'Big Brother' Showmance Couples Now: Where are they now? Who's still together? (PHOTOS)
PHOTO GALLERY
Christian Birkenberger and Alyssa Lopez - Big Brother, Season 23
Big Brother Season 23 in 2021.
Current Status: Broken up
CBS Broadcasting
Christian Birkenberger and Alyssa Lopez had a crush on each other in the Big Brother house and sparked a secretive showmance on Big Brother's 23rd season in Summer 2021.
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.
But the pair didn't make their relationship official until the night of Big Brother's Season 23 finale on September 29 and proceeded to break up just two days later.
"Our relationship only lasted 48 hours because we only dated for 48 hours before we broke up," Alyssa, a swimsuit designer from Florida, told Us Weekly in November 2021.
Christian, an aspiring model and actor from Connecticut, admitted he was "still adjusting" to life outside of the Big Brother house when he and Alyssa began dating and the environment just wasn't the same.
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.
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."
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."
However, both individuals acknowledged there's a chance they may try again in the future considering they talk every day and "no one can predict the future," according to Christian.
"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... But, as of right now, we are just strictly friends," Alyssa explained.
