In Defense Of Liz & Austin On 'BB17'

Guys, we need to talk about Liz and Austin. And, I don’t mean the usual conversation that you’ve probably already been having with all of your Big Brother-loving friends: We need to talk about the fact that, regardless of how much you disagree with Austin already having a girlfriend and Liz potentially using him for game, Liztin's showmance is actually not that bad. In fact, it’s a really emotionally smart strategy for surviving and thriving in the Big Brother house.

Even if Liz and Austin are just using each other to get further in the game than they would on their own, it wouldn't be the first time that had happened in the Big Brother house — and it would also be completely understandable. It’s why Shelli ditched her boyfriend before coming on the show, and why Austin seems to have had some sort of agreement with his girlfriend about hooking up with other girls while he was in the house. Not only does hooking up happen all the time in the Big Brother house, but it’s kind of understandable: You’re in a house with strangers and without any connection to the outside world for almost a hundred days. Houseguests talk all the time about how the hardest part of the house is all of that downtime. So, it’s no wonder that some houseguests attach themselves to other houseguests. Whether or not it’s for strategic reasons doesn’t even really matter. It’s human nature to form connection and community, and that’s really all that Liz and Austin did.

Do I think they’re going to win couple of the year? No, not by any means. There are some serious signs that they are not only totally wrong for each other, but that their romance won’t survive outside of the Big Brother house. But, clearly, they have found comfort and support in each other throughout the season, and there isn’t really anything wrong with that.

OK, maybe it’s a little wrong because of the whole “Austin already has a girlfriend thing,” but until she speaks out or Austin offers some legitimate explanation as to what’s happening there, it really isn’t anything for us to judge. I mean, maybe this is something they agreed on already — or maybe they were already so close to breaking up that they acknowledged ahead of time that this might happen.

Regardless of what you think about the two as a romantic twosome, it’s clear to me that their relationship is one that has only benefitted each of them. Both from a gameplay perspective and from a personal one — and there’s nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with that at all.

Things change so quickly in the Big Brother house, it can be hard to keep up. To keep track of everything going on in the Big Brother house, check out Bustle’s very own Big Brother podcast, The Diary Room. Listen to the latest episode below, and be sure to check out future episodes on Bustle’s SoundCloud page and iTunes.

Image: CBS (3)