LOS ANGELES, Sept. 22 (UPI) --
In a close 5-4 vote, the winner of Big Brother 18 and $500,000 was announced live on Wednesday night, making show history.
Nicole Franzel, a 23-year-old nurse from Ubly, Mich., beat out Paul Abrahamian and James Hulling in the final Head of Household competition to secure the win and a half-million dollars.
Franzel also becomes the first woman to beat out two men for the title.
Abrahamian won the chance to choose his competitor in the live finale and chose Franzel over Hulling to finish the 18th season with the $50,000 runner-up prize.
Franzel also competed on the show in Season 16, coming in seventh place.
Letting go of the emotional attachments was key in getting to the finale, she said.
"I realized, 'Nicole you're here to play Big Brother, not Big Baby, let's go,'" she said in her final speech before the votes were cast.
CBS is launching an online version of Big Brother called Big Brother: Over The Top, which is available Sept. 28 through the network's own streaming service.
