‘Big Brother 19’ Contestant Megan Lowder Exits Early, Claims ‘PTSD’ From Prior Assault Is To Blame

One contestant from the current season of “Big Brother” on CBS voluntarily exited the competition series early, after suffering from what she claimed was PTSD from a sexual assault prior to her time on the show.

Megan Lowder, a 28-year-old dog walker from Phoenix, left the popular summer competition series early after the situation triggered enormous amounts of PTSD for her, something she has dealt with ever since her time spent in the Navy.

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In an interview with The Desert Sun, Megan revealed that she had been sexually assaulted while stationed in Virginia as she served, and the PTSD she suffered from the traumatic experience was triggered during her time in the “Big Brother” house.

“When I was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, I was sexually assaulted and I got really bad PTSD from it,” she said. “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.”

Viewers who watched the episode airing on Thursday, June 29, saw Megan get verbally attacked by fellow castmate Josh Martinez, who called her a “bully” and a “snake” when she asked who had gotten the Golden Apple, which saves that person from elimination. He also called her out a second time, though he later apologized for his outburst.

“I don’t want nothing to do with you in this game. I love everybody but you. And I wanted to make it very clear... everybody has a good heart here and you’re a snake and a bully and I’m done with you,” he said at the time.

Megan, who was also nominated by Head of Household Cody Nickson for elimination simply because he “didn’t like her,” says now that while she forgave Josh for his outburst, she still doesn’t understand why she was targeted the way she was.

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“I have no idea still to this day, (I) do not know why he went after me like that,” she said. “Cody did as well and Mark (Jansen), but Mark wasn’t as bad.”

Megan also says she doesn’t blame anyone else for her exit, saying it was her own issues that prompted her to leave.

“I was expecting to have one of the funnest summers of my life. I did have fun. I had a great time until all that just got the best of me,” she said. “It was my own issues that lead to everything. It wasn’t anyone else's fault. Without my stuff going on I probably could have handled things very, very differently and been fine but I just couldn’t.”

She reiterated however that her exit had nothing to do with rumors she had made a racial comment and referred to another contestant as a “Panda,” and she had been considering leaving before that drama, featuring contestant Alex Ow, unfolded.

“I could have heard wrong, it’s entirely possible,” Megan says of the comment. “But I was already talking to them about wanting to leave before that and so at that point I knew I couldn’t handle it anymore and I went into the diary room where I started having a panic attack and they wound up taking me to the hospital a couple hours later.”

A live feed of the action inside the “Big Brother” house is available on the CBS All-Access App. Episodes of the show air on CBS at 8 p.m. EST on Mondays and Wednesdays, as well as at 9 p.m. EST on Sundays.