Big Brother: Derek Xiao & Claire Rehfuss Are Dating

Big Brother houseguests Derek Xiao and Claire Rehfuss are dating after connecting with each other in the jury house. Derek, a 24-year-old start-up founder, and Claire, a 25-year-old AI engineer, revealed their relationship after weeks of hiding it. Although they felt drawn to each other during the game, they did not explore their feelings until after their evictions. They waited until they were off camera to really allow themselves to fall for each other.

During the game, Derek and Claire were both members of the Royal Flush alliance, made up of the Kings team, the Queens team, and Derek from the Aces. The alliance was set to dominate the game until Derek evicted its first member, Christian Birkenberger, during his Head of Household reign. Derek placed 10th after he was evicted instead of Claire after 51 days in the house, and Claire placed 8th after 65 days in the house. This means that they spent 20 of the 85 days left in the competition together in the jury house, reconnecting and getting to know each other without their every move being analyzed.

In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Derek and Claire revealed the details of their relationship. They felt like they couldn’t show the vulnerability necessary to begin a new relationship when they knew that the cameras were recording their every word for live feeders to hear, so they waited until they left the house to start seeing each other. Claire explained, “I think that we both really felt the chemistry once we got to jury house and could really connect with each other.” They would stay up chatting every night and developed a close bond. Derek echoed Claire’s sentiments, stating that they would talk until 5 a.m. every night. He confessed, “That’s when I started really thinking like, ‘Wait a second, why didn’t this happen in the house? There’s such a strong connection and chemistry between us.’ I think that was the beginning of us thinking about what this could be.” Derek admitted that, although he knew from week one that Claire was his type, he didn’t want to ruin his game with a showmance, especially after seeing what happened to Alyssa Lopez and Christian when their romance was discovered. He said, “I knew that if I let myself, I would just fall for Claire in the house.”

The couple also discussed the reactions of their fellow houseguests, who were very aware of what was happening in the jury house. Claire said, “Me and Alyssa were roommates in jury. She was like my confidante. Everyone else was also helping us try to get around the jury house managers. So everyone in the jury house basically knew what was happening. It wasn’t like a dirty little secret in the boat house or anything. It was very fun.” The houseguests obviously succeeded in keeping the secret since nothing was shown about this relationship on the show. Another interesting issue in their relationship was Derek’s possible romance with Hannah Chaddha, another BB23 houseguest. Derek had a strong connection with her as well and explained that he and Claire didn’t get together until Hannah came to the jury house and they were able to talk to her about it. He said that he and Hannah agreed that they were better off as friends and there is not awkwardness among the three of them. Derek said that he and Hannah “still have a fantastic relationship,” and Claire agreed that Hannah is still her “best friend” and “there’s really no ill will there at all. She just is an amazing person and I adore her.”

Fans of Big Brother joke that the show has produced more successful relationships and marriages than actual dating shows. Although Claire and Derek’s relationship is relatively new, it is not hard to imagine that they are in it for the long haul. Although they didn’t win the game, they won each other’s hearts.

Source: Us Weekly