Will The Liz/Austin Showmace Happen On BB17?

The stakes are heating up on Big Brother 17, and, as any good reality TV fan knows, when the plotting goes into high gear, the showmances get turns up to an 11. Just in case you were wondering, a "showmance" is a romance that blossoms between two contestants during the high pressure run time of their show. It's a beautiful, fragile thing that often doesn't last after the cameras stop rolling. Liz and Austin started off the season as friends, but, after some early season bonding, they are starting to look more like a showmance than friends. Their hang time had everyone wondering: does Liz Like Austin?

Things got more complicated when Liz revealed that she had a twin (Julia) who had been popping in and out of the show, taking her place. Liz also struck up a cuddle-fest friendship with Jeff, even though Jeff is pretty sexist — and now there is a solid possibility that the twins may like both Austin and Jeff on BB17 . That's just good TV right there, and the makings of a love square.

While I hate to be the one to throw cold water on this love fest, I think we need to deal with a few hard facts. First (and most importantly), Austin Matelson has a girlfriend. Yeah, not sure why everyone on the show is ignoring it, but he really has no right to try and move in on any of the women in the house, at all. Something tells me that the reason Liz doesn't care about his relationship status is because Liz is not into Austin; she is just using him to win. It might sound cold blooded, but the facts back it up.

Exhibit A:

The house guests have already gone middle-school-status on us, with Vanessa talking to Liz for Austin to see if she had feelings for him. After a little bit of prodding, Liz emitted that she didn't see him "that way," and that she really isn't interested in him. Then there's the fact that, while their relationship could be described as flirty, Liz has never made the moves on Austin, and flirty could just as easily be described as friendship or... playing the game.

I think Liz knows that she is going to need some alliances to win, and is willing to do whatever it takes to get them. She's already got her twin in the game (though they really didn't fool people for long), and she's trying to keep Austin on her side, even as she hangs out with Jeff. She's working the system, trying to keep both alliances going to keep herself secure in the house.

Just because I don't think she's that into Austin doesn't mean I don't think they might not hook up. This is Big Brother after all. I think it will all depend on if Austin has his way and gets Jeff kicked off the show. Removing his main competition for Liz increases his hookup chances (and ick factor) by like 100 percent.

Images: Sonja Flemming/CBS