Julie Chen Moonves Reveals if She’ll Continue to Host ‘Big Brother’ Long-Term

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of “Big Brother,” the show’s long-time host, Julie Chen Moonves, opened up about some of her favorite moments from the series’ 26 seasons. Lovingly referred to as “Aunt Julie” by fans, Chen Moonves has been at the head of the reality competition series since its CBS debut in July 2000 – just weeks after the network aired the very first episode of “Survivor.”

Including the recently revealed cast for Season 27, Chen Moonves has welcomed as many as 365 houseguests into the “Big Brother” house. The upcoming season, set to make its debut on Thursday, July 10, has generated plenty of buzz, but fans are wondering – after 25 years on the air – is Chen Moonves prepared to hang up her hosting hat after this summer’s stay at Hotel Mystere.

Chen Moonves Reveals Hidden Rivalry with Fellow CBS Hosts

The host, now 55, revealed her thoughts about retiring from “Big Brother” in a July 9 interview with Entertainment Weekly, revealing that she plans to see her hosting role through to the bitter end – or at least until the hosts of rival CBS competition series like “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race” call it quits.

“You know what?” said Chen Moonves. “This is a game of chicken. As long as [Jeff] Probst and [Phil] Keoghan are there, so am I.”

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As previously mentioned, Probst debuted “Survivor,” acting as host and executive producer, just weeks before Chen Moonves hosted the premiere episode of “Big Brother.” One year later, Keoghan brought CBS viewers on their very first race around the world on Season 1 of “The Amazing Race” in 2001.

Despite rumors and speculation as the legendary hosts grow older (Probst is now 63, while Keoghan turned 58 in May), none have shown signs of stepping away from their respective franchises. That being said, Chen Moonves, the youngest of the three hosts, says she’s ready to outlast Probst and Keoghan in their race to become the longest-running CBS reality host – though the trio are still far from Bob Barker’s record 35 years as the host of “The Price is Right” .

“I’m not a quitter,” added Chen Moonves. “The Chenbot can hold her own. I can give the Energizer Bunny a run for its money.”

Though she’s determined to outlast her competitors, Chen Moonves did amend that she hopes all three of them are around to bring more reality drama to fans for years to come.

“I don’t want to see someone else host ‘Survivor’ or ‘Amazing Race’ either,” she said. “I really don’t.”

Chen Moonves Says She’s Intrinsically Linked with ‘Big Brother’

While she’s also appeared in series like “NCIS,” ”Madame Secretary” and “Jane the Virgin,” Julie Chen Moonves’ name will always be synonymous with “Big Brother.” In addition to her competition with Probst and Keoghan, Chen Moonves says it’s her connection to the show that has kept her on set for the last 25 years.

“I can’t imagine my life without ‘Big Brother’ every summer, and I can’t imagine ‘Big Brother’ without me,” she told EW. “It’s kind of like we go hand in hand. I’m part of the show from season 1 and part of building it up.”

While Julie can’t see herself stepping away from the show anytime soon, she also admitted to struggling with seeing someone else step into her shoes.

“My catch phrases! Can you imagine someone else delivering ‘But first…’ or ‘Love one another’ or ‘Expect the unexpected’ or ‘The power is up for grabs’? I don’t think so,” she added.