After eight years of marriage, The Bachelorette stars Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum are officially divorcing.
The couple, who fell in love during Season 7 of The Bachelorette, got married in 2012. They share two children together, son Fordham Rhys and daughter Essex Reese.
Scroll down to read both of their statements, which were shared on Instagram on Wednesday, October 14.
“I have written and rewritten this post dozens of times and each time I feel the same level of disbelief and extreme sadness,” he wrote.
“While I realize that this will come as a complete shock to everyone, I can assure you that this is something that has been developing in our relationship for quite a while.”
He continued, “It is with a heavy heart that I share with you that after months of separation, Ashley and I have amicably decided to live our lives apart from one another.”
Rosenbaum reassured his followers that they both came to this decision together.
“Please please please know that there is no one to blame, that there’s no event that triggered this decision,” he explained. “That no one is the victim, and that we’ve done absolutely everything we possibly can to try to salvage this marriage.”
For the most part, Hebert echoed her ex-husband’s statement, reiterating that they did everything they could to try and salvage their marriage.
“We created the most beautiful children and shared memories that will never be forgotten,” she shared.
“Our differences have taken a toll on our relationship and after years of attempting to repair the damage, we’ve decided that it is in our family’s best interest to create new and separate lives for our children.”
She continued, Thank you for your love and support throughout the years. Wishing you all love, happiness, and good health.”
With this announcement, J.P. and Ashley actually become the first Bachelorette or Bachelor couple to get divorced.
Bachelor in Paradise couples, however, are a different story, as Chris Randone and Krystal Nielson recently got divorced after they got married a little over a year ago.
Three couples have gotten married from The Bachelor — Sean and Catherine Lowe, Jason and Molly Mesnick, and Arie and Lauren Luyendyk.
But, now that Ashley and J.P. are over, three Bachelorette marriages are still going strong — Trista and Ryan Sutter, Desiree and Chris Siegfried, and Rachel Lindsay and Bryan Abasolo.
Bachelorette couple JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers were going to get married this summer but had to postpone due to COVID-19.