The Big Brother Naija show is famous for its messy relationships; housemates get entangled easily and quickly, and it is impossible not to when attractive people are confined together. These entanglements come in different shapes and often lead to love triangles in which a member doesn’t really belong, but is attached because of mental attraction or friendship. We witness this weird but pervasive problem with the Pepper Dem Housemates – remember the infamous Esther’s square?
Nengi + Ozo + Dorathy
The same is happening with the Lockdown housemates. The most obvious is the Nengi-Ozo-Dorathy triangle; three gorgeous God’s creations who wouldn’t find it challenging to land equally attractive partners in the outside world, but are scrapping for attention and not getting it. Oh, sorry, as always, a member of the triangle – in this case, Nengi – gets attention and more, but doesn’t reciprocate with equal vigour.
On Sunday night, in a family meeting no one asked for, Ozo declared his love for Nengi and cleared his situation with Dorathy – she is just a friend whom he values and he would love for everyone to stop seeing her as a sidechick. Ozo’s lack of self-awareness doesn’t allow him to realise he is only setting her for more ridicule with his words. Nengi, the sailor of this messy ship, stays quiet. Minutes later, she clears Ozo: “You are too peaceful for me; I cannot possibly be with a guy that’s too peaceful.”
This has been clear from day 1, but Ozo, like every guy experiencing unrequited love, can’t see Nengi doesn’t feel the same. We can say the same of Dorathy, who craves the attention Ozo gives Nengi, but both of them can’t get what they want.
The easy solution is to eliminate Nengi and focus on each other. Unfortunately, attraction doesn’t work like that; we value more that which is unreachable.
Laycon + Erica + Kiddwaya
There’s a similar but more defined love triangle involving rapper Laycon, actor Erica and rich boy Kiddwaya – Laycon loves Erica, who finds Kiddwaya delicious; this is why people argue this is a straight line, but Erica’s games say otherwise. She claims she’s only mentally attracted to Laycon, but on Saturday night, on the dance floor, the mental looked physical as her hands travelled around his face, consequences of the songs played by the DJ and elixir of drinks she’d consumed.
All this mumbo jumbo does not come up when she’s with Kiddwaya. The two had a lovely make-out session under the sheets, and are very clear about the fact that they like each other. On Sunday night, when Ebuka asked about their situation, Erica says Laycon is a friend and Kiddwaya is a special friend, and when she won the Head of House, she picked the special one as her deputy. But Laycon is still hoping: he believes if he applies more pressure, he will land the girl. But we know how it ends – in tears.
However, there’s an essential question regarding the love triangles: is anyone really being honest about their feelings? It is a game, after all. What if everyone is playing games? Laycon playing the Mr Nice Guy to garner sympathy votes from all the men who understand being jilted and Erica playing both men to remain a talking point. Think about it!
Always resist the urge to explain, the good people of Nigeria Twitter always say, but we must explain when it comes to love – especially unrequited love.
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