Bachelor in Paradise alum Natasha Parker has shed some light on why her close friend Maurissa Gunn and her ex-fiance Riley Christian broke up.

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Riley, 32, and Maurissa, 25, announced their split in a joint statement on January 24, three months after their engagement aired during Bachelor in Paradise's Season 7 finale.

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Riley and Maurissa revealed in their statement how they had split because they wanted to work on themselves, but according to Natasha -- who also appeared on Bachelor in Paradise 7 last summer -- there was more to it than that.

"I finally talked to Maurissa the other day. I was of course giving her her space and I figured she'd call me when she's ready to talk," Natasha, 33, said during the Thursday, January 27, episode of her "Click Bait With Bachelor Nation" podcast.

"[Maurissa] was just saying how there was so much that happened between them that they kind of just wanted to keep it between each other, which I totally get."

Natasha, however, suggested Maurissa had sacrificed a lot in order to be with Riley and so Maurissa was struggling in the relationship.

"I think that they just have very different lives, at least from my understanding of what she was saying," Natasha shared.

"She completely integrated into his life and I think that she kind of missed her family, she missed her friends."

Maurissa, originally from a small town in Montana -- where her family still lives -- moved from Atlanta to New York to be with Riley after the show aired last year.

Natasha noted how moving to New York "is not easy," adding, "It's a hard city, and if you're not used to it, [it's tough]."

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When comparing Riley and Maurissa to other couples from Bachelor in Paradise's seventh season, Natasha pointed out how the engaged couple "jumped right in" to real life "as far as living together right away."

Natasha's podcast co-host Joe Amabile and his fiancee, Serena Pitt, for example, are still trying to decide where they'd like to settle down together.

"You and Serena are back and forth and you guys are figuring it out and you spend a lot of time together," Natasha told Joe on "Click Bait."

"But [Maurissa] went full throttle. She put her all in and it didn't work out. She told me she has no regrets, and I think that's a beautiful thing."

When Maurissa and Riley confirmed their breakup to People, they said, "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."

"We've appreciated everyone's love and support so far throughout our journey," they continued, "and we just ask that you please respect our privacy as we navigate through this."

But rumors about their relationship status had been swirling for weeks prior.

Maurissa sparked breakup rumors in early January when she deleted most photos of Riley from her Instagram account, and she fueled speculation about her relationship by slowly wiping more happy pictures of the pair as time went on.

"She did clarify they broke up a little while ago," Natasha revealed.

"The reason why they took so long to say something officially is because they wanted to both be sure that they wanted to go their separate ways."

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Natasha said Maurissa is now in "the healing process" and trying to move on from her failed romance.

Riley and Maurissa, who fell in love and got engaged on Bachelor in Paradise 7 in Summer 2021, were anything but shy when it came to posting adorable photos of each other and gushing about their feelings on Instagram once they had moved their romance into the real world.

The couple celebrated Christmas together in December and subsequently uploaded images of them posing in front of the giant Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.

Maurissa sweetly wrote late last year, "All I want for Christmas is you," before deleting the photo with Riley on her Instagram.

Additional signs pointing to a breakup fans noticed prior to Riley and Maurissa's split announcement was when Maurissa posted photos of herself making funny faces on January 7 and captioned the slideshow, "Don't worry, be happy."

Maurissa also received chocolate-covered fruit from her friend Martha, whom she considers a sister, amid the breakup rumors, Us Weekly previously reported.

Martha reportedly wrote on the card, "If you haven't heard this today, I'm proud [of you]. You're an amazing person."

Maurissa replied on January 7, "Don't know what I would do without you sister."

And on that same day, Maurissa shared a quote on Instagram Stories that read, "All that glitters is not gold."

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In addition, Maurissa posted a selfie video on her Instagram Story and she was noticeably not wearing her big engagement ring.

For Riley's part, he uploaded a video of himself working out in early January with a cryptic caption about getting "knocked down," which may have been a reference to a rocky romance with Maurissa.

"We ain't come this far just to come this far. Work hard, stay humble, but still let 'em know that you got it. No matter how many times we get knocked down we get back up. Giving it everything we got all 2022," Riley wrote at the time.

Riley also tweeted, "Try not be stagnant when facing obstacles that are beyond your control. Just do what you can. That way, when things finally do fall into place, you'll be able to hit the ground running."

While Maurissa wiped most of her Riley photos from Instagram weeks ago, Riley chose to keep most of his pictures with Maurissa on his account -- until People confirmed their split in late January.

There is currently no sign of Maurissa on Riley's Instagram page, and so it appears the former couple doesn't want to be reminded of memories they had shared together.

Back in October 2021, Maurissa told People that she was planning to move to New York City to be with Riley and then have a "wedding and then some babies."

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When Maurissa accepted a pear-shaped diamond engagement ring from Riley on the beach in Mexico in Summer 2021, the pair became the franchise's first-ever Black couple to get engaged.

Riley and Maurissa fell head over heels in love with each other in Paradise, but Riley was still a little unsure as to whether he was going to pop the question after the pair's overnight Fantasy Suite date.

Riley assured People last year that it "was never a thought" to leave the resort alone but he had to take a moment or two to reflect on the idea of potentially making Maurissa his fiancee.

"[I thought to myself], 'This is everything that you've ever wanted -- having a fiancee and being able to start a family.' I knew where I was already leaning towards," Riley explained at the time.

"It's just like, 'This is a big decision, take some time to think about it. Okay, you thought about it.' It didn't take that long. 'And now, go propose and get your lady.'"

Riley proceeded to call himself the "luckiest" man in the world to have Maurissa by his side.

Prior to appearing on Bachelor in Paradise, Maurissa competed on Season 24 of The Bachelor starring Peter Weber and Riley competed on Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams' edition of The Bachelorette in 2020.

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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