Well, there is something about first love. You don’t forget it so easily, especially when the story begins with a suspenseful, romance-novel twist. That was certainly the case for social media star Alix Earle and New York Giants wide receiver Braxton Berrios. Earle originally sparked curiosity back in 2023 when she casually introduced him to her followers as the mysterious “NFL man” she was making sushi with. After nearly three years together, the fan-favorite couple officially called it quits last December.

As Earle decided to move on from that chapter of her life, she rented a big truck to move out of her ex-boyfriend’s house two months after the breakup. With her best friend Sally in the passenger seat and Earle behind the wheel, the content creator discussed what went wrong between the couple.

“There’s a ton of pressure that comes from, like, having a public relationship and sharing so much and people loving our relationship. But we were both busy in our careers and doing long distance at the time. We weren’t talking as much. We were barely communicating. There was a lack of intimacy towards the end of the relationship, and it started to just, like, dwindle away a little bit,” Earle said on the first episode of reality series Earle Meets World, released on Friday on Netflix.

Earle and Berrios met at a Gatsby-themed party in Miami. A friend of Berrios approached Earle to tell her to talk to Berrios, so Earle walked up to Berrios, shoved her hand in his face, and asked, “You wanted to meet me?” The two eventually hit it off, but Earle had to leave the party early without saying goodbye to the WR.

The two then started popping up together at events. In May 2023, Berrios attended Earle’s graduation from the University of Miami. Then came a Miami Heat basketball game and a trip to the Hamptons on a private jet for the Palm Tree Music Festival in June. The following month, they made their red carpet debut at the 2023 ESPYs, attended a Miami Dolphins game in September, and finally made it official on Instagram for Berrios’ 28th birthday, when she posted, “Hbd nfl man.”

Earle explained how she genuinely saw a future with Berrios. However, she wasn’t ready to tie the knot just yet.

“Braxton and I were together for three years. He was the first actual real love that I’ve ever experienced. I always said I could see us being old in like rocking chairs together. That’s who I’d want to be there with. The thought, though, of Braxton ready for marriage in the near future really stressed me out. I’m only 25, and I’m not ready for that yet,” Earle added in the series.

When the couple started dating in 2023, Berrios was playing for the Dolphins. The WR stayed with the franchise for two years before signing with the Houston Texans in 2025. So when news of the split broke, initial reports pointed to a different primary cause.

“Majority of their relationship was long-distance, and it was hard for them to navigate,” a source told Us in 2025. “They mutually agreed on the split.”

However, the release of the Netflix series revealed a different story. During the third episode, Earle opened up about bumping into Berrios after the breakup and claimed he made fun of her.

“He was mocking me, saying, ‘I told you not to break up with me. Ha, ha, ha.’ I was like, ‘Wait, what?’” Earle said. “He was laughing in my face. Like, ‘I told you not to do this. I told you this was a mistake.’”

According to Earle, she was just letting Berrios know that seeing him was “hard,” but the WR acted “a little standoffish.” Still, after going home, Earle ended up texting Berrios at 4 a.m.

“I texted him, ‘Off camera, but let me know if you can talk at any point,’” she read aloud. “‘Not sure if you’re leaving, but I’d love to catch up.’”

Berrios responded with, “Really hard to trust anything is off camera lately.”