Back to his roots. Big Brother alum Joseph Abdin finally returned to his home state of Florida after spending several weeks in L.A. with the winner of his season, Taylor Hale, after the September finale.
“I actually came back home and surprised my dad. He thought I was coming two days later than [when] I initially showed up,” Joseph, 25, exclusively told Us Weekly on Friday, October 14th. He revealed that his father was “mad at him” when he arrived.
“My dad was not the happiest considering I’ve been out of the house for two weeks and I didn’t come straight home to see everyone,” the attorney explained with a laugh. “I thought maybe I’d surprise him and that would negate the fact that he’s upset with me. It helped a little bit. I still got my lecture, so there is a video that I will be posting.”
Joseph told Us that he was enjoying being back in Florida, where his house is “always filled with Arabic music, with people coming and going.” In addition to having some “heartwarming” experiences with fans at the airport himself, he was happy to learn that he wasn’t the only one connecting with Big Brother viewers. “My friends and siblings have told me that they themselves have received so much love and support,” he said.
Since placing ninth on the CBS reality series, the Florida native and Taylor, 27, have been taking their relationship slow after sparking showmance rumors in the Big Brother house. “We plan to meet up very, very soon, which is why we’re both agreeing to, you know, try and live in the moment, prioritize our families for a little bit, since we’re both gonna see each other again in a couple of days,” Joseph said of the former Miss Michigan.
In addition to spending time with his family, the Florida State University alum made a visit to his local gym. “It felt like a fever dream that I was gone for four months because the last thing I did going into Big Brother was go to my gym and then I flew out. So just walking in four months later, there’s new equipment, things have changed,” he said.
During a workout, the CBS personality had a serendipitous moment with the winner of Big Brother 23, Xavier Prather, when they posted about exercising “at the exact [same] time and picked the same exact song to play for our workout.” Joseph told Us that Xavier, 28, responded by sending him the “did we just become best friends?” meme from the movie Stepbrothers.
Although the reality TV alum is still riding the high of his Big Brother experience, Joseph says he hasn’t talked much about the show with his family. He’s instead focusing on “laughing and catching up with familial information.” However, his family is always happy to hear about Taylor.
“My family loves her so much,” Joseph told Us of the season 24 champion. “They ask me a lot about her and make sure she’s doing well and they’re very protective and loving of her which warns my heart.”
Although he and the personal stylist have yet to put a label on their relationship, they’re enjoying strengthening their bond outside the Big Brother house.
“We’re having fun,” Taylor told Us during a joint interview with Joseph last month. “We’re making sure we’re taking care of ourselves, but yeah, I’m not gonna let go of Joseph anytime soon.”
With reporting by Sharon Tharp.
