“Big Brother Australia” magic man Lawson Reeves has been evicted, and he’s prepared to face reality and his betrayed girlfriend. The 23-year-old Mandurah resident started an affair with fellow housemate Cat inside the house while his partner Candice Leeder shut down her social media accounts to evade public questions.

For the first time, all original housemates who were still in the house were facing eviction at the same time. There was no nomination for the week; Big Brother made them all automatic nominees. There would be three evictees for the week, and the first one was announced on Monday, with the other two going the next day.

Lawson and Cat

The most talked-about story of the season is undoubtedly Lawson and Cat’s romance. Lawson, as every housemate was well aware of, has a girlfriend outside the house. 31-year-old divorcee Cat still couldn’t help herself fall for him, though, which would have been the end of it had Lawson not feel the same way about her. And so their affair started.

When the four new neighbours (Richard, Penny, Lina and Tom) came, Big Brother instructed then-Head of House Ryan to pick four housemates to take their place. The neighbours would reside in the house, while the chosen housemates would be stuck in the sanctuary. Ryan opted to break the house’s couples, and therefore chose Cat, Leo and Travis, along with Priya to be banished in the secluded rooms.

For the weekend party, the new Head of House David was told to pick one from the new neighbours to join them for the night. He picked Cat to reunite her with Lawson. His reasoning was simple: He knew Cat and Lawson’s romance is frowned upon by the viewers, and therefore they would cope with the negativity. This would mean an advantage for him.

“Being away from you made me think I liked you more than I thought,” Lawson, who claimed he felt like a 12-year-old upon hearing Cat was coming to the party, told his older lover.

The couple’s eight-year age gap has not escaped the notice of the housemates. During a game of “Write My Tinder Profile,” the housemates have been throwing age-related punch lines over to Cat, calling her “Mrs Robinson,” “cradle-snatcher” and “cougar.” Even when it’s Lawson’s turn, the housemates still had a say about Cat’s status as a divorcee.

“I have a girlfriend but I don’t care,” new housemate Tom threw in for Lawson’s fictional dating profile.

The next day, Cat admitted to her fellow neighbours that she and Lawson have plans on staying in Bali, Indonesia for a vacation after they leave the house. She reiterated to them that Lawson and Candice broke up a week before he entered the house, but she changed her mind so they got back together. Lawson, according to Cat, regretted not standing up for what he wanted, which meant that Lawson didn’t want to reunite with Candice in the first place.

Lawson’s Eviction

Lawson started as a very likeable character, but his popularity rating plummeted when he engaged in an affair with Cat. He doesn’t regret hooking up with the other woman, though. Host Sonia Kruger immediately put the important questions on the table right after Lawson joined her on the studio.

“So let’s just break it down. Cat has feelings for you, and initially you didn’t want to take it further. But that all changed. Why?” Sonia asked him.

“I didn’t expect to have feelings for Cat, and that just progressed. I started to just have feelings for Cat, and I knew that was wrong, and I’ve been struggling since whether or not I’m a bad person. I know what I have done is bad, but I couldn’t really help it,” he explained, adding that whenever he felt bad, he would just go to Cat and she would make him feel better.

As for Candice, Lawson said the only regret he had in the house was hurting his long-time partner. He would call on her to let her say what she feels and give her a chance to end their relationship.

“When did it become okay with you to become intimate with another girl? When did the switch flick in you?” Sonia asked, mentioning Lawson crying to Big Brother several times after feeling guilty.

Lawson claimed that he and Cat thought it was time to be open about their relationship after gaining their fellow housemates’ support, which Sonia said that their support might have just been a strategic move on their part. He was visibly struggling with his words, perhaps because he was put, though expectedly, on the hot seat.

Apart from the Bali trip that Cat has mentioned, Lawson discussed their future plans. He told Sonia that he was thinking of moving, which perhaps meant that he might make a permanent trip to Melbourne, where Cat is based.

Skye and Ryan

With Leo stuck in the sanctuary, Skye was free to do whatever things single ladies do. Although she and Leo are not officially a dating couple, they have been pash partners ever since Leo entered the house. They might be missing exclusivity, with Leo kissing Sandra at one time on a dare, but as far as the housemates knew, they were an item. But Skye reckoned they’re not. She admitted that she is now seeing Ryan in a new, romantic light with Leo gone.

Even when Big Brother asked the housemates in the main house to choose two of the neighbours to come for a visit, Skye chose Priya over Leo, claiming she was touched by Priya’s self-sacrifice for the two boys in the sanctuary.

“I’m young, I can be attracted to more than one person,” Skye explained to Big Brother, referring to both Leo and Ryan. “But I feel like I’m cheating on Leo, and it’s kinda weird, but all there is that’s happening is an attraction.”

Before Leo, Skye’s pash partner was Jake, who had been juggling her and Lisa at the same time. It had been an issue with Skye since Jake slept beside her in bed but had been flirting with Lisa as well. It’s no wonder Skye quickly turned her attention to Leo when the Canadian hunk went in. But now, it appeared Skye had borrowed a page from Jake’s book, or even Lawson’s.

Tuesday Night Eviction

Before Lawson’s eviction was announced, Sonia has saved four most popular housemates for the week, leaving four more still in the chopping block for Tuesday. She called Priya, David, Ryan and Skye’s names.

Two of the four housemates left – Leo, Travis, Aisha and Cat – are still up for eviction on Tuesday.