Alix Earle and Braxton Berrios 'Never Became Official' and 'Have Kept Things Casual,' Says Source

A source tells PEOPLE that the TikTok star and football player have "always agreed they were not exclusive or official"

Alix Earle is taking the summer for herself.

After walking the 2023 ESPY Awards red carpet hand-in-hand with Miami Dolphins wide receiver Braxton Berrios, a source tells PEOPLE that the two "never became official nor boyfriend/girlfriend."

Related: Alix Earle and Braxton Berrios' Relationship Timeline

"Despite the fact they went to a red carpet together and maybe in traditional Hollywood terms, that could be interpreted as 'a hard launch' of a relationship, that’s not what it was at all," the source says. "Both have continued to keep things casual and have fun with each other."

The source adds that "the two have always agreed they were not exclusive or official, knowing that Alix wanted to have a fun summer after just graduating and Braxton would be off at training before the end of the summer."

Their red carpet appearance came after months of speculation from fans indicating that the two were in a relationship following his split with Sofia Culpo, star of TLC’s The Culpo Sisters. The former couple dated for two years.

In June, Berrios, 27, spoke out about their breakup in an Instagram Story and addressed rumors that he cheated on Culpo, 26, during their time together.

Related: Alix Earle and Braxton Berrios Have a ‘Fun Date Night’ Cooking at Home

"I genuinely want all of this to be over and everybody to move on and do whatever makes them happy," he said. "I was in a relationship for two years. It was a good relationship. It was a healthy one. And towards the end of it, we had conversations along the lines of we just weren't working out."

The NFL star added that when he and his ex (referring to Culpo, though he didn't use her name) split in January, "It had nothing to do with anything else." He further explained their breakup, saying, "It had nothing to do with anybody else for that matter," adding that they "just didn't work out." The Instagram Story post was uploaded a month after Berrios and Earle, 22, first sparked dating rumors. At the time, they were spotted at a Miami restaurant together.

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Prior to walking the ESPY's red carpet, Berrios made his debut on Earle's TikTok account in a video of the two cooking at home and cozying up next to each other on a balcony that overlooked Miami’s Biscayne Bay at sunset.

"Fun date night idea … except we ended up ordering chipotle HAHAHA,” Earle captioned the video.

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