Cassie Randolph may have been Colton Underwood’s first, but it’s now official:
She will not be his last.
In a shocking announcement that rocked Bachelor Nation to its core on Friday night, the couple announced they have broken up.
Along with the following sweet photo of herself and Underwood, Cassie confirmed this sad news today as follows:
First off, I want to say this is one of the hardest things I have had to share as neither one of us is quite ready to talk about it yet.
However, because our relationship is such a public one, our silence on the matter has been speaking for us. Colton and I have broken up, but have decided to remain a part of each others lives.
With all that we have gone through, we have a special bond that will always be there. I love Colton very much and have an enormous amount of respect for him.
We have both learned and grown so much these past couple years, and will always have each others back. Always.
For his part, Underwood also posted a picture of the pair (below) and wrote:
Its been a crazy few months to say the least, Cass and I have been doing a lot of self-reflecting.
Sometimes people are just meant to be friends – and that’s okay.
We both have grown immensely and been through so much together – so this isn’t the end of our story, it’s the start of a whole new chapter for us.
Underwood and Randolph have been a relevant couple for numerous reasons.
First, they got together at the close of Colton’s season of The Bachelor — and managed to stay together for a long time, which is rare in this universe.
Second, Underwood was very open about being a virgin and having Cassie be first woman he ever slept with.
Finally, Underwood tested positive this spring for the coronavirus and quarantined upstairs in Randolph’s parents’ house.
The two seemed stronger than ever at the time.
In his recent memoir, The First Time, Underwood revealed that he and Randolph actually briefly split last August.
But this separation helped the couple in the long run, he wrote.
“It was also very good to be real and emotional because it forced us to have conversations and move on,” Colton explained on the page.
“Now, we know the flags to look for. When issues start to creep up, it’s like, let’s go have a conversation. We’re trying to be more transparent and honest and really trust each other.”
As for this break-up?
“They put a lot of thought into it,” an insider tells People Magazine, adding:
“Ultimately, Colton and Cassie just weren’t on the same page. Colton really wanted to settle down and get married — he’s been ready for a long time. And Cassie just wasn’t ready.
“They both knew it wasn’t going to work.”
At first, toward the end of The Bachelor Season 23, it looked as if these two weren’t going to end up together because Randolph left the show after refusing to commit to a proposal from Underwood.
However, Underwood fought hard to win her back, even sending home the final two women despite having no committment from Cassie.
Ultimately, the reality stars left the series as a couple — but not an engaged one — after reuniting in Portugal.
We wish them both the best.