Braxton Berrios found himself defending against fans of Alix Earle after it seemed he made a lighthearted jab at their breakup in a recent social media post of hers.
The NFL player took to Instagram on Thursday, hinting at sharing his first post since news of their split came out last week.
“What did I miss?” he captioned his post, accompanied by several photos of himself both alone and with his Houston Texans teammates.
It wasn’t long before Earle’s followers reacted, focusing on Berrios’s comments about his appearance.
One commenter praised Earle’s recent performance on an ABC dance competition, where she and her partner finished second, saying, “Alix’s performance is everything.”
In an attempt to shield himself from the online backlash, Berrios, who is 30, remarked, “Unfortunately I can’t travel like that during the season.”
Another user quipped about his post, suggesting it seemed like an “I’m single” bait. Meanwhile, someone else asked about the public relations team that suggested his caption.
Berrios further clarified his intentions, denying that his post was meant to be taken as “shady.” He later explained in response to a comment that he “absolutely did not intend” for it to come off that way.
To eliminate any misunderstandings, he pinned a comment stating that people weren’t grasping the reference to a Drake song, released in July, which shares the same title and is part of his upcoming album.
Alix Earle and Braxton Berrios parted ways last week after two years together. Sources indicated that their breakup stemmed from “growing distance.”
Fans had begun to speculate about trouble in the relationship after Berrios was absent from Earle’s “DWTS” performances. Earle had addressed these rumors, asserting that his absence was due to his commitments in football.
Reports suggested that Earle wanted to spend more time in Los Angeles, while Berrios resided in Florida, leading to the inevitable split.
