Big Brother 28’s Rome Seymour ultimately understands why his showmance, Lyric Medeiros, had to vote him out.
“I totally get it because the one thing I stressed to her, I go, ‘Lyric, there will always be a target on my back, always. I want you to do whatever is best for your game at any point in time,’” the pickleball coach, 28, exclusively tells Us Weekly after his eviction from the CBS reality series on Thursday, July 23. “At first, the initial shock of that vote not coming through for me, it stung a little bit.”
However, Rome understands that Lyric’s decision to betray him “makes the most sense” especially if the attorney, 25, still wants a chance at the $750,000 prize.
“She needs to show some allegiance, some loyalty to the other side,” he explains. “And for her to be able to vote out the guy that she’s in love with, that shows the other side like, ‘Hey, maybe she really is coming to play this game.’ So I totally respect it, personal and game aside.”
Rome adds that he has “no hard feelings” toward Lyric.
“All water under the bridge,” he tells Us. “No love lost.”
Rome and Lyric instantly connected when they entered the Big Brother house earlier this month. On the second day of the game, Rome and Lyric coupled up and became season 28’s first official showmance. In the course of two weeks, their feelings intensified as they exchanged “I love yous” and even discussed the possibility of marriage.
While Rome was skeptical of getting into a showmance before the game began, everything changed the moment he laid eyes on Lyric.
“I walked into that house thinking, like, there’s no way people fall in love. There’s no way people cry. There’s no way people get these strong connections at all. You’re here for three months maximum, right?” he recalls. “But in those two weeks that I got to spend with Lyric, I just realized how amazing she was as a person, how beautiful she was. Like, inside and out, she’s so selfless, and it’s all the qualities I’ve ever wanted in my significant other. So, for me, these feelings are extremely real.”
Now that Rome is out of the house and Lyric remains in the game, he is hopeful they can reconnect and figure out the “logistics” of their relationship once they reunite. (Lyric is from Hawaii while Rome resides in Florida.)
“I’ll tell you what: No matter what happens, I’m willing to make something work with her,” he says. “At least try it because she’s not the type of person you let go without fighting for.”
Big Brother airs on CBS Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.
