When Jeff Schroeder was auditioning for Big Brother, he didn’t even know what a showmance was.
“I remember in the questionnaire, you filled out this big thing and one of them was, ‘You down for having a relationship — a showmance?’” Jeff, 47, exclusively recalled to Us Weekly before the season 27 premiere of Big Brother on Thursday, July 10. “I didn’t know the ins and the outs of things.”
After entering the Big Brother house for season 11 in 2009, Jeff not only won competitions and made it the Top 5, but he also was part of one of the show’s greatest showmances as he fell in love with fellow houseguest Jordan Lloyd.
“Everybody kept coming up in interviews and the press stuff, and they’re like, ‘Oh, so what’s up with you and Jeff?’” Jordan, 38, recalled after winning the season. “I mean we liked each other, but I didn’t know we were going to get so many questions about that.”
‘Big Brother’ Couples Write Valentine’s Day Love Letters to Their Partner
Nearly 16 years after participating in the CBS reality show, Jeff and Jordan are raising sons Lawson, 8, and Layton, 6, in Colorado and proving that yes, you can find love on one of summer’s most addictive reality shows.
“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs, and we’ve been through it all together,” Jeff shared with Us when reflecting on their love story, which included a wedding at the Beverly Hills courthouse in March 2016. “I think Jordan’s support is the reason why we’ve made it through some of those hard times. I think you just have to be accepting that life isn’t going to be perfect or fair all the time. But more so than that, I think the secret for us as far as Big Brother relationships go, when we were on, we didn’t really know the show.”
When Jeff and Jordan’s season aired, Instagram wasn’t a thing and social media influencers didn’t exist. Instead, contestants simply competed for a $500,000 cash prize and hoped their fellow houseguests wouldn’t evict them before finale night.
“There was no pressure for us. We were just best friends in the house,” Jeff said. “The relationship we had in the house and us having each other’s backs through all the ups and downs of Big Brother is kind of like a reflection of how the past 16 years have been with us. … We got each other’s backs through thick and thin.”
Instead of living their lives in Los Angeles and attending red carpets, Jeff and Jordan chose to raise their family in Colorado where they can bring out their lawn chairs on any given evening and hang out with neighbors.
While Jeff briefly filled in as coach for his son’s flag football team, he prefers to be on the sidelines because the “parents are insane.” As for Jordan, she loves to be part of school pickup and volunteer in her sons’ classrooms when the room mom calls.
“As far as suburbia goes, we’ve embraced it,” Jeff joked. “I grew up a city kid and I love it. I embraced it. We are chain restaurant people. We keep it simple.”
Jordan added, “We love doing yard work. We don’t go to fancy places. On occasion we will if it’s like a birthday or something, but normally, like my birthday, we went to Outback. We’re very low-key.”
Like so many couples, Jeff and Jordan struggle to prioritize date night. While they are planning a kids-free trip to Europe onboard Celebrity Cruises later this summer, the reality stars admit they could do a better job at making space for alone time.
“When we do do something, we have the best time,” Jeff said.
Jordan added, “And then I’m like, ‘Why don’t we do that more?’”
Craziest ‘Big Brother’ Fights: Angela Murray vs. Matt Hardeman and More
As a new season of Big Brother kicks off, both Jeff and Jordan can’t help but smile at the memories they made on the show. One moment both parties will never forget is their engagement on national TV.
“Everything just fell into place,” Jeff recalled of his proposal in season 16. “It was meant to be.”
Big Brother returns to CBS Thursday, July 10, at 8 p.m. ET. And keep up with Jeff and Jordan with their weekly “Togethermess” podcast.
