Big Brother season 26's Matt and Angela fight explained

Despite it only being the first week of Big Brother season 26, we seem to have already an intriguing rivalry coming to the surface. That rivalry is between none other than Angela Murray and Matt Hardeman, two houseguests who seemed to have gotten along pretty well at first but their relationship quickly turned sour.

For those Big Brother fans out there, it seems that this feud between Angela and Matt came out of left field. But we’re here to tell you that, even if it seems that way, little misunderstandings wound up creating a very emotionally charged relationship between these two houseguests.

Here’s how Angela Murray’s beef with Matt Hardeman began.

Angela vs. Matt drama explained

The turmoil between Angela and Matt can first be traced to one of the first nights of Big Brother season 26 where each houseguest was getting to know one another.

Matt, being the very handsome houseguest that he is, is expected by people like Angela to be in many showmance (“show romances”). Angela continuously communicated to Matt that she believes that the women of this season will have a hard time keeping their hands off of him. Rather than take this as a compliment, Matt misunderstood this as Angela trying to put a target on his back.

Strike one.

A day or two later, Matt vented to some of the houseguests about how he felt about Angela and her remarks. Among those houseguests were a few people, including Joseph Rodriguez, who is somewhat close to Angela. Joseph ran back to Angela to relay Matt’s sentiments.

Angela was taken aback by how Matt interpreted Angela’s compliments. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings so when she had the opportunity to sit down with Matt, she made sure to clear the air.

In Angela’s HOH room, Matt paid her a visit. The two spoke about the misunderstanding to a great extent. Fortunately, the two communicated their feelings and were able to squash the inaccurate narratives they had about each other. Or so it seemed.

As Matt continued to discuss how he felt, he eventually charted into a territory where he was oversharing. He made it a point to specify how he would’ve gotten himself off the eviction block if Angela nominated him and then proceeded to infer how he would’ve switched his target to Angela once he had the chance.

Strike two.

Even though going after those who target others is one of the best ways to ensure that one stays in the house a little longer, Angela took this very personally and felt as if Matt was verbally threatening her because he’s cocky and sure of his position in the house.

Angela toiled and toiled over her conversation with Matt. So much so that she kept herself awake all night wondering who she could trust. After a while, she realized she could no longer hold herself back, deciding to confront Matt head-on in front of all the houseguests.

Had she refrained from being overly brutally honest, Angela’s confrontation could’ve been a great way to put a huge target on Matt’s back, turning all the houseguests against him since Angela is the only one of the two with immense power. Yet, Angela had one too many low blows in her argument, including low blows that took a jab at Matt’s mother, Matt’s outward appearance, Makensy Manbeck’s relationship with Matt, and, most importantly, Angela’s new alliance, The Collective.

Although it made for good drama, the houseguests couldn’t believe how quickly Angela could flip, seeing her as a liability who plays too emotionally. As for Matt, he soon realized that Angela had gone too far. And although he has to play it slowly to avoid angering Angela even further, he knows that there is little to no path forward with Angela.

Strike three.

Upon Lisa Weintraub, one of Angela’s three initial nominated houseguests, winning the Golden Power of Veto and taking herself off, Angela saw this as her best opportunity to take a swing at Matt’s game. Thus, Angela decided to put Matt up as the replacement nominee with the potential chance to go home if he can’t win in the AI Arena.

Angela and Matt’s sullied relationship will certainly set the tone for both of their games from this point forward. How so remains to be seen.

If you want to see more of Angela Murray and Matt Hardeman’s journey in the house, be sure to tune in to brand-new episodes of Big Brother season 26 every Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday evening on CBS.