Alix Earle Addresses Braxton Berrios Breakup Rumors Following His Absence from Dancing with the Stars Finale

Alix Earle is responding to speculation that she and her boyfriend Braxton Berrios have split.

Over the weekend, the 24-year-old influencer — and runner-up of the latest Dancing with the Stars season — took to TikTok, where she recapped her experience dancing during the finale and how she was feeling with the show now in the rearview.

As Earle reflected on how she had changed over the season, she noted that the entire experience was “emotional” for her, telling her followers, “There were a lot of points throughout the season that I was sitting with myself and in these thoughts and started to realize these things or realize what I wanted in life. And I think as those thoughts would come up, I think it was scary.”

“There was just a lot that happened in my personal life throughout the season that I am happy — I think — that I didn’t share for television, which I thought about at times,” continued the internet personality. “But I didn’t want to just say things for the sake of making a really entertaining package and putting these stories in other people’s hands. So I am proud of myself for that.”

Notably, throughout the season, Berrios was absent from the DWTS audience — only making a brief appearance in the finale when he sent in a video message wishing his girlfriend good luck for her culminating performances.

But in the comments of her TikTok post, Earle cleared up any breakup speculation. As one fan wrote, “Ugh I hope u and Braxton are still together,” the influencer responded, writing, “He couldn’t come bc of football :(“

Though Berrios, a wide receiver for the Houston Texans, couldn’t make it to any DTWS tapings in person, he was able to show his support for Earle from afar.

In an interview with PEOPLE on the day of the season’s premiere, Earle shared that the pair had hopped on the phone before she did her first dance.

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“I called him on the way [to Dancing with the Stars], just feeling nervous and unsure and uncertain,” she said. “He assured me that feeling nervous is a privilege, and it’s okay to be outside of your comfort zone.”

Continued Earle at the time: “He always says this before every game — it’s like, if you’re nervous, you’re doing something right, and I don’t know, getting out of your comfort zone. So it was nice to have him just reassure me of that.”

The pair also reunited throughout the season. In October, Earle threw Berrios an elaborate surprise 30th birthday party. And in November, the duo posted lovey photos together on their respective social media platforms to mark their second anniversary.