American Idol season 10 runner-up Lauren Alaina has called off her engagement to longtime boyfriend Alex Hopkins.
The couple released a statement on Instagram:
Over the last several years, you have been so supportive of us through all of our ups and downs, including personal struggles with health and family, and we couldn’t be more grateful. You share your lives with us, and we always want to be open with you in return. We want you to let you know that we have decided to call off our engagement. While we still have love for each other, we’ve grown into very different people over the last six years. We are now in a place where we are each looking forward to starting our own fresh, new chapters of our lives. We both love and respect each other and hope you all will do the same. This has not been an easy decision, but we both feel it is the right decision. Thank you always for your love and support.
On her Instagram post Lauren added: “We ask for grace, compassion, and respect in this time. I don’t regret a single second with Alex. I wish him the very best. Please do the same.”
While Alex wrote on his page: “As badly as we wanted to make it work, and as hard as we fought to stay together, she and I just weren’t a part of each other’s perfect plan for our individual lives. And that’s ok. She and I get to focus solely on ourselves and our different futures for the first time since high school. Sometimes what we want and what God has for us is 2 totally different things. Just trust that no matter the outcome, everything works out for the betterment of your life.”
The two were engaged in July, 6 years after they began dating.