Big Brother 25 ended on November 9, and it teased a possible romance between Reilly Smedley and Matt Klotz. Blue Kim and Jared Fields also had a showmance in the house on the reality series. They didn’t last, but established couple Cory Wurtenberger and America Lopez are going strong. They talked about their future in the jury house and followed through on their plan.

Plenty of showmances left the CBS show and got married afterward. But what makes or breaks these relationships? How much does public opinion matter? Cory explained how their fans play a part in their lasting relationship.

The couple appeared on The Exclusive With Sharon Tharp and gave an update on their life. Cory went back to college and America moved from New York to Nashville to be with him. She explained Nashville being a city made it more enticing, and they didn’t want to have a long-distance relationship. They revealed fans recognize them from the show more often when they’re together rather than apart. The host asked why they think they’ve lasted longer than other showmances.

“Well what’s driving me is the US Weekly photo shoot that has yet to happen,” America joked. “So once that happens, then I feel like we can break up.” Of course, this is referencing Derek Xiao and Claire Rehfuss’s photo shoot revealing their relationship. That couple later competed on the Amazing Rac and won.

Cory gave his theory on why they lasted longer. “I think honestly, what made America and I work as opposed to some other showmances is like, America and I like each other,” he answered. “In the house, out the house, so I think that’s a big barrier. Also, I think like, there’s a weird dynamic where fortunately America and I’s supporters have a lot of overlap. It’s like the Venn diagram is just a circle. So I think it must be weird if you’re in a showmance where like, it’s like dueling fan bases. That adds probably another level of stress. Where me and America are basically going through the same stuff together.”

Cory admitted he hasn’t totally moved on from Big Brother. He still listens to live feed updates to get a full perspective of the season. One reason fans support Cory and America was because they were huge fans of the show before becoming houseguests themselves and it looks like they continue to be after their season.