Tamar Braxton Wins Celebrity Big Brother Season 2 and Her Victory Is History Making

Dina Lohan, Ricky Williams, Lolo Jones, Tamar Braxton, and Kandi Burruss all headed into Wednesday night's finale with hopes of winning the season 2 title

By

Joelle Goldstein

Published on February 14, 2019 01:18 AM

In a historical moment, the winner of Celebrity Big Brother was finally crowned on Wednesday night.

Tamar Braxton became the first-ever black housemate to win the grand prize following the season 2 finale, which also saw Dina Lohan, Ricky Williams, Lolo Jones, and Kandi Burruss all competing for the crown.

In addition to making winner history, Braxton, 41, also made show history as she broke the “First to Enter” curse — a theory that the first person to enter the Big Brother house never wins.

During the episode, Williams, 41, won the first Head of Household challenge competition and subsequently nominated Lohan and Burruss to be voted out. Burruss eventually got the boot, bringing around the final competition of the season.

Again, the former NFL player won and chose Braxton to sit next to him, which sent Lohan and Jones on their way.

BIG BROTHER: Celebrity Edition — Sonja Flemming/CBS

At last, it was down to the reality star and Williams. But it was Braxton’s last emotional plea that set her apart from the former NFL player and led to the jury’s unanimous 9-0 vote for her.

“I am a huge fan of this show. I played the game to the best of my ability,” she said, before getting even more personal. “I lost my job publicly in front of everybody. I lost my husband. . . And I almost lost my life.”

For winning the show, Braxton walked away with the $250,000 prize while Williams earned the $50,000 runner-up prize.

In addition to Braxton winning, Wednesday’s finale saw the return of former housemate Anthony Scaramucci, who left the house after six days on the show.

The season also brought along some memorable highlights, including the reveal that Lohan was dating a man for five years, but had never met him in real life or even FaceTimed.

Her revelation has since caught the attention of numerous stars including her daughter Lindsay Lohan, ex-husband Michael Lohan, and Catfish host Nev Schulman.

As she made reference to in her plea, Braxton’s victory comes after a challenging three years. In 2016, she was dropped as a co-host on The Real. At the time, Braxton said she did not understand where the decision came from.

“I could probably understand more if I know I did something, but I don’t know what I did,” she said through tears during an episode of Braxton Family Values. “I just feel like the rug has been pulled out from under me.”

Over a year later, Braxton filed for divorce from ex Vince Herbert in October 2017. And most recently, the reality star opened up about her difficult past and revealed she was molested numerous times as a child.

Braxton shared the revelation during an appearance on The Wendy Williams Show in September but said she had been too afraid to talk about it publicly until now.

RELATED VIDEO: Tamar Braxton and Vince Herbert Split After Nearly 9 Years of Marriage: It’s an ‘Incredibly Difficult Time’

“I’ve been battling myself about whether or not I want to say what happened or not … I’m Tamar and I’m real, right?” she told host Wendy Williams. “A lot of things happened in my childhood that I was too afraid to talk about. Too ashamed to talk about. But the truth of the matter is I have been molested by both sides of my family.”

After filming the segment, the singer further explained her decision to share the difficult details of her past in an emotional Instagram post.

“I never EVER again want anyone to feel so little and so small or even ashamed about something they had no control over. I wanted to create a space where you can tell your OWN story without anyone commenting or making you feel ashamed EVER again!!” she wrote. “Go to and tell your story and empower yourself starting today! I wanted you to know that no matter how many scars you have… you are the PRETTIEST.”