Chris Olsen and Ian Paget know you're devastated about their split, but it seems "pressure" from well-meaning fans may have contributed to their breakup.
The TikTok duo announced the end of their two-year romance on Jan. 7 and are now opening up about the reasons behind the decision.
In a joint YouTube video posted on Jan. 11, Chris and Ian explained how being thrust into the spotlight and shipped as a "perfect amazing couple" affected them before they called off their romantic relationship.
"Being in the public eye the way that we've been through these last like year and a half, two years, is wild," Ian began. "And extremely complex, layered, pressurized, so many things. For now, we've just decided that it would probably be in our best interest to be moving through the world unromantically."
He shared, "We're OK and we want you guys to be OK. And we just wanted you guys to know, just because we're not together in a romantic relationship, doesn't mean that we can't work on a very meaningful, deep connection and relationship. I will always love this human so much."
Chris explained that their fame on TikTok was a lot to handle for the new couple. "When we started doing social media, we had only been together for seven months, and we also were just doing it for fun," he said. "It wasn't like we got a TikTok and were like 'Let's get a job. Let's make this our whole entire lives.' And it just kind of happened that way."
"When you've only been together for seven months, you don't even know each other that well," he continued. "So, to suddenly be shipped as this, like, perfect amazing couple—who, if we ever were to break up, people aren't going to believe in love—was just like a lot pressure."
Chris said he knows that no one "meant to put that pressure on," but he felt it nonetheless. "They were just speaking with so much joy and love," he shared. "I think it was just such a whirlwind to go from being in a long distance relationship to COVID living together to becoming the Chris and Ian that you knew to be Chris and Ian."
Chris reiterated some of his public statements about their breakup, saying they're viewing it as a "shift" instead of an "end." He noted, "I also stole that from my therapist when we were talking, because it's truly what I think we want this to be."
Ian agreed that they're going forward as friends. "Life happens and being in this public eye is crazy," he added. "So, we just kind of ask for some privacy, some support. We'll still be in each other's lives and we'll still be in your guys' lives together, separate. So, new season."
Watch their video above.