Kaitlyn Bristowe & Jason Tartick Broke Up After 4 Years Together

Since debuting their relationship in 2019, Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick became one of Bachelor Nation’s most beloved couples — even though they didn’t actually cross paths on their respective Bachelor/ette outings. Rather, the pair first connected while taping a podcast in 2018 and started dating soon after. They got engaged in 2021, telling Bachelor Happy Hour that they wanted a “short engagement” and were thinking about babies. But two years later, the couple shared a very different update: Kaitlyn and Jason broke up and ended their engagement.

They made their announcement with a shared Instagram post on Aug. 6, nearly five years after their first meeting. “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.

Kaitlyn and Jason’s dogs, Ramen and Pinot, “will continue to be cared for together as brothers,” the former couple continued — adding that “while their humans are no longer romantically involved, [they] will love and take care of them together.”

In addition to co-parenting their pups, Kaitlyn and Jason said “continuing [their] friendship is incredibly important” to them both. “We feel grateful to be ending our engagement with love and respect for each other,” they continued. “It’s heartbreaking and sad to say goodbye, but our care and admiration for one another will never die.”

The exes concluded their statement by sharing that they’ll always support each other. “We don’t know what the future holds so please try to hold space for us in your hearts,” they wrote. Jason and Kaitlyn both reflected on their relationship in their personal stories, too, with Kaitlyn writing that she’ll be taking a break from social media since it can be “awful.”

Before meeting each other, Jason and Kaitlyn both looked for love through Bachelor Nation’s shows — Jason on Becca Kufrin’s Bachelorette season, and Kaitlyn on Chris Soules’ Bachelor season before going on to lead her own Bachelorette journey. The latter outing resulted in a three-year engagement between Kaitlyn and Shawn Booth, which ended in 2018.

Kaitlyn and Jason connected that same year, but they didn’t start dating right away. In fact, Kaitlyn wanted Jason to be the next Bachelor, she revealed in a 2019 Instagram post. “He actually helped me through a hard time. I just wanted him to be happy,” she wrote, adding that “what felt like was a goofy friendship, turned into a beautiful love story.”