A Paulie/Zakiyah 'BB18' Showmance Has Pros & Cons

Psst, I have a secret for you. If you haven't been watching the Big Brother 18 live feeds, you've been missing a lot. I'm not talking casual alliance discussions or long-winded Paul monologues (both of which run aplenty on the feeds), but a real-life, almost bona fide showmance. Yup, Zakiyah and Paulie may have a Big Brother showmance very soon. Strictly speaking, it's not official yet, but there have been hugs, foot rubs, palm readings, and astrological comparison (they're both water signs, BTW) between the two of them. This all seems like obvious precursors for a classic Big Brother showmance, but I want to take a minute to figure out if Paulie and Zakiyah should get together.

While some (very romantic) viewers might prioritize adorable showmances over winning any day, those people strike me as a bit unrealistic. Sure, some showmances have stood the test of the time, but if we're all being honest with ourselves, the large majority of them have not. That said, showmances don't necessarily mean death to a Big Brother player's strategic game. I'm personally a big fan of Zakiyah — she's whip smart, all about girl power, and seems like a great possible candidate for this season's winner. So it seems fair to wonder if Zakiyah and Paulie's potential showmance is worth the risk. Let's look at the pros and cons, starting with the negative.

Cons

Paulie Seems To Be All Over The Place

Paulie has been giving vibes to other women in the house including Bronte, Bridgette, and Tiffany during his time on the show. He may have been simply trying to get to know everyone, but to me it seems like Zakiyah has always had eyes for Paulie. I don't want to see Zakiyah get hurt, and I also don't want to see Paulie lead her on if it's all about game strategy, so I'm keeping a watchful eye on him.

Da'Vonne Doesn't Like Paulie

Early on, Zakiyah and Da'Vonne struck up a pretty awesome alliance, promising to stick together amongst the craziness of the show. But recently on the feeds, Day has admitted that she doesn't trust Paulie, saying that she would go the extra mile to make sure Zakiyah stays in unless the showmance were to happen.

A Showmance Could Be Distracting

Remember Zakiyah on Day 1? She was so focused and strategy-oriented. She came into the game committed to being as hands-on as possible, but now with Paulie in the picture, she has been spending a lot of time hanging out with him or on the phone with him while donning a posh British accent. This showmance could affect her long-term success on the show if she doesn't split her time between Paulie and strategy, and I am so rooting for her to win.

Pros

They're So Cuuuute

I'm sorry, but I haven't seen a showmance that's this adorable in a while. They seem super compatible, and they're pretty endlessly entertaining, even when they're being sickly sweet.

Zakiyah Seems To Really Like Him

While part of playing the Big Brother game is keeping your true machinations under wraps, one thing is clear on this season: Zakiyah really likes Paulie. Who am I to say she shouldn't follow her heart?

They Could Be A Pretty Great Alliance

The two of them also happen to be in pretty good places in the gameplay. Clearly, they've got their interpersonal game on lock, and I could only imagine what they could do if they teamed up (with Frank, perhaps). Do I smell an alliance?

We'll have to wait to see what happens this season, but as long as a showmance doesn't hurt Zakiyah's chances of winning Big Brother, I think the pros here just may outweigh the cons.

Images: CBS; Giphy; fakeveto, nedskalantar, mitchmuffin, onetrueslayer/Tumblr