Galey Alix Admits 'It's Hard' to See Ex Dale Moss on Social Media: 'I Have to Protect My Heart' (Exclusive)

The HGTV alum tells PEOPLE about the end of her romance to the 'Bachelorette' star, whom she dated for two and a half years before their split

• PEOPLE caught up with Galey Alix, in her first interview since ending her romance with The Bachelorette breakout Dale Moss.

• She details what went wrong in their romance, noting that 'something was missing' between them.

• Romance rumors have since sparked between Moss and Remi Bader, though neither has confirmed they're dating.

Galey Alix is getting real about what led to her split from Dale Moss, and where the two stand now.

in a candid conversation with PEOPLE, the designer and social media star opens up about the end of her relationship with Moss, whom she dated for two and a half years before breaking up with him.

"Nobody was unfaithful, nobody said anything nasty or attacking or biting. We were two people who really respected each other and cared about each other and were sad to say goodbye," Alix says. "And we both, after being best friends and each other's confidant and supporter and cheerleader all those years, still really love each other. It just isn't meant to be."

"I hope we can be friends in the long run, I would like to be. I just don't know what that's going to look like," she adds. "I will say, we have a lot of mutual friends, and it's hard to see him on social media, commenting on other people's things, or to see photos with him pop up in friends' Stories and things like that. I did just kind of have to protect my heart there a little bit and remove some people temporarily from who I follow so that I don't get sad. But I think anyone would understand that."

Related: HGTV Star Galey Alix 'Shut Down' Filming Home in a Heartbeat: 'Don't Think I'd Survive a Season 2' (Exclusive)

Related: HGTV Star Galey Alix on Sliding into Boyfriend Dale Moss's DMs Over a Year Ago: 'I D.I.Y.'ed It!' (Exclusive)

Alix first revealed she had broken up with Moss during the Oct. 9 episode of Wholeheartedly with Kendall and Galey, the podcast she shares with Kendall Toole. She previously opened up about their romance during a June 2023 interview with PEOPLE.

The two first met when she slid into his DMs after hearing him on an old episode of the Girls Gotta Eat podcast from 2018. Though Bachelor Nation fans know Moss from his time on season 16 of The Bachelorette, where he won Clare Crawley’s heart, Alix didn't as the episode was recorded two years prior when he was working as a model and an entrepreneur after ending a short-lived NFL career.

Intrigued by his voice, Alix shot her shot and within days of her message, the two were on their first date and bonding over their shared experiences of failed engagements, both in 2021.

Their romance quickly progressed from there, with Moss commuting regularly from his home base in New York to see Alix between his various work commitments. He even put some sweat equity into the home renovation projects for her former HGTV series, Home in a Heartbeat.

But the pairing, Alix now tells PEOPLE, wasn't perfect.

"The best way I can describe the relationship is that good is the enemy of great," she says. "I work really, really hard in everything that I do: being a dog mom, being a homeowner, being a designer, a renovator, a podcaster, and a content creator on social media. Everything I do, I try to be great. I give it my absolute best. But if something is good, I feel like I didn't do enough. And when I look at that relationship, I think we both would say it was good, but it wasn't great."

"Something was missing," Alix continues. "And I can't quite place what it was, but when you've been with someone through enough seasons together, and it's still not there, you kind of know it's never going to be there."

The distance couldn't have been easy, though Alix praises Moss for being "extremely kind and wonderful" in doing a bulk of the traveling. "I give kudos to him because he flew almost every week, if not every couple of weeks, to be with me. I had a sick dog, was filming and had been the one to fly all the time in my last long-distance relationship. So really stood my ground and said, 'I don't want to be the one traveling all the time.' The onus was completely on Dale to fly back and forth, and he definitely carried that burden."

She notes, though, that one of the signs it wasn't working was when she imagined what would happen if he asked to break up with her. “I sort of realized that if he came and told me he wanted to leave tomorrow, I would not have fought his decision. And he deserves somebody that would fight for him."

Still, breaking up was not something Alix decided on lightly.

"It was a really, really hard decision — and I was the one to make the decision — but I know it was the right decision for both of us, not just me," Alix says. "I think deep down, he will be happy that it ended when it did and that we didn't drag it on longer when he finds a love that is great. And I want that for him, I really do; just like I want that for me one day."

"I love him so much," she continues. "I know that he deserves somebody who looks at him in a way that they feel he's great. And it's sad but, when I really thought about it, I knew that wasn't me."

Even today, she's still processing the grief. "To be in a relationship with a really good human who you care about and respect, and who you know deep down is solid and wonderful but not right for you, and who you know will be hurt by your choice to part ways? That is a really sad and hard pill to swallow," Alix says.

It also goes against her instincts as a self-described people-pleaser.

"Oh, I'm someone who will cut off my own foot if it avoids confrontation or hurting somebody else. It's why I literally destroy my body for 72 hours to try and make a stranger, who I might never see again, happy with their home," Alix says, referencing her booming interior design and home renovation business. "That's how much joy I get out of making people happy. It is my drug of choice. But I suppose I take comfort in knowing that this will one day please him because he'll wind up with the right person."

Moss has recently been linked to influencer Remi Bader as the pair have shared some flirty interactions online, though they haven't confirmed their relationship status.

Since their split, Alix and Moss have yet to see one another, but they have spoken.

"I called him before the podcast came out, and I told him everything I was going to say," Alix recalls. "I was very honest, straightforward and transparent with him, because that's how much I respect him. And he said, 'You don't need to tell me anymore. I trust you. I'm not going to listen, but I know that you'll speak highly of me.' And I always will speak highly of him."

"So again, I'm hopeful we'll stay friends and stay in touch. We've both said we want to do that. And we're going to meet up sometime before the end of this year for lunch when he's in Florida, just to talk," Alix continues. "But we wanted to do it when things weren't so emotionally charged right after the breakup."

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Until then, Alix is staying busy with her design business and some big product launches coming down the bend. On Nov. 8, she'll kick off Galey Alix x Livabliss, a gorgeous 34-piece rug collection she designed that will be sold online on Amazon, Wayfair, Home Depot, Lowe's and Bed Bath & Beyond. Further lighting, furniture and decor collaborations are coming with the brand in January. She also has a wallpaper line, through Galey Alix Design, coming out the week of Nov. 11.

"It's good to focus on things like this and take my mind off the pain," she says. "And the podcast, too, has been a wonderful, wonderful outlet. Even if it's not helping other people, it's definitely helping me."