Michael "Cowboy" Ellis is a another beloved Big Brother star James Huling. All three of these men spoke to a mysterious "Julia" and Catfish's Nev Schulman and Kamie Crawford were on a mission to discover her true identity.
Michael first competed on Big Brother back in 2004 with his half-sister, Jennifer "Nakomis" Dedmon. The Oklahoma native lasted all 85 days, even placing as a runner-up to Drew Daniel, one of his allies throughout the season. He never played another season, despite being nominated for future seasons over the years. The 41-year-old was married at the time of playing the game, but separated from his wife, was looking for love again, and found Julia online.
Russell is one of the most infamous Survivor players of all time, as he was willing to lie and backstab anyone on the show to further his game. He made it to the end on two of his three seasons, first as a runner-up on Survivor: Samoa and a second runner-up on Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. Russell said he and Michael became friends through doing reality TV events together and have been friends for over a decade.
Russell and "Julia" talked for a bit before drifting apart, and he was suspicious of Michael's relationship with her. Julia was a Big Brother fan, making her motives seem less than pure, especially after some digging showed that she had been sending racy photos to another Big Brother alum, James Huling, as well. Michael was heartbroken throughout the Catfish episode, as it became less and less likely that "Julia" was a real person.
By the end of the episode, in a major plot twist, Julia was in fact who she said she was. She was more than willing to hop on a Zoom call with Michael, Nev and Kamie to reveal her true identity. The dramatic Catfish reveal when she uncovered the camera shocked all three of them. Julia explained that she is bisexual and was afraid to tell Michael, but the pair grew from the experience and made plans to meet in person once COVID cases went down. They have both been tight-lipped about their current relationship status, and whether they ever got to meet face-to-face. Big Brother and Catfish fans alike hope that Michael is happy now, whether he is with Julia or someone new.