The Bachelor alum Susie Evans has opened up about her "painful" breakup with The Bachelorette alum Justin Glaze.

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"We aren't together, but we love each other so frickin' much, to the point where it's just painful for the both of us," Susie explained on the Friday, August 30 episode of "The Ben & Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast."

"That's been tough to navigate... and it is just so painful."

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Susie and Justin kept quiet for weeks about the status of their relationship as breakup rumors circulated online, and then Justin finally confirmed their split during the August 27 episode of Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti's podcast.

Susie said she and Justin have been "trying to protect each other" as fans continue to gossip about the demise of their relationship and put "their own twists on it."

Susie admitted the pair have been "caught off-guard by people" approaching them in public, asking them to address their split in-person.

"We've both just been dodging questions... We don't want to say too much because we don't want it to be misinterpreted -- but even that can be misinterpreted!" Susie quipped.

"It's been sad, but I think we're both just trying to navigate it and love each other through it."

Susie shared, however, that she and Justin are "on great terms" and he even stopped by her apartment recently to help her hang a shelf.

"Everything is -- well, I wouldn't say 'everything' is positive -- but there is so much love and there's no animosity, for sure," Susie explained.

And The Bachelor 26 alum insisted she's "doing okay" on her own.

"I think I'm good, for the most part. I just think it's hard, to be honest," Susie said.

"It's just hard. Justin and I both moved to L.A. not knowing many people and leaning on each other a lot as friends, and, yeah, it's just hard... When we came to L.A., we didn't have family or strong friendships, but we had each other."

Susie explained that "not having" her "best friend" in Los Angeles -- and beside her in life, in general -- anymore is "really hard."

Susie became emotional and shared, "Beyond losing a boyfriend, it's losing out on a friend and a huge crutch... We really leaned on each other and had been each other's person here."

"Knowing I can't get that back," she continued in tears, "that's what sucks so bad, I think, for the both of us. We had such a genuine friendship before."

Susie went on to lament, "Eww, I hate that I'm crying... I think it's just such a loss, for the both of us. It's just genuinely so sad."

Susie revealed she and The Bachelorette 17 alum have gone periods of time "without talking to each other" so they wouldn't slip back into their comfortable, old ways.

"We've had to set boundaries, and it's just really hard," Susie said, adding, "Fortunately, I do have a strong support system here of girls, and back home."

When Ben asked if turning her strong friendship with Justin into a romance was "worth it" in hindsight, Susie replied, "You're going to make me cry again!"

Susie explained, "I think my honest truth on that is, like, absolutely, it's worth it -- absolutely!"

"Justin and I's friendship would have had to have changed regardless," The Bachelor alum elaborated. "We were way too close for that to be normal, if any of us started dating somebody else."

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Susie noted how she and Justin were "basically dating but just not kissing" while they were friends, which wouldn't have been a lasting dynamic had either of them entered a serious relationship with someone else.

"We were spending so much quality time together and we knew each other really well... and a partner probably wouldn't be cool with a friendship like that," Susie acknowledged.

"So, yes, it's worth it, because [the friendship] is going to change anyways."

Susie also pointed out that "if you feel love for somebody and you think there might be more there," two people should "absolutely try for it" and see if it could work out.

"Because what we did have in our relationship was so freaking fun, and it really was the best thing," Susie gushed of her time with Justin.

"I've never had somebody that's been such a best friend that's also become like a partner. It is really special... and we still have so much love there."

Susie therefore added of friends transforming into lovers, "I do think it can work with the right person and with the right tools and the right headspace and all that stuff."

"So if it's a special person to you, it's totally worth it. And even if it's just for a season of life, like, you might get the most wonderful season of your life," she concluded.

When Justin appeared on "Almost Famous," he hinted that no one was at fault or to blame for the breakup.

"There doesn't have to be a good guy and a bad guy," Justin explained late last month. "And so, some of the comments kind of lean towards that, but I don't care. I know what's up, and Susie knows what's up -- and that's all that matters. We are good!"

When Ben asked Justin how he was doing in general post-split, Justin admitted, "It's really tough man."

Justin paused and sighed, and it was clear he was choking up emotionally in that moment.

"Sorry," Justin murmured, before Ben let him off the hook.

"When you're ready to answer that question, I can't wait to have you back here," Ben noted.

"I appreciate you," Justin quietly responded.

Before Justin publicly confirmed their split, Susie had admitted to People last month that her romance with Justin was "so complicated."

And Justin had told Us Weekly on August 19 that he and Susie were taking things "day by day."

"We're taking some time to figure out what's going to be best for us," Justin shared at the time.

Susie and Justin met in November 2022 and claimed for a year that their close relationship was strictly platonic as fans were constantly shipping them as a couple.

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However, the pair confirmed in late January that they had begun dating, and they went Instagram official on January 24.

Susie and Justin then joined forces in their social-media influencing, posting hilarious videos and ads of each other.

But rumors Susie and Justin had split began to swirl in July because the lovebirds were noticeably posting less couple's content on social media.

Susie's last post with Justin was on July 1, and it was only an ad.

The Instagram account, @Deux Moi, also posted a photo that allegedly showed Justin walking with another girl in Chicago in July.

Susie and Justin had met in late 2022, and they both moved to Los Angeles about six months later.

In November 2023, Susie joked during an Instagram Q&A session how she was "trying" to move out of the friend zone with Justin after a summer romance she had fizzled out.

Susie and Justin even flat out denied that they were dating -- and that they had ever lived together or hooked up -- during a December interview on the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast, which is co-hosted by Bachelor in Paradise couple Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt.

Susie and Justin were especially playful and flirty during their interview, and they even seemed to hint that they were considering taking their dynamic out of the friend zone.

But the pair claimed they didn't want to risk their friendship for the sake of taking things to the next level, in case their relationship didn't work out in the long run.

Susie and Justin's flirty dynamic apparently changed from friendship to something more intimate in October 2023, and so they kept their romance under wraps for several months.

The couple even spent the holidays together, having their "own little hometown" date. Justin said he met Susie's family in Virginia and she met his family in Maryland.

Justin explained to E! News of their dishonesty earlier this year, "We've always wanted to just kind of protect our privacy, which sounds funny to say because we went on the show where our romantic connections are far from private."

Justin elaborated, "But we wanted to just protect our peace, and control our narrative and not put any pressure on our relationship."

The reality TV stars became friends after Susie won Clayton Echard's heart on The Bachelor's 26th season but they split in September 2022. Justin, for his part, competed for Katie Thurston on The Bachelorette's seventeenth season.

Justin also appeared on Bachelor in Paradise's eighth season in 2022.

While Justin had sparked a connection with Eliza Isichei, it didn't work out because she ultimately gave her rose to Rodney Mathews. When Eliza determined she had made a mistake and wanted Justin back, it was too late and he wasn't interested in reconciling.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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