The Bachelorette couple Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick have announced they've split and ended their engagement after dating for over four years, confirming weeks of breakup rumors.

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Kaitlyn and Jason took to Instagram on Sunday, August 6 with a joint statement confirming they've called it quits on their relationship.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

"After sharing the news with family and close friends first, and taking the time to properly process it ourselves, we are saddened with heavy hearts to share that we have decided to end our engagement," the former couple captioned a sweet photo of them holding hands in a restaurant booth.

"We are thankful for all of you who gave us the time and space to process this life altering decision as there are many emotions and changes to navigate."

The Bachelorette Season 11 star and Jason went on to explain how they'll be handling the two golden retrievers they had adopted together during their relationship.

"Our dogs Ramen & Pinot will continue to be cared for together as brothers," the pair wrote.

"While their humans are no longer romantically involved, we will love and take care of them together."

Kaitlyn and The Bachelorette Season 14 alum also insisted of their dynamic going forward, "Continuing our friendship is incredibly important to both of us. We feel grateful to be ending our engagement with love and respect for each other."

The Bachelor Nation exes, however, admitted their decision to part ways is "heartbreaking" for the both of them, adding that it's "sad to say goodbye."

Jason and Kaitlyn continued, "But our care and admiration for one another will never die."

"We are beyond thankful for the memories made together," they elaborated, "and for your support of us and the boys throughout the years. Moving forward we will always have that level of support for each other."

Jason and the Dancing with the Stars 29 winner concluded how they "don't know what the future holds," and so they're asking fans to "please try to hold space for us in your hearts."

The pair signed their post as from "Kaitlyn and Jason."

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Jason subsequently took to Instagram Stories to thank his followers for all of their "support and love over the years."

"I will forever be grateful for this beautiful person that was brought into my life," the podcast host and former banker wrote.

"Beyond heartbroken. Please be kind as we go through our individual journeys to heal."

The Bachelorette fans have been gossiping for months -- if not years -- about whether Kaitlyn and Jason's relationship was happy and healthy because they apparently weren't putting any effort into planning a wedding after their May 2021 engagement.

Breakup rumors then began to swirl in July because Kaitlyn and Jason hadn't posted anything about each other on Instagram for about a month. Jason also took a solo trip to see his mother in New York last week, and he was posting photos with his dogs in Nashville -- but without Kaitlyn.

And when Instagram users flooded The Bachelorette alums' comments with questions and concerns about the status of their relationship, neither Kaitlyn or Jason would respond.

Kaitlyn fueled speculation her romance was on the rocks -- or over completely -- when she took to Instagram Stories on August 1 with an angry message.

"I cannot believe the audacity of people to expect things from me when I haven't even been able to process things for myself," Kaitlyn wrote, according to Us Weekly.

Needing to "process things" seemed to suggest she and Jason had split up and called off their engagement.

The former The Bachelorette co-host continued, "Have a f-cking heart. You're scaring me with your comments and demands. I'm almost worried about YOU."

Kaitlyn quickly deleted the post, but screenshots of it still exist online and in her "Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe" podcast group on Facebook.

Kaitlyn subsequently uploaded a permanent post on Instagram featuring lyrics to her 2020 song "If I'm Being Honest."

Kaitlyn highlighted the following lyrics: "Just 'cause I'm an open book / Don't mean you get the whole story."

She continued, "And if I'm being honest / I'm not always as tough as I seem / And I can have my moments / But words can get the best of me / And the words that I say to myself / Are the ones that hit the hardest."

Kaitlyn had also uploaded cryptic posts on Instagram in recent weeks about self-improvement, saying she needed to "toughen up" in order to "fight the noise."

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And in late July, Kaitlyn revealed that she inked herself with three new tattoos to represent her "what is my life" era.

On top of that, Kaitlyn was spotted without her engagement ring on a beach vacation in late July.

While Kaitlyn and Jason breakup rumors were circulating, Kaitlyn's first fiance, her The Bachelorette 11 winner Shawn Booth, announced he's going to be a dad with a woman named Audrey "Dre" Joseph, who had taken professional and promotional photos of him and is a member at his gym.

Kaitlyn and Shawn were together for about three years and announced their breakup in November 2018.

Jason, who initially competed for Becca Kufrin's heart on The Bachelorette's fourteenth season in 2018, asked Kaitlyn out on their first date in January 2019, and their romance moved quickly.

Jason moved from his place in Seattle, WA, to live with Kaitlyn in Nashville, TN, in June 2019, and then the couple adopted their two dogs together.

Kaitlyn accepted Jason's marriage proposal in May 2021, but the Dancing with the Stars winner previously explained in the media how they had been distracted when it came to wedding planning and were in no rush to exchange vows.

When asked about her nuptials on the February 5 episode of "The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever with Chris Harrison," Kaitlyn confessed with a laugh, "We suck."

"Honestly, any time we sit down to talk about [the wedding], we literally want to do something else," Kaitlyn said of her former dynamic with Jason at their home in Nashville.

"And that sounds so terrible because it should be a priority, but it doesn't feel like one -- and we're both okay with that."

Chris, who hosted The Bachelor franchise for nearly two decades, assured his friend, "That's all that matters," and Kaitlyn agreed.

"I feel like there's so much noise, like, 'Why aren't you guys talking about the wedding? Why is there not a wedding happening?!'" Kaitlyn shared.

"And it's like, 'I don't need to prove my relationship through a wedding.' I don't know, I just don't."

Kaitlyn and Jason were initially hoping to tie the knot by the end of 2022, possibly with a grand New Year's Eve wedding, but that clearly never happened.

"We both literally sat down the other day to maybe go through [our friends] and start a guest list," Kaitlyn recalled of her night with Jason, "and then we saw Yahtzee and a bottle of wine, and we were like, 'Should we just play Yahtzee and drink wine instead?' And so that's what we did!"

Kaitlyn insisted at the time that she and Jason were still happy together and in love. She also talked about how she couldn't wait to start a family with Jason.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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