'Laguna Beach' teen Talan Torriero and Kimberly Stewart call off engagement, breakup

Less than two weeks after surprising even their close friends and family members by announcing that they'd become engaged, Laguna Beach teen Talan Torriero and Kimberly Stewart have announced that they have ended their engagement and are no longer dating.


"It was just too soon to enter into a lifelong commitment," their representatives stated in a joint announcement released to the media. "It is better to have a brief engagement than a short marriage. The couple continue to share their time together and remain open to whatever the future may hold."

In follow-up comments to the press, both representatives clarified that while the couple may still be "sharing their time together," they are no longer dating. The couple is "no longer romantically involved," Jack Ketsoyan, Torriero's publicist, told the Associated Press. "[They] remain friends," Elliot Mintz, Kimberly's representative, also added.

Mintz also clarified that although Ketsoyan had originally told the media that the couple had been romantically involved for two months, they had actually only been dating "a relatively short period of time." "It would be in the category of weeks as opposed to months," Mintz told the AP.

The unexpected engagement -- derided by many media members as nothing more than a publicity stunt -- had managed to surprise even Alana Stewart, Kimberly's mom. "It definitely took me by surprise," the former I'm A Celebrity - Get Me Out Of Here! reality show contestant told People. "She's an impulsive girl. What can I say?"


In addition to continuing to work on a still unannounced music album project, 19-year-old Talan just finished filming Driftwood, an independent film that will also star professional wrestler Diamond Dallas Page.

As for 26-year-old Kimberly, her breakup with Talan marks the second time this year that she's broken up with a fiancee. Earlier this year, she broke off her engagement to musician Cisco Adler (unlike her engagement to Talan, that one actually dated back to Fall 2004 and lasted several months.)

Prior to the couple's surprise engagement announcement, Kimberly, the daughter of Rod Stewart, had most recently made reality TV headlines as Paris Hilton's would-be The Simple Life replacement for ex-best friend Nicole Richie. Last spring, Paris (who recently broke off an engagement of her own) had publicly announced that since she and The Simple Life co-star Nicole had had a falling out, Kimberly would be replacing Nicole on the fourth edition of the reality show.

However, despite Paris' public statements that "Nicole and I are no longer friends" and her proclamation that Kimberly would be joining the show, Paris never got Fox and the show's Bunim-Murray production company to agree to the move, resulting in the Lucy and Ethel wannabes being forced to once again teamup for what is now a homeless but still in production fourth The Simple Life edition.

Since then, Kimberly returned to the headlines when she insulted Jennifer Aniston -- GQ magazine's new "Man Of The Year" -- in an August interview with Blender magazine. After first calling Aniston "homely," she also noted that "It's not like she's gorgeous or anything." Kimberly later apologized for the remarks.


Prior to Talan, Kimberly had reportedly been dating Girls Gone Wild producer Joe Francis.