The Love Island fairytale has come to an end. Caleb Corprew and Justine Ndiba, the lovebird winners of the second season of CBS' Love Island, have called it quits.
"It’s truly a strange feeling to be typing this out but I understand my reality is now having to share some aspects of my life with you all regardless of how private I’d like to remain at times," Ndiba wrote in a statement she posted to Instagram on Saturday.
The 27-year-old model and go-go dancer continued, "This is extremely difficult for me to express but out of respect for those of you who supported me, and rode for me, I want you to know that Caleb and I are no longer together."
"I do ask for time as I continue to go through the process of heartbreak and healing as this has all been very hard for me," she concluded. "I cannot thank you all enough for the love and support to this point and I hope that it may continue as we move forward as individuals."
For his part, Corprew also addressed their split in a lengthy statement posted Sunday morning, in which wished Ndiba "the absolute best and much continued success as God blesses her with new opportunities and adventures."
Corprew explained that he and Ndiba has "wrestled" with how and when to announce their split, and explained that "the nature in which we met and fell for each other comes with a unique set of obstacles that nothing in life can ever prepare you for."
"We genuinely appreciate those of you who have supported us and thank you in advance to those of you who will continue supporting us as individuals moving forward," Corprew, 24, continued. "It is an unexplainable feeling to give yourself to the world and the world asks for more of you in return. With that last sentence in mind, I hope those of you who have supported us will choose compassion over condemnation during this difficult time. Myself, Justine, our loved ones, ect. are all real people with real emotions who love and hurt hard.... I kindly ask that you please respect any of Justine's or our loved ones desire for privacy as well."
Ndiba and Corprew were a fan favorite couple throughout most of their season of Love Island, and the pair took home the $100,000 grand prize and won the majority of America's vote during the season finale back in September.
After the finale, the pair spoke with ET's Ash Crossan about their big win, their fans and their future together.
"I came in wanting it so bad and wanting something real so that when I got coupled up with Caleb, I wanted it to be genuine. I wanted everything real. I wanted to do everything right so we could possibly have something on the outside," Ndiba reflected. "That was most of our success in our relationship because we didn't have that pressure on us of trying to rush things or trying to force things. It was just focused on us."
"I came in there optimistic I could find a connection, but at times I was doubtful. I did have this guard, I did put a wall up," Corprew shared. "There was a conversation that her and I had after a week or so together, where she told me, 'What are you in this for?' And I could see in that conversation that she was 100 percent in this for love and to know that nothing else going on around us was influencing her decisions as far as how to act, because she wanted true, genuine, authentic love"
"I was already starting to like her at that point and I was like, 'OK, I don't want to break her precious heart.' So I need to really be all invested in our relationship and it has totally paid off," he added.
As for their future, the pair said they were "very serious" about trying to make things work, despite the long-distance nature of their romance -- at the time, Corprew lived in Los Angeles while Ndiba resided in New Jersey.
"I think we're primed and ready to rock and roll when we get out of the villa and starting a life together outside of here because we took our time in here. We're going to be able to handle whatever stuff [comes]," said Corprew.
"We're still taking our time out here as well. We didn't let winning and making it to the end change anything between us, which is why we were able to share how we felt about each other but still not rush to put a title on things even though I think we are there," Ndiba added.
Check out the video below to hear more from the Love Island winners.
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