Alyssa Snider sparked a sweet showmance with Tyler Crispen during her time on The Challenge: USA, but in the real world, the duo decided they were better as friends. .
“Leaving The Challenge, I definitely wanted to pursue [a relationship]. I think I’m just a hopeless romantic though, so, I was like, ‘Alright, let’s get married, let’s have kids, let’s go into it.’ And [Tyler was] like, ‘No, we have to think this through,’” Alyssa, 25, exclusively told Us Weekly on Friday, September 22, one day after her elimination from season 2 of the reality series.
Alyssa explained that both she and Tyler, 28, are still processing their breakups from their last showmance partners. (Tyler and Angela Rummans, who started dating after they met on Big Brother 20 in 2018, called off their engagement in 2022, while Alyssa and Kyle Capener, who continued dating after meeting on Big Brother 24 in 2022, split in January.)
“We were still healing and [as] the saying [goes], ‘Hurt people, hurt people,’” Alyssa explained. “[Tyler was] like, ‘I don’t want that to happen to us. I care about you too much.’ So, we decided pretty early on [after] getting out of the show: Let’s take time, let’s be friends, let’s heal and we can see what happens in the future.”
Although the pair aren’t currently pursuing a romantic connection, Alyssa said that Tyler has “been a rock” for her as The Challenge: USA airs. “He’s amazing and I would never have a bad thing to say about him,” she said.
In addition to making out during an August episode of the CBS reality series, Tyler and Alyssa had each others’ backs in the game, which Alyssa said was a welcome change after her Big Brother showmance, Kyle, 30, plotted against her.
“I recently watched my season of Big Brother and it’s just kind of hard to stomach that someone that I cared about and loved, who I thought I was working with, was actually working against me in the earlier weeks of the show,” she told Us, noting that the experience left her “really scared” that she couldn’t trust Tyler at first. “But [Tyler] makes it really easy to just open up to [him]. … Just having somebody look out for me, it’s, like, ‘Wow, this is how it feels.’”
As for where Alyssa stands with Kyle — who sparked controversy during his time on Big Brother by seemingly suggesting that the white contestants stick together — the exes are not currently in touch.
“There’s a lot with me and Kyle that I think will only ever be known between me and Kyle. To the public, we are not friends. We tried many times and it just didn’t work,” Alyssa told Us, noting that the on-again, off-again nature of their Big Brother showmance continued into the real world. “It was a lot on my heart and I think as of now, it’s best to not be in each others’ lives because I’m working towards healing and that was bringing me [in] the other direction.”
While Alyssa didn’t find lasting love on The Challenge: USA, she’s proud of her performance on the show. After being underestimated by many of her competitors, she put up a good fight during Thursday’s Elimination, which she narrowly lost to Cassidy Clark.
“It’s not my personality to fight. I’m a super passive person. It’s not really me, and especially because I cared about Cassidy and I don’t want to hurt her,” she said. “But in that moment, I’m like, ‘This is my life in this game. I really want to be here. I feel like I’ve been targeted, I’ve fought my way, I’ve won three daily challenges with my team.’ … I was feeling empowered. I felt that inner fighter in me finally come out almost for the first time in my life.”
The Challenge: USA airs on CBS Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET.
