After years of going by her maiden name on television, Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves suddenly began using her married name in 2018. The name change came as a shock to longtime Big Brother viewers, as the host had referred to herself as Julie Chen for many years. At the time, Julie never truly explained why she felt the need to suddenly add her husband’s last name to her own name.
Julie has been hosting Big Brother since the show’s start in 2000. This was her first big hosting job in the industry. Although a lot has changed about Big Brother since it first aired over 20 years ago, Julie has continued to host each and every season. Additionally, Julie hosted all three seasons of Celebrity Big Brother as well.
Julie Wanted To Stand By Her Husband’s Side During Some Dark Times
Julie married her husband Leslie Moonves in 2004; however, she didn’t add Moonves to her name publicly until 2018. At the time of her sudden name change, Leslie, the former CEO of CBS, was being accused of multiple sexual harassment allegations, ultimately leading to his resignation. According to Us Weekly, Julie didn’t initially take her husband’s name because she felt it was an “unfair advantage.” Then, when the drama began to unfold, Julie felt the need to use her husband’s name to show her solidarity with him. She said, “When his name was getting dragged through the mud, I thought this is the time to make my stand and to let the world know who I am.”
Julie’s Decision To Change Her Name Was Made Live On Television
Julie’s decision to change her name in support of her husband not only came as a shock to Big Brother viewers, but to the production team as well. In fact, Julie decided in the spur of the moment to begin using her married name during a live Big Brother season 20 episode. She hadn’t told anyone beforehand that she was going to do this. Julie was anxious about the decision leading up to the moment she did it. Then, two months later, Julie again used her married name in an interview about the upcoming season of Celebrity Big Brother, making the name change official.
The longtime Big Brother host has since referred to herself as Julie Chen Moonves on every live episode of the hit reality show. Julie will soon be returning to the famous house to host yet another season. Big Brother season 25 is set to premiere sometime this summer.
Source: Us Weekly
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
