When it was announced that Tully Smyth and Anthony “Drew” Drew were set to reunite on-screen for Big Brother Australia 2022 everyone was shook AF.
The former flames – who met on the show in 2013 – were easily one of the most divisive couples to ever step foot in the Big Brother house, with their relationship being dubbed one of the season’s (if not the show’s) biggest scandals.
So, let’s take a scroll back down memory lane and revisit Tully and Drew’s tumultuous, albeit iconic, relationship.
Tully and Drew Enter Big Brother Separately
Drew and Tully met on the 2013 season of Big Brother, where they entered on days one and two, respectively.
Tully – who was introduced as a bisexual social media strategist – was put into the “halfway house.” This was a side of the house where contestants were deprived of the luxury items that the other half were afforded.
A day later, Drew entered alongside fellow cast mate Jade Albany.
Big Brother had tasked the pair with convincing the other housemates that they were married and if they could do so, they would be immune from that week’s elimination.
Unfortunately, the fake newlyweds didn’t last as an actual couple because Jade was interested in another housemate. Oh, how differently the season could have gone…
Drew and Tully Hit It Off
As Drew and Jade’s faux romance was finally exposed and she moved on with Ed Lower, the Melbournite became drawn to Tully (who was still on the other side of the house, separated from him by a glass wall, BTW).
Their late night chit chats blossomed into a strong friendship after the wall was removed.
Week by week, the tone shifted and things started getting a lil’ sus. While Drew entered as a single man, Tully was in a two-year relationship with Tahlia Farrant and the pair began to share a bed.
“I still have a girlfriend. I love her very much. But you’re still my house husband,” she told him. Yikes!
A physical relationship between them was often alluded to by production and in one episode, they could be heard whispering “I love you” to each other before disappearing under the covers in bed.
Accordingly, Tully shacking up with Drew was a YUGE scandal and the media was pretty damn outraged.
#Drully Gets Rocky
Despite #Drully taking the nation by storm, Tully and Drews’ Big Brother relationship was kind of a hot mess.
They argued (like, a lot) and ended up being alienated by their housemates, presumptively because their squabbling was annoying AF.
In one of the funniest moments in Big Brother history, the couple were having a spat without realising that Ben Zabel was in the pool and listening to every f*cking thing they were saying.
This is literally one of the best pieces of Australian reality television ever and no one can tell me otherwise.
The Beef Begins
As the episodes aired, Tully’s girlfriend’s Twitter account became an increasingly juicy source of Big Brother goss.
Basically, Tahlia dumped Tully via Twitter, penning a Tweet reassuring fans that she would be A-Okay and confirming that she was single.
Thanks for the concern guys, but I am big girl, I will be just fine. Life goes on.. x #singlebabescomeatme
— TAHLIA. (@beginnersblood) September 2, 2013
Randomly, Orange is the New Black actress Ruby Rose – who was friends with Tahlia and Tully – tweeted about her how disgusted she was by her former friend’s actions.
“How could anyone ever do that to someone they care about. Or not care about,” she wrote at the time. “I have no words. I’m very disappointed.” Wild.
Tully didn’t find out that she had been dumped until she left the show.
Tully Gets the Boot From Big Brother
In one of the season’s most watched evictions, Tully was booted from the Big Brother house in week 10.
After leaving the house, she downplayed her relationship with her “house husband.”
“Everyone loves a love story. We were house husband and wife. We bickered like husband and wife. I don’t even know if Drew and I [would] get along in the outside world,” she told Southern Cross Austereo.
”[Cheating with Drew] was definitely 100 percent a survival mechanism.” Yikes!
Tully Returns
Weeks later, Tully returned to the game amidst a challenge where the remaining contestants had to remain frozen in one place.
She walked up to her not-boyfriend, planted a big ol’ kiss on his lips and whispered: “By the way, I’m single.”
Tully then left (again) and Drew went on to place fourth in the season, losing out to champion (and fellow 2022 returnee) Tim Dormer.
Drew and Tully Post-Big Brother
The Big Brother finale aired in November of 2013 and the season’s most talked about pair went on to date for several months.
They were heavily featured in the pop culture news cycle and on each other’s social media feeds (they were the OG Australian #couplegoals, after all) and Tully even moved to Drew’s hometown of Melbourne.
However, they split for good in January 2014.
Tully and Drew Reunite
After a slightly awkward breakup, the pair reunited in 2022 on Tully’s podcast, Too Much Tully.
Much to fans’ delight, they discussed their breakup and the struggle of finding love on a reality show.
“I moved to Melbourne, I was all in. He wasn’t,” Tully explained. “And then we had the additional issue of Drew suddenly being a mega hot, superstar model, and… your head just being f*cking enormous suddenly.”
Drew added: “It’s a double-edged sword, without it [Big Brother] we would have never met each other, but what it turned us into made us not work.”
Tully and Drew Return to Big Brother In 2022
There ya have it, folks! That brings us right back in a full circle moment, as Tully and Drew are back in the Big Brother house for the show’s 2022 season.
Want even more goss about Big Brother‘s Tully Smyth and Anthony Drew? Listen to episode 182 of the So Dramatic! podcast with Megan Pustetto below!
Know something about Big Brother‘s Tully Smyth and Anthony Drew that we don’t? Spill the tea here!
Get the tea first! Follow So Dramatic! on Instagram and tune in on Mondays to get your reality tea fix with the So Dramatic! podcast with Megan Pustetto.
