Deep Thoughts about the Mike & Krista Split

Last week, Susan Schechter let us all know that Big Brother 2’s Mike and Krista had split up. As amazing as it may seem, the world did not pause in shock. Quite the opposite, actually.

But some did raise questions. It was said that one reason Krista left Mike was that he didn’t want to be on The Amazing Race 2. I heard people cry out, “What?! Mike didn’t want to do something that would get him more publicity, but Krista, who had been lambasted for her behavior, did?” At first, it sounded a bit strange. Mike, after all, referred to himself as a “star” and the others around him as “extras.” He wants to be an actor, and even was a guest on at least one sitcom. Wouldn’t he want to do anything to get back on TV?

Not necessarily. As much as I think Mike lives in a land of make-believe, he almost certainly realizes that he can’t make a career out of being on reality TV shows. Sue Hawk and Jeff Varner already have that gig taken (Sue appeared on Survivor, The Weakest Link, Cannonball Run 2001, and as a guest on Big Brother 2; Jeff was on all of the same except The Weakest Link). Mike has his goals set higher. He does want to make a career out of TV and entertainment, but not in that way. TV Guide reported that he and Will were planning to pitch a comedy that took a look behind-the-scenes at a reality show. Indeed, his collaboration with Will was reported to be another factor in the break-up with Krista. But Mike is actually being smart. If he can quickly get his foot in the door while his 15 minutes of fame are still ticking down, he might be able to make it into something longer-lasting. If he only uses it to get another 15 minutes on a different show, he’s gone nowhere. While I may doubt his ability to write a show or to get it made, I don’t doubt that this is the proper path.

But what about Krista? After the beating she took (including at the hands of this author, such as in this article), why would she want to put herself back in the limelight? Why would she want to leave her daughter behind again?

I think the key here is to remember that Krista is still apparently looking for a way out of her humble origins. The million-dollar prize would come in handy to help in that endeavor. At the end of Big Brother 2, she said she couldn’t just go back to waitressing in her small town again. She believes she is headed for greater things. From what we’ve seen, Krista doesn’t actually have any talents that could lead her to a career. (Well, unless smoking and drinking are now considered “talents.”) She probably didn’t have much confidence that Mike could parlay his BB2 stint into a Hollywood acting or writing career, where she could at least be carried along for the ride. So her only chance was another reality show with a big prize. It’s no wonder she was reportedly upset with Mike for not wanting to participate in The Amazing Race 2! Most people don’t even get a single chance to win a half million dollars, but she had the possibility of getting two chances – and Mike blew it for her by turning it down. As for the prospect of having to leave her daughter behind again, that obviously didn’t bother her during BB2 too much – heck, she even stayed with Mike for a little while after she was evicted, rather than going home to her daughter. Several times over, we saw Krista make choices that seemed to place her daughter behind other goals. Some people argued that all of these choices were made so she could get the money that would eventually mean something better for her daughter, and I suppose that rationalization could have been used again for entering another reality show.

At the end of the TV Guide snippet mentioned earlier, Mike was asked about his wedding plans with Krista. He said, “We’ll take a year and see.” Most people would take that time before getting engaged. However, everybody pretty well knew that his on-air engagement was nothing but an attempt to upstage the finale of Big Brother 2. He didn’t want people to forget about him just because he’d been voted off earlier.

All in all, the engagement was pretty much a sham. Although they were with each other 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in the Big Brother house, the real world is a lot different from the reality TV world. Perhaps more importantly, Mike was not Krista’s ticket to big money. So nobody – but nobody – was surprised by the fact that they will not be getting married.

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