Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick End Their Engagement: 'We Are Saddened with Heavy Hearts'

The pair — who began dating in 2019 — got engaged in May 2021

Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick's relationship status has changed.

The two Bachelor Nation stars have ended their engagement. They made the announcement on Instagram Sunday.

"After sharing the news with family and close friends first, and taking the time to properly process it ourselves, we are saddened with heavy hearts to share that we have decided to end our engagement," they wrote in a post shared on both of their pages which featured a photo of the pair cuddled up together.

"We are thankful for all of you who gave us the time and space to process this life-altering decision as there are many emotions and changes to navigate."

They went on to note their plans for their shared pets.

"Our dogs Ramen & Pinot will continue to be cared for together as brothers," they said. "While their humans are no longer romantically involved, we will love and take care of them together."

The former couple went on, "Continuing our friendship is incredibly important to both of us. We feel grateful to be ending our engagement with love and respect for each other. It’s heartbreaking and sad to say goodbye, but our care and admiration for one another will never die."

They concluded the message by reflecting on the time they spent together. "We are beyond thankful for the memories made together, and for your support of us and the boys throughout the years. Moving forward we will always have that level of support for each other. We don’t know what the future holds so please try to hold space for us in your hearts," they finished, signing the post, "Kaitlyn and Jason."

Shortly after announcing the end of her engagement, Bristowe revealed that she is taking a social media break. She first shared a makeup-free selfie on her Instagram Story, writing, “See you soon ❤️bye for now.”

She then wrote over another Instagram Story post in white text, “If everyone can say some sort of prayer for both of our hearts we would love that. I just know social media can be awful so taking a little break.” She also updated her Instagram bio to say, "BRB. Healing."

Bristowe first appeared on The Bachelor in 2015 as a contestant vying for Chris Soules and, upon being eliminated, she became the Bachelorette for the show's 11th season. She got engaged to frontrunner Shawn Booth but the pair split in 2018 after three years of dating.

Tartick, meanwhile, appeared as a contestant on season 14 of The Bachelorette in 2018, competing for leading lady Becca Kufrin. 

Related: Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick's Relationship Timeline

Bristowe and Tartick first met in 2018 during a taping of her Off the Vine podcast and began dating in early 2019. In an interview with PEOPLE, she said that the pair formed an enduring bond.

"[It] was definitely not something I expected,” Bristowe said of Tartic in 2019. "When I met him, dating anyone wasn't even on my radar, especially dating anyone in Bachelor world, but something in my mind was rooting for him. And I thought, 'Whoever dates him is a lucky girl.'"

Bristowe and Tartick announced in May 2019 that they were moving in together, and later got engaged in May 2021 after two years of dating.

"I was trying to be present but I was so overwhelmed," Bristowe told Entertainment Tonight shortly after. "And I was so embarrassed because I was wearing a T-shirt that said, 'Tequila for Breakfast. I was like, 'This feels very on brand, but also very inappropriate!'"

"It was everything I could have asked for. The words that came out of his mouth were insanely beautiful," she continued. "We've never locked eyes like that in our lives. We were holding hands, so intense, and I was listening to his every word, but still blacked out."

Opening up about her dream wedding, Bristowe said in June 2021 on the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast that she wanted their wedding to be 1920s-styled.

Related: Jason Tartick Says His Upcoming Wedding to Fiancée Kaitlyn Bristowe Will Be 'Great Gatsby' -Inspired

"I just know basically as soon as we can get the ball rolling," she explained. "I want it to be like a Great Gatsby-like black-tie event, very glam, which is so opposite of what I thought I'd want. Four years ago I would have been like, I want bohemian. I want farm-style. I just keep changing my mind."

Tartick told PEOPLE in October that wedding planning was "going awesome," adding, "We have an idea of where we want to do it, we know when we want to do [it], and now details and lists are home together and the foundation is being built for the wedding."

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In addition to speaking at length about wedding planning, Bristowe and Tartick's plans for a family had also been a topic of discussion.

"We cannot wait to start a family," Bristowe revealed on the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast in 2021. "To be honest, I turn 36 next month, and I do have my eggs frozen so the biological clock is not exactly ticking, but I do really want to think about that, just because I have met my person, we are getting married, and so I do feel like that next step, quickly after, is going to be having a family."

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