Is Liz Starting To Like Austin On 'BB17'?

In Big Brother, we're always told to expect the unexpected, and in a season that promised a new twist each week and then failed miserably, it looks like "expect the unexpected" is starting to apply to the relationships in the house instead of the game itself. First, Julia entered the game and it seemed like John and Julia might be a thing. Then, to their great disappointment, Clay and Shelli were split up pre-jury. Now, it looks like Liz might be starting to like Austin on Big Brother 17.

Yep. You read that right. Liz, who seems like she can barely stand touching Austin most days, might actually be starting to like him. Given how sad Liz and Austin's nomance-turned-fauxmance has become, this certainly seems like great news. Ever since their cringe-worthy kiss, it's been hard to watch the two interact, and in their Diary Room entries, Austin seems convinced he's falling in love with her while Liz seems convinced they're only friends. Liz suddenly developing feelings for him would certainly be a step in the right direction here! (If only to make watching them interact slightly less horrible.)

To understand where Liz and Austin stand, it's good to recap some of what happened in the BB house over the weekend.

This all seemed to start when some of the houseguests were talking about Austin's ponytail beard and Liz admitted that she was not so into it. Austin, for some reason, seemed completely surprised, as if it had never before occurred to him that chicks don't dig ponytail beards. Austin got quiet and wandered away from the group, eventually making his way outside to work out.

Later, Shelli, Julia, and Liz recapped the incident and how hurt Austin was by Liz's confession. Like most things in the Big Brother house, this turned into a very amusing high school throwback wherein Shelli played messenger between Austin and Liz to discuss the ponytail beard and the seriousness of their relationship. It basically went like this:

Austin: If Liz is ready to commit, then I will gladly get rid of the ponytail beard.

Liz: I'm not ready to commit to Austin. Um... Uh... But I guess I'm open to exploring it??? (No number of question marks can signify how hesitant she seemed about this.)

Liz/Julia/Shelli: Did your ex like the ponytail beard, Austin?

Austin: No. But, I didn't care, and she knew I wasn't going to change it. The fact that I'm even considering getting rid of my prized ponytail beard shows how I feel about Liz.

Shelli: You should clean your beard up a bit as a way of working towards that commitment.

Throughout all of this, Shelli, Liz, Julia, and Jackie started talking about Liz's feelings for Austin, and she said that he's not at all her type but she thinks he's funny, likes his personality, and really likes his muscles.

A day or two later, Julia was talking to Vanessa and said she thinks Liz is starting to develop feelings for Austin.

The thing is, that's not all she said. Their conversation revealed that Julia is concerned about Liz's image throughout all of this because she thinks she's leading Austin on. So, at best, Julia hopes Liz is starting to like Austin to make her look better, but has no real reason to think she does.

Which brings us back to square one: Liz is playing Austin, Austin is falling for Liz, and this is a sad, sad situation. But, who knows? Maybe Austin will ditch the ponytail beard and that'll change everything!

For more on Liztin's current relationship status, check out Bustle's Big Brother podcast, The Diary Room. You can subscribe on Bustle’s SoundCloud page and iTunes for the most updated episodes each week.

Image: Screengrab/CBS (2)