https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/couple-few-several-use

Couple is used to refer to two things, but is also often used for a small number greater than two.

by the 1500s, it was also being used in the phrase a couple of to refer to an indefinite but still small number of people or things

Verdict: couple is used of small numbers most of the time, but usually at least two or more.

So yeah, the meaning of “at least two but possibly a bit more than that” has been around for a loooooong time.

Aw come on, those are two very different meanings of the word in my book. As it happens, the couple of eggs I took out of the fridge aren’t in a romantic relationship.

Disagree. I’ve always understood it to mean approximately two. Usually 2-3; 4 isn’t outlandish.

Unless that’s the meaning, the expression doesn’t have a reason to exist. So that’s how I decide to interpret it.