Britney Haynes spent three seasons on Big Brother being the funniest person in the house and getting cut down by other people’s alliances. She won America’s Favorite Houseguest, she earned the nickname Queen of the Diary Room, and she never won the game.
When she finally got the chance to play the villain on The Traitors, she did not hesitate. She took the role she had always wanted, she played it well enough to reach the endgame, and she is still talking about the game now, from the commentator’s chair instead of the house.
The Girl from Huntington
Britney Haynes was born August 23, 1987, in Huntington, Arkansas. She first appeared on Big Brother Season 12 in 2010, working as a hotel sales manager. She was actually engaged to another man, Nick Grisham, when she first competed in 2010.
She later married her high school sweetheart, Nathan Godwin, in March 2012, and the couple relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma.
In 2024 she revealed on Dan Gheesling’s podcast that she was considered for The Bachelor at the same time as Big Brother, because her mother sent in an application on her behalf due to dissatisfaction with her then-boyfriend. Based on the BB12 timing, that would mean the fourteenth or fifteenth Bachelor season. She has also worked in real estate sales since her Big Brother seasons.
Queen of the Diary Room
On Big Brother 12 she made close relationships with Lane Elenburg, Monet Stunson, and Ragan Fox, while getting into a rivalry with Brendon Villegas and Rachel Reilly. She was infamously unaware she was helping push the agendas of the secret dominant alliance, The Brigade.
At the final four she became the consensus target as the only non-Brigade member left. After failing to win Head of Household and Power of Veto, the Brigade revealed their alliance and her imminent eviction to a shocked Britney, with Enzo Palumbo casting the sole vote to evict her. She placed 4th and was the 6th jury member.
On finale night she won the America’s Favorite Houseguest award and its $25,000 prize. Fans dubbed her the “Queen of the Diary Room” for hilarious, natural confessionals.
One fan retrospective notes that while most Houseguests come across as people reading a script, Britney was a natural and genuinely entertaining, and that her social skills and competition wins made her “root worthy all season long.” ScreenRant calls her “one of the most beloved houseguests in the show’s history.”
The Coach Who Became a Player
Haynes returned on Big Brother 14 in 2012 as a Coach, by then working as a pharmaceutical sales representative. Her players were Shane Meaney, Willie Hantz, and Josephine “JoJo” Spatafora. Initially in a minority position with only Shane left, she pulled through on social positioning.
When the coaches were allowed to enter the game as players in week 3, she became a key member of The Quack Pack alliance with Dan Gheesling, Danielle Murphree, Shane, and Ian Terry.
Her game ended at the final eight when Dan Gheesling got himself off the block at the Power of Veto ceremony by revealing Ian Terry’s duplicity to Dan’s nemesis Frank Eudy. With Ian safe on a second veto, Dan convinced Frank to target Britney as collateral damage to weaken Ian and eliminate a huge strategic threat.
She was evicted in a 4-1 vote, with Ian the sole vote to keep her, and became the second jury member.
In her exit interview she told Julie Chen: “I think that as much as I love him, my allegiance to [Ian Terry] was really a pretty big downfall for me in the game just because it got me into a lot of trouble and I kept having to cover for him over and over… I really did give it my best effort. I did the best job that I could.”
A fan retrospective calls Dan’s Funeral “one of the biggest and most game changing moves ever” and notes both her eliminations were “due to extraordinary circumstances.”
The Hamster Wheel Betrayal
Big Brother: Reindeer Games, which ran December 11 to 21, 2023, was the franchise’s first holiday spinoff: nine legends competing over two weeks in holiday-themed competitions, with “Magical Elves” Derek Xiao, Tiffany Mitchell, and Jordan Lloyd hosting, and a $100,000 grand prize, won by Nicole Franzel.
Britney and Danielle Reyes, who had never played together before, agreed on a pact to stick together as women.
In Episode 3’s Santa’s Showdown, players solved a maze on an oversized hamster wheel inside a human-sized snow globe. The first player got 5 minutes 30 seconds, and each subsequent player got one minute less, with the first to fail eliminated.
Nicole picked Frankie Grande first, who finished in 3:11. Frankie picked Xavier Prather, who finished with 14 seconds left. Xavier picked Britney, who begged him not to send her in. Britney finished with 1 minute 18 seconds to spare.
She then asked Xavier why he picked her, and he said he did it to protect Danielle. Britney sent Danielle in with only 2 minutes 30 seconds. Danielle could not finish and was eliminated third, collecting a $5,000 exit prize.
Danielle later said watching it was “too painful,” wrote “Wow, I didn’t realize Britney had such animosity towards me,” and told EW: “I think that’s probably why I didn’t do so well in the comp because I couldn’t get my head around that this friend of mine put me in this game knowing that I was not going to come back… I’ve always loved Britney in her original seasons and it broke my heart… it was devastating.” She added she does not blame Xavier and understands Britney did it “for game purposes,” but was “hurt” and “taken aback.”
The Role She Always Wanted
Danielle Reyes was selected as a Traitor in Episode 1 of The Traitors Season 3 alongside Bob the Drag Queen and Carolyn Wiger, later joined by Rob Mariano. Danielle is the first original female Big Brother contestant to become a Traitor, the last standing original Traitor of Season 3, and committed the most murders by a Traitor in the US version, nine.
Danielle had watched Britney’s season and become a fan and friend, which is why she was “blindsided” and “hurt” when Britney picked the game over their relationship. When they reunited on Traitors, things were tense at first, but after addressing it they became quick allies along with fellow Big Brother alum Derrick Levasseur.
As a Traitor, Danielle used Britney as a pawn in her game against Carolyn, and Britney unknowingly protected Danielle from getting outed at Round Tables. After Danielle finally got rid of Carolyn, she decided to recruit Britney, against pretty much anyone’s better judgment including Carolyn’s.
The ultimatum came at the end of Episode 9: become a Traitor or be eliminated. Britney accepted at the start of Episode 10.
The two worked together for basically one total episode before Danielle became the next banishment target. At the Episode 11 tie and revote, Britney accidentally flipped on her, and Danielle was banished, finishing 6th.
Britney was then correctly suspected and banished in Episode 12, finishing 5th overall as the last Traitor banished. The four surviving Faithfuls, Dylan Efron, Dolores Catania, Gabby Windey, and Lord Ivar Mountbatten, won and split the $204,300 prize.
At the Season 3 reunion, Haynes publicly denied Reyes’s characterization of the two as close friends going into the game.
“Mindboggling”
In March 2025 she told reporters she found it “mindboggling” that some of her own Season 3 castmates had asked to be Faithfuls rather than take on the Traitor role.
The quote is the clearest statement of her angle: after three Big Brother seasons of being the fan favorite who got cut down by other people’s alliances, she wanted the villain’s chair, and she could not understand anyone turning it down.
This section uses that quote to frame her whole career: the Diary Room queen who was always more entertaining than the people beating her, finally getting to be the one doing the cutting.
Making Amends
In August 2026, Haynes and Reyes said they had made amends after the Traitors betrayal. Page Six reported on August 27, 2026 that Haynes said: “I think so fondly on ‘Traitors’, however, I also don’t at the same time. It was such a mess. It was such a whirlwind. It was so intense at the time.”
She admitted she “has regrets” but is grateful Reyes forgave her: “Dani has always met me with kindness. Ever since the reunion, I would say it’s been… yeah, it was tricky. It was something to get through for sure.”
Reyes said their fallout “was tough,” but after a great off-camera conversation she decided to move forward: “So we’re all good. And Britney’s one of those people that I just love to watch her play, because she’s so snarky in the most delicious, evil way. I just love her to death.”
Reyes added: “What gives me peace is those moments when we were together, we were unstoppable… You tried your best. You were ‘Big Brother’-ing it so much trying to keep me in that castle.” Reyes reiterated they “have a bond like no other” after competing on two shows together.
Haynes also eliminated Reyes from Reindeer Games in 2023, making the Traitors vote the second time she ended Reyes’s game.
The Commentator’s Chair
Haynes has become a regular Big Brother commentator rather than a player. She appeared on Rob Has a Podcast recaps for Big Brother 27 (Week 4 Thursday eviction, with Rob Cesternino and Taran Armstrong, where she argued against houseguests respecting the HOH’s wishes as against optimal strategy) and Big Brother 28 (Week 8 Thursday eviction, with Cesternino, Armstrong, and Pooya). She hosted the first Week 8 Twist competition on Big Brother 28.
She appeared on Big Brother: Unlocked Season 1 Episode 5 (September 19, 2025) and Season 2 Episode 6 (September 18, 2026).
She co-hosts the podcast “Where’s My Spin-Off?” with Survivor and Amazing Race alum Corinne Kaplan, a weekly show about reality TV, pop culture, and behind-the-scenes gossip. That includes a Survivor 51 reaction episode where Haynes found humor in Survivor’s serious presentation compared with Big Brother’s chaos.
In October 2026 she analyzed Big Brother 28’s jury for EntertainmentNow (October 4, 2026: Taylor Brown faced an “uphill battle” because jurors lacked firsthand experience of her game, and Dee Valladares would advocate for Rick Devens).
On October 17, 2026, EntertainmentNow reported her saying a shorter competition like The Traitors offers the balance she wants between returning to television and spending time with her family, while she hesitates on another full Big Brother season because of time away from her children.
She also appeared in the Big Brother 20 celebration of Nicole Franzel and Victor Arroyo’s engagement, and in the Big Brother 25 premiere and finale “breaking into” the house with Danielle Reyes and Frankie Grande, which accidentally unleashed that season’s twist and introduced Reindeer Games.
In 2023 she confirmed she had been contacted to play Big Brother 22 but declined due to not wanting to leave her family during COVID-19.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Britney Haynes win The Traitors?
No. She was given the ultimatum at the end of Episode 9 and accepted at the start of Episode 10, becoming a Traitor, and was banished in Episode 12, finishing 5th overall as the last Traitor banished.
How does Britney Haynes know Danielle Reyes?
The two were castmates on Big Brother: Reindeer Games, where Haynes had a hand in eliminating Reyes. They mended fences early in Season 3 of The Traitors before Haynes ultimately voted to banish Reyes at the endgame.
Is Britney Haynes married?
Yes. She married her high school sweetheart, Nathan Godwin, in March 2012. The couple lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with their three daughters.
