‘Big Brother’ Season 18 Winner Nicole Franzel Pays Tribute To Her ‘Ride Or Die’ Corey Brooks

“Big Brother” Season 18 winner Nicole recently paid tribute to her showmance and "ride or die" Corey.

On her Instagram account, the 21-year-old houseguest expressed her gratitude to Corey for supporting her throughout the summer. Nicole also said that she’s very pleased she followed her gut in trusting and working with Corey because the latter didn’t disappoint her. “I wouldn’t have kicked butt without you… Well I would’ve buuut it just wouldn’t have been as much fun,” Nicole captioned a photo of herself hugging Corey. She also used the hashtag “bestsidekickeva.”

Meanwhile, Nicole was named Season 18’s big winner after five members of the jury house voted for her over Paul. Her win came as a bit of a surprise because Nicole previously told Corey that the female houseguests will definitely not give her any support. While speaking with US Weekly, Nicole said that she also cannot believe she won over Paul because the latter played really well for the past 100 days.

“I just cannot believe it. The fact that I won against somebody who played such a good game is just – holy cow! Not only did I win, but I beat Paul. He just did so well. I think that’s what surprised me the most. Day said that she voted for who she thought played the best game. It just made me feel really good that people definitely knew that I came to play,” she said.

In other news, Paul doesn’t have any regrets over not winning $500,000. According to Buddy TV, the professional musician somewhat knew that the jury was pissed at him, so regardless of whether he had brought James or Nicole to the final two, he would’ve still lost.

On his Instagram account, Paul shared a lengthy message to all of his fans and critics. “Whether I took James or Nicole, I was going to lose either way… If staying true to myself only won me $50K, then so be it,” he wrote.

“Big Brother” Season 18 aired its final episode on Sept. 21 at 9 p.m. ET.