America Lopez and Cory Wurtenberger may not have won Big Brother, but they've received the prize of being the most popular showmance this series has seen in quite a while. Viewers are always invested in the details of how the showmance came together, and the recently evicted Houseguest was completely fine with sharing. She also talked about being a bit "persistent" when Cory rejected the idea of a romance at first, and explained why she was so insistent on making it happen.
CinemaBlend and others were encouraged to submit questions for America as she made her way to the jury house, and obviously, there were curious minds asking about her and Cory. I had to know if getting into a showmance was always a part of her plan, seeing as she's a superfan of Big Brother. America admitted it was in her plan, but added a part viewers may not be aware of:
I mean, I know me so going into this I knew a showmance was going to be a real possibility. I’m super flirty and I love boys, so yeah, I kind of figured that I’d get into a showmance. Did I think it was going to be Cory on the first day? Absolutely not. It was such a great surprise.
While they eventually became attached at the hip, Cory was not the person America saw herself with at the start of Big Brother. The Houseguest did not reveal who she thought the showmance partner would be before Cory, though I'm sure anyone watching Big Brother online's live feeds with a Paramount+ subscription has their theories.
Why exactly did America not see her current lover as her showmance partner at the beginning? The answer is relatively simple, as she talked about the most obvious difference between them that took her some time to overlook:
I love Cory…After meeting everyone on the first day, Cory was probably the last guy I thought I was ever going to be in a showmance with. Just because of like age, and him being a student. I didn’t think we would click so well but I’m so glad we started talking on Day 12…things worked out! Everything’s great.
Things did work out for the 27-year-old, who decided the now 22-year-old Houseguest would be more than just an ally when she played Big Brother. Of course, there was some apprehension on Cory's side at the start, but America didn't let that deter her.
When the flirtation between them started, Cory set a hard boundary that they'd be cuddling because he had family at home watching. Live feed viewers know it progressed to more than that, and others criticized America for pushing the issue and not respecting his established boundaries. She was asked about persisting in being intimate, and answered those asking why she pushed the envelope on what Cory was comfortable with:
Oh geez, Cory and I started off as allies only, right? When he came to me with a Final Two, I had already developed a little crush on him. I was like, ‘Yay, okay, final two,’ but like are you going to kiss me or not? What’s the vibe here? We just clicked so well and I loved talking to him. In a house full of obnoxious people, he was the one person that I didn’t feel overwhelmed with. I could just sit with him and it was actually relaxing. I didn’t feel the pressure of the game and all these different factors…I guess I was persistent. Maybe just a little bit. He told me that his boundaries were cuddling and I was like, ‘Well, let’s see how true that is.’ It’s just something about him. I dunno, you gotta meet Cory.
What's really great about this response, and may speak to the strength of their bond, is that Cory said essentially the same thing about America. When CinemaBlend asked him what he missed about being outside the house, he said he missed not playing the game and that spending time with America helped him forget about it.
It's hard not to root for this Big Brother couple, and as Julie Chen Moonves mentioned, there's a good number of showmances that ended in marriage. After seeing Taylor Hale and Joseph Abdin break up and Tyler Crispen and Angela Rummans end their engagement, I'd say we're due for a success story. Not to put any pressure on this new couple, as I ultimately hope this all works out for the best regardless of what happens.
Big Brother airs on Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ET, Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET, and on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. on the 2023 TV schedule. The schedule is set to get a little weird after the Final Four is decided, so be sure to look up the details on that and maybe even prepare for some final multiverse weirdness at the very end.
