'Big Brother' Star Xavier Prather Reveals the Family Tragedy He Faced Days Before Entering 'The Challenge: USA' House

When Xavier Prather entered the "Big Brother" house in 2021, he was not in a great place. As he shared on the show, his brother had died shortly before filming began. Yet he used it to fuel his "Big Brother" ambitions - and became the CBS reality show's first black winner.

When "The Challenge: USA" called, Prather wasn't sure if he should return to reality television. Although he didn't like that five other guests from his season were also on the show - "It felt like a setup," he says - that he was able to put aside.

"I almost didn't continue because I was dealing with some very personal things, but eventually I got support from my family," he shared in a recent post. "Nobody on the grounds of 'The Challenge,' except one person, actually knew. About two weeks before I got on the plane to film one, a cousin of mine was murdered. And then less than a week after that, my grandmother's body just shut down and she died."

He knew he finally wanted to compete in "The Challenge", but wasn't sure the time was right. However, after talking to past candidates, he knew he might never get the call again.

"My grandmother's funeral was two days before my flight to Argentina. I was really torn," he said. "Two of my relatives left just like that, and only one person knew everything. So I was really like, 'Am I going? Am I staying? This is the second time I've I was dealing with death right before I got on a show. I was struggling mentally. I wasn't doing well. Even on "The Challenge," you don't see me on the cameras much. I was slipping away."

He explained that while he wasn't sure he was mentally ready, he knew he needed a distraction from what was going on. Still, he didn't want to share it on TV.

"One thing that also concerned me was that I had just starred in 'Big Brother', where I was playing for my recently deceased older brother and his nephew. I was like, I don't really want that every time I come on one of those shows, my script is about how I lost my family and I play for that," Prather said. "I think you can use that, but at the same time, I say if that's the case that means every time I come to one of these shows something terrible has happened and I don't want it I'd give all my time on "Big Brother" , all the money I made, just so I could see my brother again."

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