Cara Santana Said She and Jesse Metcalfe Were Focused on 'Creating Memories' Right Before Split

Weeks before Jesse Metcalfe and Cara Santana split, the formerly engaged couple was focused on creating lasting memories together.

Over the holidays, the Desperate Housewives actor and the actress-fashion blogger traveled to Europe, including London and Belgium, where they celebrated their last Christmas together.

In an Instagram post shared Dec. 26, 2019, Santana explained that she and her fiancé decided to “give each other an experience” instead of exchanging tangible presents for Christmas.

“This year @realjessemetcalfe and I decided instead of getting each other gifts, we would give each other an experience,” Santana captioned two photos of the pair in Brugge, Belgium.

She explained that “the idea was to create memories, see a new culture and focus on the most important but often most intangible gift that life has to offer: time well spent.”

“He picked the place, I handled the travel and we invited my family. And man, were we NOT disappointed!” said Santana. “We couldn’t have thought of a better way to spend the winter holiday ❄️ together in #Brugge. ⭐️.”

RELATED: Jesse Metcalfe and Fiancée Cara Santana Split After More Than 10 Years Together: Source

After more than a decade together, a source told PEOPLE on Wednesday that the John Tucker Must Die actor, 41, and Santana, 35, had split three weeks ago.

However, a source close to Santana also told PEOPLE that the couple didn’t breakup until Wednesday.

“She was wearing her ring yesterday,” the source close to Santana said. “She had no idea things weren’t fine until she saw the photos online today. I promise they never broke up until today.”

The source believes the actor is a “cheater.”

News of their split comes days after Metcalfe was photographed getting cozy with a woman at a bar in Sherman Oaks, California.

A rep for Santana tells PEOPLE “Cara is not going to comment and asks that everyone please respect her privacy at this time.”

In photos obtained by Daily Mail, Metcalfe was captured with his arms wrapped around a blonde woman and appeared to kiss her cheek. Earlier that same day, Metcalfe was photographed leaving a lunch hand-in-hand with Hungarian model Livia Pillmann, the outlet reported.

Metcalfe and Santana got engaged in August 2016. In September of that year, Santana told PEOPLE that she and Metcalfe were planning on getting married in 2018.

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“We’re going to get married in September 2018, so I’m going to start planning this time next year,” Santana told PEOPLE at the WEI Beauty Detoxifying Skincare Line luncheon hosted by Jaime King and Jamie Chung in Hollywood.

She also spoke about feeling at peace after getting engaged. “I think there’s a sense of calm,” she shared.

“There’s a sense of unspoken security that when you’re not engaged maybe there’s like an underlying uncertainty,” she continued.

“Now that we’re engaged I feel this total sense of calmness,” she shared. “Like we’ll get to the wedding. We’ve got the rest of our lives.”

They last appeared on a red carpet together at The Art Of Elysium Presents We Are Hear’s Heaven 2020 event in Los Angeles on Jan. 4.