'Big Brother' Contestant Megan Lowder Explains Why She Left the Show Early

By
CBS

Megan Lowder has left Big Brother.

The 28-year-old dog walker decided to leave season 19 of the reality show early due to suffering from PTSD, caused from when she served in the Navy.


EXCLUSIVE: ‘Big Brother’ 19 Houseguests Spill on Showmances, Strategies and Spending That $500,000 Prize!

In an interview with The Desert Sun, posted on Friday, Lowder reveals that during her time in the armed force she was sexually assaulted.

"When I was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, I was sexually assaulted and I got really bad PTSD from it," she revealed. "So in the house… I had a lot of guys yelling at me and attacking me and it started really affecting me and making my anxiety severe and I was starting to get physically ill. I was throwing up, I had diarrhea, I was nauseous all the time."

Only two episodes have aired of season 19, but Lowder found herself in an argument with another contestant, Josh Martinez, who called her a "snake" and "bully." The Arizona native was also involved in another altercation where she falsely accused a contestant of making a racist remark towards another member of the house.

"I could have heard wrong," she explained. "It’s entirely possible, but I was already talking to them about wanting to leave before that and so at that point I knew I couldn’t handle it anymore and I went into the diary room where I started having a panic attack and they wound up taking me to the hospital a couple hours later."


EXCLUSIVE: Go Inside the 'Big Brother' Season 19 House with Julie Chen

But Lowder doesn't attribute those events as reasons to why she decided to leave.

"I did have fun," she shared. "I had a great time until all that just got the best of me. It was my own issues that lead to everything; it wasn’t anyone else’s fault. Without my stuff going on I probably could have handled things very, very differently and been fine but I just couldn’t."

Lowder's last appearance on Big Brother will be this Sunday. For more on the latest season, watch below.