Are 'BB17's Shelli & Clay Ready For Long Distance?

The fact that we're even asking this question is really a testament to how hot and heavy Clay Honeycutt and Shelli Poole got in such a short time on Big Brother Season 17. The King and Queen, Barbie and Ken, Hercules and Princess, Clay and Shelli were basically running the house for several weeks before James Huling won HoH and sent Clay packing. During that fateful episode, the pair mentioned looking forward to having their first date outside of the house, but a lot can happen in two months. Sunday's episode revealed that even Shelli knows that Clay might not be waiting for her once she's finally sprung from this joint. But the real question on every wayward romantic's mind is will Shelli and Clay move closer to each other after Big Brother 17? After all, there are over 1,000 miles between Georgia and Texas, and long distance is hard on established relationships let alone new, reality show-based ones.

Of all the wild ideas that Shelli and Clay have inspired this season, the idea of them moving closer to one another isn't as crazy as you might think. After all, Clay is a graduate school student at Texas A&M. Who's to say that, when he finally does get his Masters, he necessarily has to stay in Texas? Perhaps he was already looking for a change of scenery once he got his degree, and Shelli has just given him some incentive to check out Georgia. It makes a lot more sense for him to pack up and move to a new state than for her to do it; he's in his early 20s and far too young to have made any real roots anywhere when he's not even out of school yet. She, on the other hand, is in her early 30s and has a whole life and career in Georgia that she can't just throw away "for love."

However, it's still pretty crazy. I can see Clay and Shelli keeping in touch after Big Brother is over, I can maybe even see them finally going on that single first date outside of the house, but completely uprooting their lives to move across the country for one another? Yeah, no, I don't see that happening at all. In the incredibly unlikely event their showmance actually turns into a real romance outside of the house, it will be quite some time before they get serious enough to move in together, so I really wouldn't hold my breath here. It's more likely that they'll go on one date, realize they're better as friends, and move on to other people. You know, like most of the showmances that blossom on this show.

Want more Big Brother? Listen to Bustle's latest Big Brother podcast, The Diary Room, below, and check out more new episodes on our Soundcloud page. And, of course, expect the unexpected...

Image: CBS; big-brother-2015/Tumblr