ABC Maurissa Gunn and Riley Christian have split.
Riley Christian and Maurissa Gunn have split just six months after getting engaged on the season 7 finale of ABC’s “Bachelor in Paradise.” The two got engaged after just four weeks of dating.
Rumors that Christian and Gunn had broke up have been circulating online for weeks, especially after fans noticed that the two didn’t appear to ring in the new year together. Beyond that, Gunn deleted most of the photos of Christian from her Instagram feed.
On January 24, 2022, Christian and Gunn confirmed that they have called off their engagement.
“We have decided to go our separate ways. Never did we imagine this, but we’ve come to a point where we both need to work on ourselves,” Gunn and Christian said in a statement to People magazine.
“We’ve appreciated everyone’s love and support so far throughout our journey and we just ask that you please respect our privacy as we navigate through this,” the statement continued, not offering any further details about what might have gone wrong.
Here’s what you need to know:
Gunn & Christian Were the Franchise’s First Black Couple to Get Engaged
Gunn and Christian fell in love in Mexico, and ended up making franchise history when they got engaged.
“It’s good for the culture to be able to represent Black love on TV. When we came into ‘Paradise,’ we just did what everyone else wants to do. We wanted to be in a relationship, we wanted to find love, and that’s what we did. The fact that we look like each other is just a bonus,” Christian said during an interview on the Click Bait with Bachelor Nation podcast after the BIP finale.
Around the same time, Gunn took to her Instagram Stories to share her feelings on making Bachelor history.
“History (that was overdue) has been made in Bachelor history. Riley and Maurissa are the first Black couple to be engaged in Bachelor Nation. Finally,” she wrote, according to Bachelor Nation.
It’s Unknown if Gunn & Christian Are Amicable
Some fans have assumed that Gunn and Christian ended things on a bad note, given the fact that Gunn has deleted almost every single photo of Christian from her Instagram feed. However, the two still appear to follow one another on social media — and Gunn showed support for her ex when he announced a big move in his career back on January 19, 2022.
“I always wanted to be able to do some good in the world. Ya know, help some people that really need it. I never thought I’d put it together from my living room, but here I am. Christian Law practice coming soon. Wish us luck. We’re going to need it,” Christian captioned a photo of himself which Gunn liked.
They have both shared some cryptic messages over the past few weeks, but without knowing exactly went down between them, it’s hard to know whether or not they will want to move forward as friends — or if they can. Either way, fans are totally crushed that these two didn’t work out.
“I was really rooting for them so this does make me sad. I’m sure it’s for the best. Hope they are both doing okay,” one Reddit user wrote on a thread about the split.
“Aw I loved them! But they’re both great so I think they’ll find their best natch elsewhere. They seem to be in diff stages of life – I hope it ended ok,” another person wrote.
“I know it’s not a surprise, but it’s still too bad. I’m sure being the first couple from a BIP season to break up on top of being the first Black couple in the franchise makes the public breakup even more difficult,” a third comment read.
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