The pair sparked a showmance during 'Big Brother' season 21 and kept thing going since the season finale in September.
After starting their romance in the public eye, Big Brother alums Jackson Michie and Holly Allen are splitting up in a similar way. Both reality stars took to Instagram on Thursday to share the news that they'd decided to call it quits.
"Life works in crazy ways, and this past year has been no exception. Through the ups, the downs, the highs, and the lows.. there has been one constant through it all and that's the amazing woman standing next to me," Michie wrote, alongside a snapshot of himself and Allen holding hands while walking along a pier. "Life has continued to work in ways neither of expected, and sadly life will be taking us in different directions."
Michie, 25, said the split "isn't because of bad actions or words" but rather because he and Allen have come to recognize that "a relationship may not be for the best."
"I said it on the show and I will say it always, I love her and she will forever hold a special place in my heart," he continued. "This post is something that neither of us wanted to share, but given the circumstances of our relationship and how things started it only seems appropriate to offer an answer once and for all."
Michie and Allen found love during season 21 of Big Brother, in which the pair wound up being the last two contestants and had to face off for the $500,000 grand prize. Michie ended up winning the show, but the two continued to cultivate their romance after the finale, which aired in September 2019.
"Please respect our wishes for privacy on the matter and understand that we are both going through significant life changes and monumental events in our individual lives separate from this," Michie wrote, without elaborating.
Allen, meanwhile, shared the news as well, posting a solo photo of herself hiking through the woods.
"I’d much rather keep certain life updates to myself, but I understand that I put my personal life in the spotlight because I chose to play a game last summer that just so happened to be on television," she wrote. "So many of you have been immensely wonderful and supportive and I appreciate you more than I think I can ever express. So for that, I feel like I owe you this. It’s not easy, so please bear with me."
"A year ago I started a wild new adventure," Allen wrote, referring to the start of her season of Big Brother, which kicked off last June. "Today, I start another adventure. Growth is sometimes hard, but necessary. Growth sometimes happens alone. And that’s what I’ll be doing."
Allen explained that, as is the case with her and Michie, "Sometimes fundamental character traits simply don’t line up. Priorities don’t match. And that’s OK."
Michie -- who just celebrated his 25th birthday last Saturday -- recently addressed another highly publicized aspect of his time on Big Brother, in which he drew fire for allegedly making racially insensitive remarks and acting inappropriately during his time on the show.
"So, I turn 25 this Saturday, on June 13, and over the past 24 years, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. And these past few weeks, these past posts, I’ve made a lot of mistakes," Michie said in a video he posted to Instagram on June 11. "It is my fault and I’m sorry for not being educated enough to understand that I will never understand what it’s like to be African American, to be a person of color, to be black in this country."
"I will never understand that, but I stand with you, and I'm sorry," Michie stated. "Black lives matter."
Michie and Allen spoke with ET following the season 21 finale last September, and Michie addressed the accusations of racist behavior. He admitted to being "an intense person" who can come off as "aggressive" and "abrasive," but maintained it was never his intention to be derogatory to any marginalized group.
"I have made mistakes in life, and some of the biggest mistakes I've made have led me to this point and I will learn from them, I will grow from them, and this is no different," he said.
In that same interview, both Michie and Allen addressed their relationship, saying that they'd formed an unbreakable bond of friendship, regardless of where their relationship takes them in life.
"Before anything romantically happened between Michie and I, we established that we're going to be friends forever," Allen explained. "I don't know where life is going to take us after here… we are going to take everything one day at a time… But regardless of whether things happen romantically outside of here or not, we're going to be friends forever, that much we know."
Michie shared similar sentiments, explaining that they already have real, decided-upon plans for the future.
"First, we're going to Disney World, and then we're going to Bora Bora," Michie revealed. "Holly and I have a deal, she shook on it. Regardless of whether we're in a relationship or not, every year we have to take at least one trip and it has to be to the exact opposite of the location where the year before was."
As for their romantic plans, Michie agreed that they'll be playing their relationship by ear.
"We're both mature, rational people and we're not going to pressure anything," he explained. "Whatever happens, happens. And if her life and my life are able to coincide synergistically, then great! But regardless, she will always be in my life."
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