Last Thursday, yes on Halloween, trouble came to paradise as Demi Burnett and her fiancee Kristian Haggarty both announced that they were calling off their engagement.
And despite the many breakup rumors that circulated the two for months, mostly due to their lack of Instagram posts together and the fact that they hardly ever hung out, Bachelor Nation is still in shock and heartbroken for the former couple.
The couple that viewers celebrated and cried for, including me, as they marked the very first same-sex proposal within the Bachelor franchise. *grabs tissues*
We saw Demi go through a lot on Season 6 of Bachelor in Paradise, and even though she is usually a social media queen who always has more than enough to say, we completely understood when she revealed to the world that she needed to take a step away.
"I'm not okay today and I'm going to take a break from social," Demi tweeted shortly after the couple confirmed their split.
"Thank you to everyone who is reaching out xx"
According to an E! source, Demi and Kristian were not spending enough time together and eventually, it was the distance that drove them apart.
"They were supposed to permanently move in together in L.A., and that never happened," shared the source.
When breakup rumors began surfacing, Demi got defensive and basically told Us Weekly to f--k off and mind their own business.
However, she did drop that the two were living on opposite ends of the coasts.
On top of the distance, it seems that certain family members didn't quite approve of their pairing.
Just one day before Kristian and Demi publicly split, Kristian's sister Caitlin threw major shade at the BIP alum when she posted a revealing bikini photo to IG.
"Not desperate at all..." the younger Hagarrty sister commented.
ummm, ouch!
Although they are no longer together, they are proud of their love story, which they explained in a lengthy and emotional joint statement. They wrote:
"What has always been at the forefront of our relationship is love and care for one another. Our priority is doing what is best for us... We will forever be proud of the impact our love story has made and we hope it has helped others feel more accepted and confident within themselves."
"We hope it has helped others feel more accepted and confident within themselves... We hope it reminds others they aren't alone and don't need to be ashamed of who they are."
And as for Demi's future, maybe this means the role of The Bachelorette is in her cards??
Who knows! But it only took the franchise 23 years to show an openly gay contestant, I'm sure they're ready to switch things up a bit and offer a show that represents all people.
IDK, just a thought!
