Former Bachelor Colton Underwood announced he and girlfriend Cassie Randolph split after nearly two years together on Friday, May 29. “It’s been a crazy few months to say the least, Cass and I have been doing a lot of self-reflecting,” he captioned a black and white photo of the pair on Instagram. “Sometimes people are just meant to be friends — and that’s okay. We both have grown immensely and been through so much together — so this isn’t the end of our story, it’s the start of a whole new chapter for us.”

Cassie shared her own message moments later, calling it “one of the hardest things” she’s ever had to write, and admitting she wasn’t “quite ready” to talk about it. “Colton and I have broken up, but have decided to remain a part of each other’s lives,” she explained. “With all that we have gone through, we have a special bond that will always be there. I love Colton very much and have an enormous amount of respect for him. We have both learned and grown so much these past couple years, and will always have each other’s back. Always.”

The blonde beauty also mentioned that “because our relationship is such a public one, our silence on the matter has been speaking for us,” and that’s definitely true. Rumors of a split began spreading among fans when Colton left Cassie’s family home following his battle with the Coronavirus. Social media interactions between the two have been few and far between since Colton joined his own family in Colorado, which was rare for the usually affectionate duo.

Colton Underwood Accidentally Destroy's Cameron Fuller's Birthday Cake With 'Magic Mike' Moves Him and Cassie Are Still Together
Courtesy of Colton Underwood Instagram

In April, Colton told Life & Style exclusively that he did feel a lot of “pressure” to prove his love and get engaged quickly after jumping a fence for Cassie on The Bachelor. “It got to a point where it finally caught up to me because I felt like I was sitting there telling Cass, ‘Oh, we should get engaged’ or ‘We should do this soon,’” he said. “When I took a step back, just to do it and go through the motions — and she wasn’t OK with that. I can’t thank her enough for standing her ground and standing up for what she believes in.”

Still, he was excited at the prospect of moving in together — something they were saving for marriage. “We have something to look forward to in our relationship and something that still excites us,” he explained. Unfortunately, it sounds like that’s no longer in the cards. We wish both of them the best in this tough time.