“It was a complete whirlwind.”
When Connor Maysey first applied to appear on Big Brother Australia, he knew it was a risk. As a disability advocate living unapologetically with Tourette’s, he knew that his big personality and neurodivergent quirks could attract some negative hate comments. But now, after his eviction from the Big Brother house and seeing the love flow for him online, the 31-year-old says he’s glad he took the risk.
“You’re always risking negative comments, or people saying horrible things about neurodiversity when you go on television but I thought it was worth the gamble,” Conor admits.
“Hearing that there was already a kid whose life has been made easier by simply saying ‘I have Tourette’s like Conor on Big Brother‘ literally warms my heart. That was the entire point of me doing it, to create a better image of what Tourette’s is in the Australian mind and change how the public think about it.”
“It sounds like I was successful and for me, that’s worth every minute.”
Conor shocked his fellow housemates by revealing his middle name was Waka Waka. (Image: 10)
While Conor was in the Big Brother house, he took it upon himself to cook for his housemates. For him, it was a task that kept him feeling calm during stressful moments in the house.
“I developed a love for cooking during my healing process from some mental health problems in my early 20s,” Conor explains.
“For me, cooking is very therapeutic. While prepping a meal for 12 might be very stress and anxiety inducing for some people, for me it was actually very calming and helped me process the emotions of what I was going through.”
Despite cooking up a storm each day for his fellow housemates, food in the house did become a source of tension — especially when some started snacking on the rations of food out of meal times. For Conor, who is strongly led by a sense of fairness throughout all facets of his life, it was hard to sit back and watch this happen, even when speaking up over snacks could be perceived as a small issue for viewers on the outside.
“As a neurodivergent person, I’m quite a sticker for fairness and justice,” he shares.
“Living with a lot of adults, who sometimes felt a little bit more like teenagers at times, was quite difficult for me in that sense. I think I came across to a lot of them as bossy, when really what I was trying to do was make sure that everyone got fed and got their fair share of what little food we had.”
Big Brother host Mel Tracina with Conor just moments after his eviction. (Image: 10)
With the Big Brother Australia season finale kicking off tonight, Conor is crossing his fingers and toes that quiet school teacher Emily will be the one to take home the cash prize.
“She has been a constant shining beacon of love and positivity since day one,” Conor says.
“She is so true to herself and I just love that she is a real life Kath and Kim character. From her love of Scotch Finger biscuits to plain Smiths chippies, I absolutely love her to pieces and I hope she can take it home.”
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