prize money.

Jordan, who had been working as a lawyer before the show, revealed: ‘I was disillusioned with life, I thought is this b****y it? Is this my lot? Rocking up to court, being dressed down by a judge, potentially because a solicitor has not done their job correctly – no hate to solicitors, many of my good friends are solicitors!’

‘But I thought is this it? I’ve always wanted to write, I’ve always wanted to be something in media, but I never thought that was feasible.

‘But thankfully Big Brother’s provided me with that platform. So I would say being disillusioned with life, I saw this application form. I filled it out in the most flippant manner, I was applying on a whim and yeah, I got the phone call.

‘I thought it was a wind up, but it was the next step, next step, next step, next step. And now I’m here. I just didn’t like my life so decided to change it.’

Henry, who had been a food critic, said: ‘I don’t think I’ve ever given the exact reason, but it’s basically, I applied like pretty much a whole year before the show started.

‘I was actually made redundant from one of my jobs, and it was two weeks before Christmas and I remember that was kind of the same time, or I think that at the end of Love Island, they’d announced that they were doing the applications again and I was such a Big Brother fan I thought, why the hell not?

‘I literally don’t have anything to lose and I went self-employed and that kind of stuff but yeah, I just did it on a whim as well. 

‘I just sent my application, didn’t really expect to hear anything back. We’re not allowed to say too much about the audition day, but there was this sheer volume of people, you think ”there’s no chance you’re going to sort of stand out or they’re going to pick you out of all of these loud brash characters.” So when I got the phone call I was like ”oh, wow!”

Jordan confessed that he nearly ‘walked out’ of his audition for the show because he feared it ‘wasn’t for him,’ while Henry revealed that he had came close to making the lineup for a series of The Apprentice in 2020. 

‘I nearly went on The Apprentice! I’m so happy I didn’t! I do get, obviously not anymore but I did get emails after that every year,’ he said.

For six weeks, viewers watched as Jordan and Henry’s close friendship grew into romance, and despite a few bumps along the way, they’re now ‘stronger than ever.’

Henry said: ‘I kind of thought everything would have died down a bit by now, but it hasn’t really. It’s still all a bit manic and and crazy, and still getting stopped on the street all the time. 

‘I think people kind of had that parasocial relationship with us in a way, because we were in their living rooms every night for six weeks, so they really feel like they know you. 

‘So I was kind of a bit naive initially when people come up to me to say ”Hi Henry”. I was like ”where do I know you from?” Actually, I don’t know them at all! But no, it’s really sweet and endearing.’

Jordan added: ‘Yeah, it is absolutely endearing. At first I was a bit taken aback because it was an absolute whirlwind and you’d go onto Instagram and I’d see lots of accounts with my pictures on them.

‘But nowadays I just think it’s brilliant. I mean, some of the fan accounts, some of the content, they produce edits on TikTok and such else and they’re just, they’re wonderful. 

‘I mean, the other day, someone got me a Kim Woodburn video, I’ve always wanted a Kim Woodburn video. I don’t know if she knew what it was about, I don’t know if she knew who I was, but apparently, I need curling cream for my hair! But nowadays I mean it hasn’t really calmed down, has it?’

Henry agreed adding: ‘No, and that was something to get used to. Whenever you post something on social media how, it suddenly spreads that wildfire.’

Jordan then quipped: ‘I mean, I learned that the hard way. I’m still learning that, because sometimes I post as if I’m posting to my 200 followers I used to have and it just goes out there and then Henry messages me like ”Jordan take that down right now!” 

‘Especially when we’re apart from each other and half my posts don’t make sense anyway!’  

Jordan and Henry have kept fans well-updated with their romance on social media, and the former lawyer, despite earning an army of fans for his sarcastic sense of humour, is no stranger to sharing romantic poems about his boyfriend.

The pair surprised fans when they moved in together just two months after the Big Brother final and despite their close proximity, ‘no plates have been smashed yet.’

Henry said: ‘I mean, we’re in a really weird situation because to most people, moving in that soon is quite quick, but obviously we’ve been living with each other for six weeks from the first day we met, so it kind of like accelerates everything massively, but it’s going really well isn’t it?’

Jordan continued; ‘I mean it’s always nice because Henry of course is a socialite, is a finary who strides around town, whereas I’m more of a homebody, but it’s always pleasant that I know Henry’s going to come back,’ with Henry noting they ‘have that balance.’

Comparing their previous living situations, the food critic said: ‘I mean it’s a much nicer position. It feels more like a home, that I’ve had in London that feels more like a proper base than a home, I’d say. 

‘And I’m just lucky that I feel like some of the other housemates, they don’t… I’ve got that one person with me all the time that’s going through the same thing as I am and we’re really there for each other.’

Jordan said: ‘I know, I would not have wanted to do any of this without Henry post-show. I mean, Henry does keep me sane and sound of mind. He’s my carer – that’s a bit of a joke!’

Noting his own housing set-up before the show, Jordan said: ‘So I was living with my cousin and then one of his colleagues, and they work from home quite a bit now, so it was never quiet there, and I always felt I had to sneak Henry in and out of this poky room. 

‘So now we don’t have to sneak anymore. Does it take any excitement out of it?’

Henry laughed: ‘It all just feels quite normal now, it’s a shame! It’s great and as soon as you went in to look at the place. You were like that’s the place!’

The pair have now relocated to a lavish apartment, complete with an ode to the Big Brother house in the form of a mezzanine.

Jordan explained: ‘It was quite a quick turnaround. One night I was having a little bit of wine saw this place. I thought this is a place for us.

‘Next day we were viewing it and then the next day an offer was made and accepted!

‘I thought because of the London market, I’ve gotta get in there fast. I love how high the ceilings are – I love that. If we have guests, we can just hide upstairs and the guest has their own bathroom downstairs and bedroom downstairs.’

While both Jordan and Henry admitted they are far from culinary experts, the series winner said he’s surprised himself with his domestic skills since they moved in together.

Henry said: ‘So I must say, I’ve been saying this for a lot of people. I am very shocked to find out that Jordan is actually a domestic Goddess.

‘Because in the house. I mean, there are a couple of days where I thought you were not very well because you were hoovering, which I thought, ”oh, what’s going on here?”

‘But Jordan is so domestic, and actually I think I need that, to be very good at ”Henry needs to do this, he needs to do that,” you’re very good in the house because I’m useless in most instances.’

After celebrating Jordan’s Big Brother victory at a boozy wrap party, the pair revealed that it took just three days for them to reunite after leaving the house.

Jordan said: ‘It was a strange one for me, but when I first got your number I was a bit taken aback that this person actually exists in the real world.’

Henry added: ‘It was weird leaving each other at that breakfast. I’m telling you. OK, ”I’m going now”.

‘I think I went home for maybe like three nights, and then I came straight to yours.’

Referring to their first selfie together, Jordan quipped: ‘That’s where the first picture was taken… We slept probably somewhere we should not have slept – I won’t go into further detail. It was very romantic!’

Jordan then stunned fans by sharing an Instagram post in the early hours revealing that he and Henry made their romance official, writing: ‘The bf term might now be applicable, and I cannot stop smiling.’

Henry revealed: ‘So that was really interesting. We’d kind of talked about sort of the next steps in our relationship, like progressing it to being boyfriends, we’d spoken about it unofficially.

‘And then I go to sleep one night, 1am, Jordan posts ”I think we can call each other boyfriends now”. I find out when I wake up, Capital FM turns on. It’s like: ”Big Brother fans. Henry and Jordan are officially boyfriends!” I went ”are we?”

Jordan joked: ‘I said BF and I thought BF could be ambiguous! Could be best friends! I did intend for boyfriend – I was missing you!’

Sharing how they’ve navigated their romance since leaving the house, Henry said: ‘We then did kind of take it like as normal people do relationships and we went on a couple of dates, went out for dinner and tried to do normal things that didn’t involve us being dressed as ants or wearing big wigs!’

Jordan added that the earlier days of their romance could be ‘challenging’ at times, explaining: ‘What we’d see is if Henry didn’t like one of my comments or I didn’t like one of his comments, everyone would have thought we split up already and it was just that we were under the spotlight. No one gives a fig nowadays, do they?’

Asked whether they felt any pressure on their romance when they first left the house, Henry said: ‘A huge pressure, even if I only post today, if I post only two stories, people are like: ‘Oh Henry’s having a break from social media!’ There was like huge pressure. Obviously there’s so many people shipping us.’

Referring to hilarious tales of his exploits in the house, Jordan added: ‘I was genuinely working from through my emotions, because although I’ve been in loads of bushes and, you know, had my time doing that, I’ve never had a relationship, not even really a situationship of sorts.’

The pair shared that this is the first time they’ve been in a relationship, with both saying they believed that’s helped them form such a strong bond.

Henry said: ‘I think so, and I think it feels more real because it was the last thing we were ever expecting to find going in the house.

‘So it kind of progressed. I mean, we joke about me falling in love with Jordan on day two, but we were friends. I knew instantly we were gonna be like best friends in the House and it kind of developed from that into a more romantic connection.

‘I guess it’s quite nice, we’ve had that kind of more organic progression into a relationship. Whereas other shows like Love Island and that was kind of forced and it’s like ”you’re there to find someone”. It was the last thing [we were expecting].’

Jordan added: ‘I didn’t go in there to find love!’ before Henry referring to their hilarious show quip: ‘Two posh p****s!’

After leaving the house, the pair hinted they’ve got numerous TV and writing projects in the pipeline, with Jordan sharing: ‘I’ve had a meeting with a script editor who’s very interested in my work, so hopefully that will be buoyant.

‘Then also I have my book which I had written before the house. I mean it might be a load of c**p, but nonetheless let’s see how that goes, it’s with a publishing house at the moment.’

Henry added: ‘I’m also writing a book at the moment, which I never expected to do anything like that, it’s a bit of a monster to actually get all the words down, but I’m really excited about that also.

‘I’m still really into my restaurants and food and I want to keep going on writing, even potentially doing some TV work around that as well.

‘And we can tease we’ve got this fun little potential TV show but we can’t say much!’

This may fuel fans’ hopes that they could be joining Channel 4 favourite Gogglebox, with Jordan adding: ‘I mean what I would say is we neither of us want to disappear. We want to stay in like this kind of world.’

With a trip to Barcelona on the horizon, the couple also shared plans for more romantic trips in the future, including the New York getaway that many of their followers have been calling for. 

The fanbase Jordan and Henry have accrued are hugely dedicated, with the pair admitting that getting to grips with their army of supporters was newfound territory.

Jordan said: ‘I mean, I went from 223 or something in a matter of days to 238,000!

‘It was really difficult for me and I always tried to express this to [Henry] because you had an online presence beforehand.

‘I’ve never read stuff about me online which has been really negative and but then I’ve never read stuff online about me being really positive. 

‘I preferred reading the negative for a period, so I thought, ”OK, I can take this”, but then I was trying to express to you stuff like. ”oh Henry you don’t understand”. One of my favorite lines, but no I’m kind of used to it now.

Henry added: ‘And I’d say for me, I was actually getting way more negative comments before I went to Big Brother than after.

‘I’ve had way more positive reaction since leaving, before I’d get the usual like ”posh w****r” and all this stuff. And I think what Big Brother helps me with, is that people could see beyond all of that.

‘I think people judged me on that first episode on launch night and everything and they were like ”oh gosh what’s he gonna be like?” I think I was probably one of the least favourites to win at the start of the betting odds.

‘But I think people then just gave me time to show I’m actually quite a nice person. Yeah, and on social media that was a really nice thing to see the positive reaction.’

Reflecting on their time on the show, Henry added: ‘I didn’t really think that we were like a big part of the story, like one of the main storylines at all. So when I came out of the house and I saw everyone was like ‘I believe in Jenry supremacy’. I’m like what is going on? 

‘And then it was just bonkers, there were times where I kind of thought that maybe some louder characters would be getting more screentime, but then for example they would show us for four or five minutes admiring the bees in the garden like an old married couple which I thought was really sweet.’

Jordan added: ‘We’re aware that someone is watching, so we wouldn’t say anything because we’re aware that it’s being watched and someone else is going to pick up on it. 

‘So I’m not going to divulge my deepest, darkest secrets, if that makes sense. So there is that kind of filter there, but we weren’t really conscious that it was going out to a bigger [audience].’

‘If there was a whole team of people and then like rolling a camera, you probably wouldn’t be like, necking off in a hot tub!,’ Henry quipped.

‘I’m very strong on this, I think everyone was very accurately represented on the show. I don’t think that anyone was sort of shown to be unfairly.

‘I’ve watched the whole thing back twice, and yeah I think it’s a really accurate representation.’

Despite the challenges they endured while living in the house, ITV vastly increased their duty of care proceedings for housemates taking part in the show.

Henry explained: ‘I mean there was so much psych evaluation before you go on the show. And even especially those first few weeks once you leave, there is constant communication and checking in.’

Jordan added that all housemates were able to speak to a psychologist – off-camera and unrecorded – but agreed that it was the lack of sleep and food that proved the most difficult in the house. 

He said: ‘Duty of care is so important nowadays, and they’re very conscious of that. And as you might have noticed, no one from our series walked, no one from the celebrity series has walked, no one has been kicked out.

‘So they do, you know, strenuous psych tests beforehand. And so, I suppose that keeps everyone in for the duration because, it’s in their best interest to keep the person in. And so to do that, they’ve gotta make sure the duty of care is there.

‘I think sleep and food is where it gets difficult. Alcohol, they don’t really give you enough to get sloshed… although some nights my mum said she was ringing up welfare, saying ”Jordan looks p****d tonight. What have you given him?”

‘But they honestly don’t give you that much. And if they think you’ve had too much, they will tell you.’

While their relationship has gone from strength to strength, Jordan and Henry also shared that they’ve been welcomed by their respective families.

They even celebrated the New Year with Henry’s mother in Mallorca, before enjoying a fun weekend in London with his sister, and Jordan’s mum.

Jordan shared that his mother also fiercely defended him during his time in the house, even getting ‘told off’ by production for posts she shared supporting him.

Since leaving the Big Brother house, the pair have been making the most of their fame, enjoying a night out at the BRIT Awards, where Henry met his idol Kylie Minogue.

Jordan also got the chance to meet Michelle Visage while they attended Dragcon in January, and earlier this month he returned to the Big Brother spin-off Late and Live during its Celebrity launch, with Henry proudly supporting him.

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