TikTok star Alix Earle has taken the world by storm with her “get ready with me” videos, acne transparency, and seemingly endless nights out at the University of Miami. Recently she gained even more traction when she debuted her secret beau, who she dubbed as “NFL man.” Rumors of Alix Earle, 22, and Miami Dolphins wide receiver Braxton Berrios, 28, have been swirling for months now. So, what’s their story?
Braxton Berrios previously dated internet personality Sophia Culpo for two years while Alix Earle was in a brief relationship with professional baseball player Tyler Wade. Though Wade was drafted to the MLB in 2013, he has spent much of his pro baseball career in the minor leagues of various organizations—thus, a huge chunk of his following came from Earle. In December 2022, Earle brought her breakup with Wade to the surface while on a TikTok live, saying she wasn’t happy in the relationship and that Wade “wouldn’t post her” on his social media. Berrios and Culpo’s relationship came to a halt early in 2022, but the two can’t seem to agree on exactly when they called it quits. Berrios says they split in January while Culpo claims it was during Super Bowl weekend in February, only after he had been seen with another girl. Both Berrios and Culpo eventually brought their respective sides of the story to the limelight online: Berrios dismissing rumors of cheating via Instagram stories and Culpo throwing shade in the form of TikToks.
Interestingly enough, Alix Earle posted a “get ready with me” video while in Scottsdale for the Super Bowl, explicitly stating she was looking for drama and only a month later in March, Earle posted she was making dinner with someone she had recently met but didn’t disclose who. Days later, Sophia Culpo dropped a subtle confirmation of her breakup with Braxton Berrios, captioning a TikTok with hashtags like “#sosingle” and “#singlelife.” Then in May, Berrios and Earle had been seen publicly for the first time—twice: first at dinner, then Berrios was spotted at Earle’s graduation party.
At this point, fans had been speculating for a few months that the two UMiami alumni were seeing each other, and the evidence only became stronger and stronger. On June 8th, Earle posted a “get ready with me” for a date night. The next day, Berrios and Earle were spotted together at a Miami Heat basketball game. However, Earle sparked confusion when she took to her TikTok comments to say that she didn’t have a boyfriend. The two had been spotted together many times after this, like on vacations and at music festivals, but Earle was adamant that the two were not exclusively dating, stating that “it’s just hard for me to not share stuff with you guys.” At this point, she had nicknamed her secret beau the “NFL man” and the two stepped out on the ESPYS red carpet together.
Photo Courtesy of Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
After many months of rumors and appearances together, Alix Earle finally broke her silence on a September episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast. The host, Alex Cooper, referenced the scrutiny that Earle faced over the summer and asked if she could either confirm or deny any rumors of cheating. Earle said it was triggering even to hear Cooper say that and clarified that Culpo and Berrios were not together when she began seeing him. She went on to say that she would cry to her friends while reading the comments she received about herself and the NFL star.
Since then, Earle has attended multiple Miami Dolphins games, sporting the jersey of her “NFL man” and also meeting his mother. On Berrios’ birthday, which was October 6th, Earle posted a steamy photo, captioned “hbd nfl man.” Though neither her face nor the man’s could be seen in the photo, Berrios commented, “Big fan of this,” further fueling speculation.
Photo Courtesy of @braxtonberrios/Instagram
Alix Earle and Braxton Berrios have kept the niche community of female sports fans and TikTok users on their toes. From hard launches on Instagram to meeting each other’s families, the two seem serious about one another—except they still insist there’s no exclusivity and that it’s all for fun.
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