Bachelor couple confirm breakup after weeks of speculation

After weeks of speculation, The Bachelors' Luke Bateman has confirmed he has split from Ellie Rolfe after they met filming last year's season of the reality show.

Luke starred alongside Ben Waddell and Wesley Senna Cortes as one of three men searching for love, with last year's series taking place in Melbourne. As the series ended with Luke declaring his love for Ellie, they were the only couple to still be together post-finale.

At the time of the finale airing in December 2023, the couple confirmed to Yahoo Lifestyle that they'd be looking to move in together in 2024 after spending some time in Western Australia with Ellie's family.

However, a few weeks ago fans of the franchise started speculating that something was amiss after the pair deleted most traces of each other on their Instagram accounts, with only some publicity photos from the series remaining on Luke's account leading to fans asking on numerous Instagram images whether he and Ellie were still together.

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Over on Ellie's profile, fans have also commented on her most recent posts noting that she's no longer following Luke. Ellie recently uploaded a photo gallery of her at Melbourne Fashion Festival posing with former Bachelors Thomas Malucelli and Wesley Senna Cortes, with fans leaving comments speculating about her relationship status.

"Have you and Luke broken up?!? They’re not following each other?" one person commented on her post. "He's deleted all her photos, to me that's a clear sign," another person replied.

The Bachelors' Luke releases statement about breakup

In a statement to Yahoo Lifestyle, Luke confirmed he and Ellie had gone their separate ways, and asked for Bachie fans to respect their privacy as they navigate the breakup.

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“Ellie and I have separated and would like to keep our relationship private," Luke said. "Ellie has a soul that lights up every room she walks into and I will sorely miss it in my life."

Channel 10 is yet to confirm when the next series of The Bachelor (or perhaps, The Bachelors 3.0) will be taking place.

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