Joey Essex and Jessy Potts split on Wednesday, just seven weeks after leaving the Love Island villa.
The ITV2 stars, who met on the latest series of the reality dating show, confirmed their split with TOWIE star Joey, 34, and insisted he hopes to remain friends with Jessy, 35.
The couple say they ‘tried to make their relationship work’ but that after leaving the Love Island villa it ‘just wasn’t meant to be’.
Joey told The sun: ‘Unfortunately we have decided to end the relationship, but I hope we can remain friends. I sincerely wish Jessy all the best in whatever she does in the future.’
Jessy added: ‘I appreciate the Love Island experience I had with Joey. We tried to make it work but it wasn’t working.
Joey Essex and Jessy Potts split on Wednesday, just seven weeks after leaving the Love Island villa
“I am so grateful to everyone who has supported us and look forward to all the exciting opportunities that lie ahead.”
The couple fell in love during season 11 of Love Island and made it to the grand finale.
But less than two months later, rumors circulated that the two were “barely speaking” due to their busy schedules.
A source said The sun: ‘Joey and Jessy hardly spend any time together, because he is so busy with his role as an assistant in nightclubs. That causes a lot of friction between them.
‘At Ronnie Vint’s Eggiboff event, many people noticed that they barely spoke to each other. Sadly, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before they break up.’
Jessy herself recently indicated that things had become ‘difficult’ when they tried to free their relationship from the bubble of the villa.
She told heatworld: ‘We discuss when we’ll see each other, and I think that’s tricky because you’re comparing it to the other couples.
Jessy also indicated that it would always be ‘different’ for them, as Joey resumed his ‘normal life’ as a celebrity, while she had to learn to deal with her newfound fame.
She added: ‘They’re together all day long, while we always knew it was going to be different because he’s getting back to his normal life, while the rest of us are thrown into a new life.
‘Everything is new and we wait for things to come. It would always be something different.
‘We’re both trying and everyone’s speculating that we’re broken up. We’re working it out