Why did Megan Lowder leave Big Brother 19? Past assault, PTSD played role
As it turns out, the answer may be somewhat different, and a little more serious than so many of us were aware of from the outside looking in. In her first interview since leaving the game with the Desert Sun (an outlet close to her hometown of Cathedral City), she recounts that her history and past traumas, combined with the drama that we’d seen both on the show and apparently before the feeds came on played a factor in her leaving the game:
“When I was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, I was sexually assaulted and I got really bad PTSD from it … So in the house… I had a lot of guys yelling at me and attacking me and it started really affecting me and making my anxiety severe and I was starting to get physically ill. I was throwing up, I had diarrhea, I was nauseous all the time.”
In the interview Megan claims that the decision was “mutual” for her to leave, that she was hospitalized briefly following her time on the show, and that she’s back now with her family. She feels disappointment over the fact that she was a superfan and there were many other people who would want to be in her place on the show.
Megan also denies in the interview saying a racist remark (referring to Alex as a “panda”), and she seems to stand by her story of someone else saying it, and she simply reporting it back.
Now, it’s time to just move forward
We know what so many of the knee-jerk internet responses are about Megan “taking the spot” of someone else and that she’s “terrible” for leaving the show. Here’s our feeling on it: We’re not Megan, none of us are Megan, and we’re not in her situation. We also haven’t battled PTSD or have been the victim of an assault. For us to judge anyone else for anything they’re going through feels wrong. It’s one thing to feel like you’d be okay enough to be in the Big Brother environment and it’s something completely different once you’re actually there. If Big Brother wanted to sequester Cameron and bring him back, that’s their prerogative.
It stinks that someone had to leave the game — it’s never something anyone wants, and we certainly believe Megan when she says that she didn’t want that either. Being resentful or angry about it after the fact doesn’t help anyone. Hopefully Megan just feels better in the end, and we can all look forward and try to enjoy the rest of the season. Mental health is always going to be a thousand times more important than a silly social experiment, regardless of how invested we all do tend to get in it.
Back to our regularly-scheduled news
Our evening live feed update will be online later. For now, head over here to learn who won the Power of Veto, and who could be the replacement nominee. (Photo: CBS)