Why Is Shelli Always Crying On ‘BB17’?

Poor, poor, pretty Shelli — if you haven't been keeping up with the game, Shelli's had a rough couple of days in the Big Brother house. She seems to be breaking down under the pressure of having to put her fellow housemates up for nomination and ultimately evict another player. But, don’t let the tears fool you: Shelli is one of the shrewdest people playing the game this season, and all of that weakness she’s been showing lately has me seriously wondering: Is she really that upset over making people leave, or is it all just a show to make her look super sweet and vulnerable?

Let’s take this one apart, shall we?

On Wednesday, Shelli appeared to be so upset over having to evict Audrey that she was crying in the kitchen while pouring herself a glass of water. She went up to the HoH room soon after where Clay was sleeping and snuggled into his shoulder. She then continued to cry about having to send Audrey home. But would Shelli really be that upset about evicting Audrey? The two have had a shaky and unreliable relationship over the past four weeks, and almost everything Audrey has told Shelli has turned out to be, at most, only half true. So would Shelli actually care that Audrey has sealed the deal on her own eviction notice by pissing so many people off?

You want to know what I think? I think it’s all a ruse. That’s right. Shelli’s main focus throughout the game — the thing that she keeps repeating every time she has even a little bit of power — is that she doesn’t want blood on her hands. And that’s not because she’s a nice girl and doesn’t want to send anybody home — that’s because the fewer people she pisses off, the more likely she is to stay in the house until the end. Shelli's no dummy — she knows that if it seems like she doesn’t want to send anyone home and that she’s super upset each time to do it, then no one can get mad that she’s sending home members of their alliance. It’s the curse of being HoH, right?

I gotta say, I think Shelli’s strategy is seriously on point. She’s playing that nice girl character in all of the right ways: making friends, taking names, and stabbing people in the back at exactly the right time. Shelli’s got some serious strategy happening in the house, and crying all the time is just one of them.

Of course, things change so quickly in the Big Brother house, it can be hard to keep up. To keep track of everything going on in the Big Brother house, check out Bustle’s very own Big Brother podcast, The Diary Room. Listen to the latest episode below, and be sure to check out future episodes on Bustle’s SoundCloud page and iTunes.

Image: CBS (2)