Zach Wurtenberger is hoping that his younger brother Cory Wurtenberger “redeems” their family name as he was revealed to be one of the 16 cast members on season 25 of Big Brother, which premiered on Aug. 2. Zach Wurtenberger, who appeared on season 42 of Survivor, made the comment on X (formerly known as Twitter) after the cast was announced on July 31.
Survivor fans may recall that Zach Wurtenberger, a superfan of the show, was the first contestant to be voted out of the game. Season 42 of Survivor aired in 2022 and while Zach Wurtenberger was the first person voted out, he wasn’t the first to leave as Jackson Fox was medically eliminated from the game.
Interestingly enough, Cory Wurtenberger, 21, isn’t the only houseguest on this season of Big Brother with ties to Survivor as he joined Jared Fields, son of the Survivor legend and four-time competitor Cirie Fields, in the Big Brother house. During the premiere on Aug. 2, viewers learned that the first twist of the season was the addition of a 17th houseguest who was none other than Cirie Fields herself.
Zach Wurtenberger said he took away only positives from his time on Survivor 42
Zach Wurtenberger’s time on reality TV may have been brief but it was very meaningful for the Survivor fan as he told Us Weekly in March 2022, “I look at the entire experience so positively. It may be that the three days in the game — at the very least the final day in the game — wasn’t particularly the most fun day of my life.”
“When I think about getting to be at Ponderosa afterwards with people and, like, all the pre-game stuff, and getting to live my dream and have all these firsts of getting to go to challenges and tribal and all of that, every single step I just felt so grateful that I had this opportunity,” he added. Wurtenberger also revealed that he’d return to Survivor if he could, as he felt it was “impossible to say no” to the show.
What has he said about his brother getting cast on Big Brother 25?
Zach Wurtenberger couldn’t have been more supportive after news of his younger brother’s casting on Big Brother broke. On July 31, the Survivor alum wrote on X, “When we were little, Survivor was always my dream. Cory’s was Big Brother. But even as kids, we knew this wasn’t really possible. They couldn’t cast both of us. That just doesn’t happen.”
He added, “I’m so, so proud of my brother [Cory] for becoming the new era Willie Hantz #BB25.” Big Brother fans may recall that Willie Hantz, a season 14 houseguest, was the younger brother of Russell Hantz and the uncle of Brandon Hantz, two multi-season Survivor stars.
Zach Wurtenberger also addressed the interesting twist of his brother having another relative of a Survivor star in the Big Brother house, since Jared Fields is not only Cirie Fields’ son, but he also appeared in 2017 in the 34th season of the show, Survivor: Game Changers, in the visit from loved ones.
Wurtenberger was asked whether he thought his brother would recognize Fields and he wrote, “Wanted to answer this question specifically because I know it could have huge ramifications. Cory has watched Game Changers more than once, and he knows the Jared David vs. Goliath story. My gut says he doesn’t recognize him, but it is totally possible.”
The Survivor alum’s support of his little brother carried over to Instagram, where he posted a photo of himself and the new Big Brother houseguest. “When a Wurtenberger turns 21, he embarks on his journey to the CBS studio lot,” he joked in the caption. “SO beyond proud of my brother for making his dream come true despite it seeming LITERALLY impossible. Seriously. This isn’t just a big deal, this is unprecedented. Tune into #BB25 this fall to watch him redeem the Wurtenberger name.”
What has Cody Wurtenberger said about being cast on Big Brother?
Wurtenberger is a 21-year-old college student from Weston, Florida. In the intro video for the houseguests shared by the show’s official social media account, he exclaimed, “And in the blue corner, weighing in at 137 pounds of pure power, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, it’s Cory. Woo hoo. Yeah!”
During his interview with The Exclusive with Sharon Tharp for the “First Impressions of the New Cast” video, the new reality star said his strategy in the house will be to “lower [his] threat level” as much as possible. He said if he doesn’t win the first HOH, he’d go into “full ‘I’m a child'” mode. “Once I enter that mode, I think people will start looking at me as someone they can bring along as opposed to someone who is going to be this massive force they need to oppose.”
Fans were quick to notice that the younger Wurtenberger didn’t mention his brother in his intro package for Big Brother 25, although Jared Fields brought up his mother’s Survivor connection in his. Many viewers took to X to react to Wurtenberger and Fields’ first meeting, as some wondered whether they recognized each other and were pretending not to. “I’m just trying to analyze cory’s eye movements when he’s looking at jared to see if he recognizes him at all,” one commenter wrote. Another said, “Jared and Cory looked like they noticed each other.”
It’s safe to say that the game will be an uphill battle for Cory Wurtenberger now as the premiere episode on Aug. 2 showed that the 21-year-old is one of the four houseguests nominated for elimination. Wurtenberger was also dragged away at the end of a challenge but was later seen on the live feeds, prompting his older brother to breathe a sigh of relief. “Oh my god thank f*****g god he’s not alone tonight. It’s not about the game, I was just worried sick about him being isolated and miserable. I am so relieved right now, thank god,” Zach Wurtenberger wrote on X.
What are the Wurtenberger brothers up to now?
Cory Wurtenberger is studying political science and communication at Vanderbilt University, his LinkedIn bio shows. He’s very involved on campus as he also works as a senior editor for the Vanderbilt Political Review and is the president of the university’s forensics team. He also works for 3P Speech, which offers coaching for speeches and debates at the middle school and high school levels.
According to his 3P Speech bio, Wurtenberger has worked as a coach for several years and he said he owes a lot to the debate community. He has competed in several original oratory and informative speaking events over the past years and won state and national-level competitions.
As for Zach Wurtenberger, he is a writer and now works at United Talent Agency as an agent trainee, his LinkedIn profile states. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in December 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in English language and literature.