After no small amount of speculation, Sophie Monk has confirmed she and boyfriend Stu Laundy have ended their relationship after just six months together.
Taking to Instagram on Friday, the 38-year-old said she gave the relationship her “best shot” but it simply “didn’t work out.”
“I don’t know how to explain this because it’s an unusual circumstance to be in,” the post began. “But because I entered this relationship so publicly, I know I owe an answer to Australia about my personal life.”
“I went into this experience looking to settle down and start a family,” she continued. “I gave it the best shot I could and my intentions were everything I said I was looking for, but unfortunately it just didn’t work out.”
The reality television star didn’t go into the specifics of why the relationship ended, but she did admit that she and the millionaire publican are very different people.
“As much as I respect him, we are just very different people,” she wrote in the early-morning post. “There were no contracts or pressure to stay together whatsoever from anyone and we remain friends.”
Managing to find a silver lining in her predicament, she added: “The positive in this whole experience is it taught me to jump out of my comfort zone in order to find real love and made me much stronger.”
Sophie ended the emotional post with an apology to fans who followed the couple throughout their highly-publicised courtship.
“I sincerely want to apologise to anyone who invested so much love and support and I hope I haven’t disappointed anyone,” she said.
Speaking with the Daily Mail Australia on Thursday, a source close to the couple said their whirlwind relationship had simply “run its course.”
“They gave it a good six months but sadly, it’s naturally run its course,” the source claimed. “They’re really good friends. But it’s not going to go any further.”
According to the insider, there’s “no bad blood between them.” In fact, the source said Stu continues to think of Sophie as a “cracker” of a woman with a “great sense of humour.”
The couple, who won each other’s hearts (and our own!) on The Bachelorette last year, faced insisted split rumours even before Stu was officially crowned winner.
“She has played a trick on everyone and the ultimate prize is a great career, not a man,” 2Day FM radio host Em Rusciano said after seeing Stu and Sophie, whose rating-winning season cemented her status as Australia’s sweetheart, in their first public appearance together on The Project.
“She, to me, looked uncomfortable and cagey and like she didn’t want to be there,” Em told her listeners while chatting about the interview, where the couple were slammed for apparently having ‘zero chemistry.’
WATCH: Sophie and Stu share a kiss. Post continues…
In a recent interview with OK!, Sophie said there was a simple explanation to their lack of PDAs.
“[They] are not our thing… we aren’t kids, we aren’t going to be all over each other,” she said.
Stu, 44, also went on record, insisting that their relationship had staying power.
“We are very well-suited,” he told the outlet, adding that there were no worries on his part.
Well, besides how the show has affected his four daughters, whom he shares with soon-to-be ex-wife Rachel.
“The only concern I have had thus far throughout the entire process is the wellbeing of my children and the negative impact on them,” Stu said.
“People’s opinions can hurt kids, which I don’t think they realise.”
Rock solid and committed to making it work, the couple even admitted they had ruled out the “kiss of death”… matching tattoos! “God no,” laughed Soph when fans suggested they prove their love with matching ink.
“Have you noticed that everyone breaks up after doing that? That’s going, ‘You’re miiine!'”
We wish the duo all the very best!
