Paradise lost. Following nearly eight months of marriage, BiP's Krystal Nielson and Chris Randone split, the couple revealed on Friday, Feb. 14. "It hurts to announce that at this moment, we have mutually decided to separate," read the pair's statement to the official Bachelor Nation website. "Never did we imagine this scenario, but we've come to a point where we both need to work on ourselves."
Also in their joint statement, Krystal and Chris noted that they remain "best friends that love and care for each other so deeply." They further expressed appreciation for everyone's love and support throughout their journey to find love, asking fans to please respect their privacy as they navigate the breakup.
After getting engaged during Season 5 of ABC's Bachelor in Paradise in 2018, the formerly San Diego-based couple married in Mexico on June 16. The nuptials aired as part of an Aug. 27 BiP episode, with host Chris Harrison officiating the ceremony that was also attended by Bachelor Nation stars Ashley Iaconetti, Jared Haibon, Ben Higgins, and Becca Kufrin (sans fiancé Garrett Yrigoyen), among others. "We are so excited to start this new chapter of our lives together," Krystal gushed to People following their June wedding. Added Chris, "I've always dreamed of being a husband and a father, and I have the perfect partner by my side."
Indeed, shortly before ABC aired their wedding, Krystal revealed to Entertainment Tonight that they'd already "talked about starting a family" and that she had stopped taking birth control. "We're talking about the beginning of the year, starting to try for a family," she explained to ET at an Aug. 5 Summer TCA event. "Truly what we’re doing through the end of the year is a full cleanse of the mind, body and spirit, just getting ready for the next chapter."
Worth noting: Chris reportedly acted shocked by his wife's disclosure, elaborating to the outlet it had "just happened" and was "breaking news." In a separate interview with Us Weekly the same day, he further elaborated, "She let it be known that she's off birth control, and I didn’t know that."
Regardless, the contestant, who first appeared on Becca's Bachelorette season in 2018, also discussed how his and Krystal's relationship had progressed post-BiP in a joint Aug. 2019 interview with Ali Fedotowsky-Manno on Bachelor Happy Hour. "You hit every hard point in Paradise, and when you get out of there, you take a step back and do the things that start and begin a relationship in the real world," he explained of their whirlwind reality TV romance. "Doing the dating, doing the normal stuff, and blocking things out really helped put a focus on what things matter the most in the relationship."
As he and Krystal explained in their Valentine's Day breakup announcement, however, they're now at a point where they need to work on themselves individually, instead.
