Bachelor in Paradise couple Kendall Long and Joe Amabile have announced they've split up and ended their relationship.
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Kendall and Joe met on Season 5 of Bachelor in Paradise in Summer 2018 and have been living together in the Los Angeles area since shortly after Joe competed on Dancing with the Stars in Fall 2018.
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According to the couple, Joe will now be moving back his hometown of Chicago while Kendall will continue to live in Los Angeles.
"Joe has made the decision to move back to Chicago while Kendall will be remaining in her hometown of Los Angeles," the statement said.
In addition, the statement also appeared to suggest that Joe's unwillingness to permanently live away from his family and Kendall's similar unwillingness to move away from hers contributed to the Bachelor in Paradise couple's decision to end their relationship.
"Our family and friends have always been an extremely important element to who we are as people. We can't imagine continuing our lives without them closer, especially when thinking of starting a family of our own one day," the couple said in the statement.
"We both respect each others' decision and still have a great deal of love for each other. We appreciate all the love and support everyone has given us throughout our relationship."
Kendall and Joe's split comes as a bit of the surprise given the Bachelor in Paradise couple had teased they could be getting engaged soon just last month.
"We're not engaged yet," Joe told People in a joint interview with Kendall. "But I'm a sporadic person. I might just wake up one day and say, 'Okay, I'm ready to do it!'"
"It's fun to talk about our future together," Kendall added.
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RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOWIn addition, the couple had gushed that they had decided to expand their family and adopt a puppy.
"We're adopting a puppy!" Kendall said.
"We are with each other all the time and we enjoy every day together. It's been wonderful," Joe told the magazine.
"Ever since the beginning we were completely honest," Kendall added. "And we never get bored of each other!"
On November 30, Kendall had also posted an Instagram photo revealing she spent Thanksgiving with Joe's family in Chicago.
"Merry and bright. Thankful that for my very first Thanksgiving away from home I felt very at home with Joe's wonderful fam," Kendall captioned the pictures.
In November, Kendall had also told Us Weekly that getting engaged was "something we're not afraid of."
"It's something we're going toward. I think every day we get a little bit closer to seeing our future together and picturing our future together, so it's exciting to take it day by day," Kendall shared at the time, adding that she'd prefer a vintage, non-traditional engagement ring rather than a diamond.
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Joe participated in Dancing with the Stars' national tour after the show's 27th season finished, resulting in him traveling with the tour until February 2019 and the couple not officially getting a new apartment together in West Hollywood until April 2019.
"We finally got a place together!!" Joe announced on Instagram at the time. "Now we should probably buy some furniture."
"Just signed the lease to our new place in West Hollywood and couldn't be more excited to start building a lil life together with this cutie," Kendall said in her own posting.
The couple's relationship initially got off to a rocky start when Kendall blindsided and dumped Joe during the penultimate episode of Bachelor in Paradise's fifth season after he professed how he was falling in love with her.
Kendall found herself making a stream of excuses on the beach in Mexico as to why their relationship wouldn't work, but Joe called her out for simply being unaware of her feelings for him or not reciprocating them at all.
Joe therefore left Paradise confused and heartbroken, while Kendall clearly felt there was more she could have said and the pair had unfinished business.
"I felt an immediate regret as soon as Joe walked away... I kept running away from the fact that I was falling for him," Kendall admitted to People in September 2018.
"I went into Paradise thinking you need to date, you need to be open-minded, you need to experience people... I also had so much fear about getting hurt... It freaked me out to think I would invest myself in him and then it would break apart after the romantic beach vacation was over."
However, Kendall flew straight to Chicago after the show wrapped to talk to Joe again in-person and apologize, and she expressed to him on-camera, "I am in love with you."
It took some time for Joe to trust Kendall again, but the couple ultimately reconciled and reignited their romance in the real world. Joe, without a doubt, was in love with Kendall as well.
When Joe competed on Season 27 of Dancing with the Stars in Los Angeles, he was able to remain close to Kendall considering she already lived in the Los-Angeles area at the time.
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About The Author: Steven Rogers
