'The Bachelorette' Emily Maynard, Jef Holm Confirm Split After Cheating Scandal (VIDEO)
"Bachelorette" star Emily Maynard confirmed her split from Jef Holm on Tuesday, following mounting speculation that the engaged couple was on the verge of a breakup.
The 26-year-old single mom chose Holm, a 28-year-old entrepreneur, as winner of the "Bachelorette" season eight but in separate statements the pair confirmed that they have since parted ways.
"I am sorry to tell you that Jef and I have, indeed, parted ways. It was a very difficult and heartbreaking decision," Maynard said in a statement to People magazine.
"I have no regrets because I did find love and shared an incredible journey with a really special person – and you know what, we tried our best because the love between us was so real," she went on.
Holm, who denied that he and Maynard were experiencing relationship woes despite damning claims made by his brother Mike in August, also offered little explanation for the abrupt split.
"I've never loved someone so much in my whole life, Emily is the best person and mom I have ever met. She opened up her world to me and I fell in love with her, [her daughter] Ricki, her family and the Hendricks," Holm said in a separate statement.
"What we shared was completely genuine and real and it breaks my heart but we have decided to break up," he went on.
TO SEE THE FULL STATEMENTS CLICK HERE
In August it was claimed that Holm had confronted Maynard over racy text messages and photos that she had allegedly sent to another man which prompted a fight. Although the couple denied the reports in an interview with People, Mike insisted that the incident did in fact occur.
"I can tell you that it's all 100% true. I was there and I heard the fight and watched the whole thing go down, Emily leaving and everything. I love my brother very much and, like the rest of our family, I just want him to be happy," Mike told Us Magazine.
"We all love Emily, too. Mistakes happen, we all get that," he went on. "I hope they can work it all out, but as far as your story goes, it's all true."