TikTok sisters Tay and Ari win Big Brother Australia 2023

Two Gold Coast sisters and TikTok stars took the crown in last night’s Big Brother Australia finale, earning $100,000 for their efforts.

Two Gold Coast sisters took the crown in last night’s Big Brother Australia 2023 finale.

Tay, 23, and Ari Wilcoxson, 20, were crowned the winners of the series in a public vote, edging out fellow finalists Mineé Marx and fan favourite Louis Phillips for the top prize.

“Regardless of what comes next, you can all be proud of yourselves, but there can only be one winner. Australia has decided who that is,” host Sonia Kruger announced on the show. “The winner of Big Brother 2023 is … Ari and Tay.”

The siblings – who are also TikTok stars and competed as a single contestant in the Big Brother house – took home the $100,000 prize money.

Host Sonia Kruger with the cast of Big Brother Australia 2023. Picture: Nigel Wright

“Oh my god! This doesn’t feel real. Thank you everybody so much,” Tay said after being announced the winner.

After joking that she would take all the prize money, Tay took on a more serious tone and said the money would help their family, as the sisters’ proud parents Trish and Shaun joined them on stage.

“We’ve always said we would want to help our family, that is a big reason why we are here,” she told the audience.

“But we also want to make more memories and travel together and start something of our own business-wise. The money will get lots of use.”

Tay, 23, and Ari Wilcoxson, 20, were crowned the winners of the series. Picture: Nigel Wright

It was a whirlwind season of Big Brother 2023, with the entire production on the air for just one month.

When the series first launched in Australia on 2001, it ran for three months with an average 1.4 million viewers tuning into each episode.

This year, however, when Big Brother premiered on November 6 on Channel Seven, only a reported 274,000 viewers from across the five metro cities in Australia tuned in. Later in the season, that figure had dropped to as low as 86,000 viewers.

The 22-year-old Big Brother format got a refresh with the casting of 15 sexy singles this season, instead of the usual mixed bag of housemates.

But the cast full of young housemates proved to be a divisive choice among fans of the franchise.

“The best thing about the original #BBAU was the diverse cast: age, race, interests,” one viewer tweeted, with another noting, “Don’t think anyone wanted a Love Island/Big Brother mashup #BBAU.”