Big Brother couple Christian Birkenberger and Alyssa Lopez have revealed they've split up and decided to just be friends.
ADVERTISEMENT
Christian and Alyssa, who sparked a showmance on Big Brother's 23rd season this past summer, made their relationship official on the night of Big Brother's Season 23 finale on September 29 and proceeded to break up just two days later, Us Weekly reported.
RELATED LINK: 'BIG BROTHER' SHOWMANCES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHICH COUPLES HAVE SPLIT UP?? (PHOTOS)
"Our relationship only lasted 48 hours because we only dated for 48 hours before we broke up," Alyssa, a 24-year-old swimsuit designer from Florida, said with a laugh.
Christian, a 23-year-old aspiring model and actor from Connecticut, admitted he was "still adjusting" to life outside of the Big Brother house and jury when he and Alyssa began dating.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I wasn't back to normal... It wasn't the same as it was on the show because it's not the same environment... So we quickly realized that and we decided in the [Los Angeles] airport," the former general contractor assistant told Us.
Alyssa revealed how they had agreed to stop being an official couple in the airport on their way to Florida.
"He was just like, 'Oh, should we just not date right now?' And we both agreed. And as soon as he said that, we were back to normal, joking around, laughing nonstop. He came to Florida with me," Alyssa recalled.
The pair said it was "a mutual decision" to part ways, with Alyssa adding, "Christian and I are just friends."
"We realized leaving the show that I have a career and he has to focus on his career, and we have barely any time to hang out with friends. So, having a relationship just isn't something that we're able to do," Alyssa explained.
ADVERTISEMENT
And Christian elaborated in the joint interview, "With the long distance and everything, we thought it may be easier to not have to try and work through that. Because it may be more complicated and end up hurting us in the long run."
"So we just decided friends was probably a safer alternative for both of us, for now at least," he added.
RELATED LINK: 'SURVIVOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO'S STILL TOGETHER?! WHICH SHOWMANCES SPLIT UP? (PHOTOS)
Christian joked about the couple's breakup on October 2, when he tweeted, "What does Chrisalyss & Wet cement have in common...? It only lasts 48hrs."
The pair told the magazine they had actually created that tweet together to be lighthearted about their quick rise and fall as a romantic couple.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We wanted to make it funny," Alyssa said. "We were on the plane giggling about it."
Once "the pressure was gone" to be boyfriend and girlfriend, Alyssa and Christian shared how they just continued to have fun spending time together and that breaking up was actually "the best thing [they] could have done" and they "definitely don't regret it."
"Even when I was evicted," Christian shared, "I remember Alyssa in her message, she said, 'You're my best friend inside the house and I hope you're my best friend outside the house.' And that stuck with us because that hasn't changed at all."
However, both individuals acknowledge there's a chance they may try again in the future.
"We're not closing that door because you never know what could happen and you should never close the door with anyone, I don't think, because who knows what could happen," Alyssa explained. "But, as of right now, we are just strictly friends."
ADVERTISEMENT
"We talk every day," Christian added. "We are best friends, but no one can predict the future."
RELATED LINK: 'THE AMAZING RACE' COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (PHOTOS)
But Alyssa noted she'd like their relationship to be more private if they ever get back together.
"The fact that there's hundreds of thousands of people being in the relationship too and wanting to know our every move, that was very new to me and kind of overwhelming. So if there's anything that's going to happen in the future, him and I just want it to be him and I," Alyssa noted.
"So, right now, that's why with everything going on, friends is best. And it's been really working well. We've been really enjoying hanging out for Halloween and everything. We just want that to be something that's private."
Big Brother host Julie Chen asked Christian whether he'd be interested in dating Alyssa in the real world during his post-eviction interview in August.
"I've discussed it with her. I don't know where we stand at the moment... [But] yes, I want something after this for sure, but two months of not seeing her potentially would be a long time, so I'm going to wait until after," Christian told Julie.
While Christian was voted out of Big Brother 23 on Day 37 of the game, Alyssa was evicted from the Big Brother house when the cast determined its Final 6 houseguests, which ended up being the history-making Cookout alliance comprised of only people of color.
RELATED LINK: 'BIG BROTHER' SHOWMANCES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHICH COUPLES HAVE SPLIT UP?? (PHOTOS)
Xavier Prather, a 27-year-old attorney from Kalamazoo, MI, ultimately won the Big Brother game and its unprecedented $750,000 grand prize.