Ilir Shaqiri seems to be the only contestant in the entire history of "Big Brother VIP" in Albania and Kosovo who has not been afflicted by the "curse" of the person who enters the house first.
Almost all the residents who entered the house first left the competition not by elimination, but by choice, for health reasons, family problems, etc. It seems like a strange coincidence that the vast majority of them were not eliminated, but left due to circumstances. The only resident who entered the house first and was later eliminated from the competition is Rovena Stefa.
We recall the following:
Big Brother VIP Albania 2 – Olta Gixhari enters first, stays for 99 days and leaves due to the absence of her son.
One of the strongest competitors of the second edition of BBVA, Olta decided to give up the competition. She said the main reason was the absence of her son. “There is no final that catches my eye in front of my son,” Olta said at the time.
Big Brother VIP Albania 3 – Drini Zeqo enters first, stays for 4 days and leaves due to a family emergency.
In later interviews, Drini explained that the reason for leaving was related to his sister, who was going through a difficult time and needed him.
Big Brother VIP Albania 4 – Egli Tako enters first, stays for 76 days and leaves due to health conditions.
Big Brother made the decision for Egli to immediately stop competing for health reasons. In the last few days before leaving, due to the situations created at home, and mostly due to arguments with Gjesti, Egli often appeared crying, which did not go unnoticed by viewers. She also often spoke about her anxiety problems.
Big Brother VIP Kosovo 1 – Getinjo enters first, stays for 44 days and leaves because he had left things out that should have been handled by him.
“You may have heard me during my stay, where I mentioned several times that my goal in this house is not to win a prize and that I came here just to calm down a bit and express myself as I am. I came here to show people that I am calm, good and hardworking,” Getinho said before leaving. “The reason I am leaving the house is because I have left a lot of things out that definitely need to be addressed by me.”
Big Brother VIP Kosovo 2 – Blero enters first, stays for 57 days and leaves because well-being and mental health were more important than competition.
Blero emphasized that he gave up the competition as a result of the great pressure created within the house.
Big Brother VIP Kosovo 3 – Rovena Stefa enters first, stays for 85 days and is eliminated.
In a televoting with competitors Sara Kolami, Xuxi, Xheneta Fetahu and Leo Gashi, Rovena received the least votes.
Is this "curse" just a coincidence or is there an explanation? It depends. In some cases, it may be a strategy by the production to introduce someone with great influence from the beginning to attract the attention of the audience (Iliri, Olta, Blero, Getinjo). But given the fact that those who enter first are often better known people outside the house, they must have more reasons to leave the competition due to personal commitments. In other cases, it seems like just a coincidence.
However, the phenomenon remains intriguing and in future editions we will see if this "curse" will continue.