'Big Brother's' Makensy Manbeck Declares She and Matt Hardeman Are in Love!

Two months after the Big Brother 26 season finale aired on Oct. 13, 2024, houseguests Makensy Manbeck and Matt Hardeman made headlines by confirming they’ve officially started dating. Their chemistry started brewing early in the season, but their connection couldn’t fully develop as Matt was the first houseguest to be evicted.

Meanwhile, Makensy stayed the entire 90 days, ultimately finishing as runner-up to winner Chelsie Baham, leaving little opportunity for them to explore their feelings.

Fast forward to Dec. 4, 2024, when the pair hard-launched their relationship on Instagram, and excitement among fans has continuously grown. It hit a new high on Jan. 22, 2025, when Makensy and Matt dropped the L-bomb in an Instagram post, leaving everyone curious about how their romance is evolving post-Big Brother. Let's get into it.

In her Dec. 4, 2024, Instagram post, Makensy put all the romance rumors with Matt to rest, writing, "In case the soft launches weren’t enough, here’s a hard launch." Fans flooded the comment section of the post celebrating their relationship.

One commenter couldn't hold back their excitement, saying, "Not to be dramatic but this is the greatest hard launch of all time."

Since then, Makensy and Matt have continued to share adorable photos, one of them spending their first Christmas together.

Sitting in front of a Christmas tree, Makensy captioned the photo, "Merry Christmas and happy holidays from M&M." She also added hashtags like #Texas and #Atlanta, hinting the two are holding down a long-distance relationship — Makensy lives in Texas, while Matt is based in the Atlanta area.

Matt also chimed in with a playful comment on their Christmas post, joking, "Are you Christmas??? Because I want to merry you."

Shortly after Christmas, Makensy returned to Instagram with a carousel of photos from a professional photo shoot she and Matt did, captioning it, "Guess what?!! WE'RE … In love."

While the two may be head over heels for each other (who doesn't love that new relationship energy?), their post seemed to leave some fans confused, thinking they might be engaged. One commenter, Madelyn Knapp, wrote, "Don’t play with me like that MJ!!" to which Makensy replied, "Hahahah had to ... eventually though won’t be a joke."

Another commenter, Madelyn Payne, added, "You really got me," with Makensy replying, "One dayyyy." Even Matt chimed in with, "Now I know what y’all were thinking … give me some time," to which Makensy tagged him and included three clock emojis.

It seems that if Makensy and Matt's relationship continues on this path, an engagement might be in the cards soon. Fans are definitely hoping for it, and Makensy might be dropping a few hints that she’s ready for that next step!

For now, fans will have to keep following Matt and Makensy’s Instagram accounts to stay updated on their blossoming relationship.