Is 'BB17's Austin Actually Single?

Another week has gone by in the Big Brother 17 house, which means another week of Austin cheating on his girlfriend has taken place, and there is nothing we can do about it. Or... has it? It's worth questioning at this point in Austin and Liz's showmance: Has Austin actually broken up with his girlfriend yet, or is he still stringing her along as he macks on Liz for all the world to see?

When Julia was sent home this week, it meant one thing: Liz and Austin get another seven days together in the Big Brother house, and I’m not entirely sure I’m happy about that. Sure they’re a supportive system for each other to rely on, but there are some serious signs that these two and their showmance are headed for disaster. And the biggest sign of all? The fact that Austin said he had a girlfriend when he came into the house and has since said some very contradictory things to justify dating Liz in the meantime.

For example, Austin said during a romantic dinner with Liz in the HoH room that the minute he kissed Liz for the first time, his girlfriend knew that it was over between the two of them. Um, what? I’m not sure I buy this explanation — because, really, what girlfriend would be OK with public humiliation as a form of proper closure? — but at least it suggests that they had some sort of agreement. According to Austin's apparent logic, by kissing Liz, he officially broke up with his girlfriend back home.

But take that for what it’s worth, because Austin has also said that his girlfriend was fake: According to something he said on Aug. 25, he's implied that he made her up for strategy. In which case, there is no need for him to break up with her. Fake girlfriends don’t require the same sort of respect that real girlfriend do, you know?

But, who knows if any of this — Austin’s story about his girlfriend back home, what their relationship was like, and whether or not he is cheating on her by being with Liz everyday — is true. There’s no way to know for sure if Austin has broken up with his girlfriend yet, especially since it’s still up in the air whether or not he actually has a living, breathing girlfriend.

So until Austin speaks out about his girlfriend — I’m half hoping he gets evicted next just so Julie Chen can grill him and get some actual answers on the topic — or his girlfriend speaks out about Austin, there’s no way for us to know for sure where their relationship stands. But, knowing the truth behind Austin’s girlfriend is the one thing I’m looking forward to the most about this season ending. Because if anyone deserves closure on this whole Austin and his girlfriend thing, it's the viewers.

And also his girlfriend, I guess.

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.

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