Big Brother’s Holly Young revealed there’s a whole side to her that viewers never saw — and feels that her neurodivergence ended up being “used against” her inside the house.
After her eviction, the 31-year-old model and influencer revealed she lives with auditory processing disorder (APD), dyslexia and ADHD, and that she made a deliberate choice not to share that with the other housemates. She told Refinery29 Australia that decision quickly became a double-edged sword as scrutiny on her behaviour ramped up.
“I [learned] to be a lot more cautious with what I say, because… there were a lot of people that were nitpicking at every single thing that I said,” Holly said to the publication.
“I wasn’t really open about the fact that I have an auditory processing issue and that I am dyslexic with ADHD. That’s a lot to deal with.”
APD can make it harder to understand what people are saying, especially in noisy or fast-moving conversations, and can lead to issues recalling spoken info or feeling shut out. In a social experiment where you’re surrounded by people 24/7, dealing with APD, dyslexia and ADHD at once is a lot
“Words can easily get jumbled up and said the wrong way, and then it’s magnified… little things can become big things,” she said.
Holly said disclosing that would have made her time in the Big Brother house easier, but she “didn’t want to give anybody in the house any more ammunition”.
“Did I want to have to disclose that to the house? No. Should I have? [It] would have made it easier for me, potentially, but at the end of the day that’s my choice, and I’m entitled to it, so the fact that was kind of used against me did hurt,” Holly explained.
Holly did ultimately reveal to some house members that she is neurodivergent in this moment with housemates Bruce Dunne and Vincent Brigante here:
On top of that invisible load, Holly was one of this season’s most talked-about housemates, caught up in everything from a heated “pretty privilege” debate with Abiola Oreyomi to a polarising show romance with Colin Ridley.
During the pretty privilege clash, she argued that being conventionally attractive is “a double‑edged sword” and can come with its own downsides, while Abiola stressed that as a fat, Black woman she faces a completely different level of judgment and exclusion. The segment sparked a wave of backlash online and helped cement Holly as one of the season’s more divisive players.
Inside the house, things also got messy between Holly and fellow contestant Coco Beeby, culminating in a brutal farewell message that left Coco in tears and set social media alight.
Reflecting on that dynamic, Holly later told PEDESTRIAN.TV she thinks Coco is “a very interesting individual” and claimed Coco is “very good at crying on demand”, but added that she didn’t realise the extent of what was being said about her behind her back until she left and started getting sent clips. She also said she still feels “betrayed” and “deeply hurt” and stands by her final message, while insisting she doesn’t want to sling insults in return.
“I feel that people you know need to have a little bit more compassion towards one another, especially when we’re under a microscope in such an intense social experiment,” Holly added.
“I never judged people in the house for who they were.”
Outside the bubble, Holly told P.TV that she doesn’t regret coming on to the show. “I wanted to challenge myself. I feel like life is a journey. And you know, if you do the same thing time and time again. How else are you to grow?” she said.
“I’m honestly so grateful that I was selected and that I was able to come onto the show and learn so much about myself and also other people in the process.”
Big Brother Australia is on Monday to Friday at 7.30pm and Sundays at 7pm. Watch and live stream 24/7 on 10play or on TikTok @bigbrotherau.
Lead image: Network 10
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