Bachelor Nation's Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick Break Up After 4 Years Together

Kaitlyn Bristowe's journey to find love continues.

The former Bachelorette star and fiancé Jason Tartick have called it quits, he shared on Aug. 6.

"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," he wrote, in part, in an Instagram post. "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."

Noting that their "friendship is incredibly important to both of us," Jason added, "We feel grateful to be ending our engagement with love and respect for each other."

"It's heartbreaking and sad to say goodbye," he continued, "but our care and admiration for one another will never die."

This relationship update comes two years after the pair announced their engagement and four years after they went public with their romance. 

Though Kaitlyn, 38, and Jason, 34, are both members of Bachelor Nation—she first appeared on Chris Soules' 2015 season of The Bachelor, followed by her own season of The Bachelorette later that year, while Jason starred on Becca Kufrin's 2018 season of ABC dating show—the pair didn't meet on TV.

In fact, their first encounter was on Kaitlyn's Off the Vine podcast in Jan. 2019, a few months after she called off her engagement to Shawn Booth and Jason's time on the Bachelorette came to an end.

"We were friends," Jason recalled on Today that same month, "a little banter here and there, and then friendship turned into a relationship."

For Kaitlyn, the feeling was definitely mutual. "His energy is electric," she shared on her podcast at the time. "That's the kind of vibe I get from him, that you've just known him for a long time. That's the vibe I got from him from the get-go."

In May 2019, the duo announced their decision to move in together after dating long-distance—he was based out of Seattle—for a few months.

"Kaitlyn and I got to a point where being across the entire country didn't make sense," Jason shared on her podcast. "I think that for the short term and the long term, Nashville was the best place for us to be. It puts us back on the east coast. I'll be a few hour-drive from my parents, quick drive from my brother, and, it puts us in a better position for short and long-term."

Two years later, the former corporate banker got down on one knee. And it's safe to say their engagement was a dream. As Kaitlyn simply put it at the time, "Don't pinch me."

In recent months, however, the pair had become the subject of split speculation, with fans noticing they'd been spending time apart and that Kaitlyn's engagement ring appeared to missing from that finger.

But at the time, they weren't going to let the rumors get them down, with Jason explaining how he and Kaitlyn balance privacy and being in the public eye.

"Whether it's professional world, personal world, financial, whatever world it is that you're dealing with," he exclusively told E! News in July, "it's about expectation setting and communication."

"You can't live a life constantly worrying about what the repercussions are about what you say," Jason continued, adding, "At the end of the day, you know who you are, you're confident in who you are, you're growing into who you are. And if people are going to judge you for that, then they judge you for that."

Relive Kaitlyn and Jason's four-year romance, in their own words, below...

"Jason is the most stable human being I've ever met in my life. He is an absolute rock for me. I've never met anyone like that," Kaitlyn gushed to E! News when celebrating her new Dew scrunchies collection. "I don't even know how to put it into worlds of the kind of person he is. He's just the kind of person that your dad would hope you would marry."

Short words can be short and sweet, but their echoes are endlesss. "So grateful for you," Jason shared on Instagram one day before celebrating the romantic holiday. 

When asked who is ABC's best Bachelorette of all time, Jason had no hesitation. "Undeniably my favorite Bachelorette is the one and only, the Beautiful Ms. Kaitlyn Bristowe," he shared. Awww! 

 

"Sunsets, dancing, family bonding, good food, better company, and a few margaritas. Thank you @jason_tartick for an unforgettable week in Mexico," she gushed on Instagram when posing for an impromptu photo shoot. 

"We are so open and honest and like our communication is like so mature and healthy. And we're very vulnerable. It's life-changing actually," Kaitlyn previously shared on her PodcastOne podcast titled Off the Vine. 

Nashville here he comes! "We're at the next step in our relationship, where we want to grow even more and we can't do that in long distance," Jason shared on Off the Vine. "Kaitlyn and I got to a point where being across the entire country didn't make sense."

"His energy is electric," the reality star previously shared on Off the Vine when gushing about her boyfriend. "I think just how respectful he's been through this whole thing. He's just a gentleman. He just seems to enjoy all the same things as me. He has the same morals and values as me."

For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App