Brandon Jones and Serene Russell.Photo:ABC/Craig Sjodin
ABC/Craig Sjodin
Serene Russellis opening up about what caused theend of her engagementtoBrandon Jones.
Though theBachelor in Paradisestars announced their split on Instagram in May, Russell, 28, opened up about the breakup for the first time during a recent appearance onKaitlyn Bristowe’sOff the Vinepodcast.
“We both had things we could have done better in the relationship," she said. “It was something that we were both very much still in, and we had gone to therapy, which was really cool.”
Russell said the pair were provided access to therapy from the start of their relationship. And while they tried to set themselves up for “success,” there were “ultimately so many things” going on.
One aspect that caused “irreparable damage” that there was “no coming back from” was when avideobegan to surface online of Jones, 29, at a club with another woman.
When she didn’t open the message, the stranger sent it to someone else from herBachelor in Paradiseseason, who told her it was “something you should look at.”
Serene Russell and Brandon Jones on “Bachelor in Paradise”.Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty
Although Russell said Jones apologized to her after the incident, it was something that she said was “hard to understand.”
“I spent so much time ruminating and playing things back in my head. Like, ‘Does this make sense? Did I not see things?'” she told Bristowe, 38. “I think the most painful thing is that we were still very much committed to each other.”
“I never felt that depressed in my life,” Russell added further in their conversation. “It was hard to deal with.”
PEOPLE reached out to Jones for comment on Thursday.
On Saturday, Jones posted a lengthy statement on his Instagram Story where he addressed “recent events that have transpired” and said that he wanted to “respond with my truth.”
“In light of recent events that have transpired over the last few days, I’ve needed to take a beat to reflect and process my emotions surrounding this delicate matter that is intimate and personal to me,” his message, which was written in white on a black background, began.
Brandon Jones posts about “recent events” on his Instagram Story on Saturday.Brandon Jones/Instagram
Brandon Jones/Instagram
“Now that I’ve had a moment to digest I want to clear the air and respond with my truth,” Jones continued, adding that he was aware there was a “narrative circling” that he said " falsely paints my character.““So I wanted to provide some light to this situation. To be transparent, before leaving to Texas my partner and I made the difficult choice to end our relationship and go our separate ways,” he wrote. “As this was a public relationship, we both decided to hold off on sharing the news until we mutually felt it was time so we shared the news with family and friends. Where I have taken fault and responsibility is a conversation we shared the day before I left speaking on doing long distance.”
The message continued in a second Instagram Story post, where Jones discussed a “video” that had upset his “ex partner,” who was not named in the message.
Brandon Jones posts about his “former relationship” on his Instagram Story on Saturday.Brandon Jones/Instagram
“Unfortunately during this time of private separation, coming back from Austin a video came to light that while harmless made my ex partner upset,” he wrote, claiming that he had spoken “with her one on one” and that “after navigating our new normal,” his ex felt he had “cheated” and that she wanted to make this “known.”
Jones then added that “for the record, in the early days of our official break up, I shared one dance with a woman … Nothing else, just a single dance before leaving with my friends.”
He continued, “Completely understand where her valid feelings are coming from, I took ownership regarding her feelings and my actions. As we had made amends and agreed to put this behind us, I was surprised to learn, very publicly, that there are still lingering issues between us that need to be resolved. Out of profound respect and love for the time we shared together, I want to move forward peacefully, ultimately hoping to preserve our former memories and public relationship.”
The former couplegot engaged during the season 8 finaleofBiP,which aired in November 2022. Before Jones got on one knee, Russell referred to him as her “missing puzzle piece and my soulmate.”
“You came into my life and showed me that your love is so much more than the love I had dreamt of all those years,” she said. “I feel like we have two hearts cut from the same cloth, and I have never felt more seen or understood in my entire life. In you, I found my best friend, my missing puzzle piece, and my soulmate. I love you so much and I’m never going to take that for granted.”
That same month, the former couple revealed to PEOPLE that they had alreadymoved in togetherand shared that they were excited about their future.
“She’s going to show me her city, meet some of her friends, stuff like that,” Jones told PEOPLE. “And I think Christmas time, we’re going to have our families come together and then just spend Christmas together here.”
While they didn’t get into details when announcing their split, the Bachelor Nation stars said having a relationship in the public eye had been “incredibly challenging.”
“This has been immensely hard to accept and painful, as there is a lot of love between the two of us. We are deeply hurting and can only ask that there be no hate,” a portion of the post read. “The best path for us at this time is to try and move forward and heal from this as individuals.
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Bachelor in Paradiseairs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
source: people.com
