Trixie Mattel and Boyfriend David Silver Split After 8 Years of Dating

RuPaul's Drag Race star Trixie Mattel and boyfriend David Silver have split.

In a YouTube video shared on Monday, Dec. 30, Mattel (né Brian Michael Firkus) confirmed that the couple, who met in 2016, have gone their separate ways after eight years of dating.

"Some of you have kind of figured it out, speculated for a while, but David and I separated quite some time ago now," Mattel shared toward the end of the 31-minute video. "It feels like you people who know me but don't really know me in real life are the last people to know about it. Everybody in my world has known about it for quite some time."

The Bald and the Beautiful podcast host, 35, explained that she was "waiting for the right moment" to share the news of the breakup, which occurred before her break from drag this past summer.

Mattel also said that the split "isn't salacious" and "just happened." She continued, "It was a very long relationship and a lot of parts of it will always make me very happy."

"...I got the privilege of making shows and stuff and telling you guys a really compelling love story in my life and it felt disappointing to not be able to make good on that," she shared. "...I really care about that person, I will always care about that person. I love our motel, I love all of our business ventures. Being creative together with him was especially one of the heights of my life.

Their separation comes after Mattel embarked on an "overdue' three-month hiatus from drag to "recharge" and go through "a complete reboot."

"Last year was the most difficult time in my entire life," Mattel said in an intimate video shared on July 15 explaining the reason behind the break. "The last 12 months-ish really challenged for me the human spirit. It was so difficult."

Mattel went on to explain the work-life balance became non-existent with more and more opportunities."I feel weird complaining about it because all my wildest dreams came true when I was just in my mid-20s, doing Drag Race and everything, traveling the world and making music," she said. "It was the paychecks I always wanted, doing my dream job and I just over time squeezed out my real life so fierce where all I was doing was this."

It got so bad that Mattel saw "my social life, my family life and my personal life" break down to "frail twigs," she said. "The bigger the work things got, the smaller my real life things got. My support system? All of that start to shrivel on the vine."

Related: 'Drag Race' Star Trixie Mattel Talks New Album, Barbies and Being Taken Seriously as a Musician

In the video, Mattel did not mention Silver at all in her video but did mention her plans over the next three months. She explained she planned on traveling to Alaska with some girlfriends from college and to Provincetown, Mass., with some guy friends. Other trips, The Pit Stop host said, included seeing her brother in Minnesota and family in Wisconsin.

"Things happened this year that I’m not ready to talk about and I might not talk about. You know, believe it or not, I don’t want to tell you guys everything all the time," said Mattel. "It just really beat it out of me. It just really put me in my place as a person and taught me new lows of the human experience. When you feel like you cannot stop trying and you’re so upset and then you have to put on a wig and make people laugh? It is chilling."

Related: Trixie Mattel Says Relationship with Her Partner Was Put to the Test on Trixie Motel: Drag Me Home (Exclusive)

Fans got to learn about Mattel and Silver's relationship when they starred together in the celebrated Max renovation shows Trixie Motel and Trixie Motel: Drag Me Home.

Prior to that, the former couple had kept their romance out of the public eye. "The intimate insides of our relationship is something I never really shared. Other than writing some songs about him, I didn't really show him to people," Mattel told PEOPLE in May. "And I kept it kind of private because I always sort of felt like, as a public person, my partner shouldn't have to be subjected to being a public person." 

The first show followed the two as they documented their $2.5 million queen-sized renovation of an old run-down motel in Palm Springs. Aptly named the Trixie Motel, it's become a celebrated pink oasis for visitors of the popular desert location since its opening.

For a second season, Mattel and Silver made the big step to move in together, a milestone that would mark the first time they lived under the same roof in their then-seven years together.

Rather than cohabitate in Mattel's condo, which the musician and makeup guru uses for her viral social media content, they purchased a $3 million Hollywood craftsman home. They then spent the next four weeks and $175,000 giving it a full old Hollywood Regency-style drag makeover, with the help of designer Dan Vickery.

"It was long and difficult and made both of our patience, like, so slim," Mattel told PEOPLE. "In the series, we kind of are living on top of each other while we're renovating. It was really hard. I mean, people get divorces over bathroom wallpaper."

But doing also strengthened their bond, Mattel said on the show. "Renovating the motel and starting this business has given me so much confidence in our relationship," she noted in the Drag Me Home premiere. "Not only did we not kill each other, but I think it actually brought us closer together."

"This barely even feels real, celebrating with you in our magical place that is our house, surrounded by our friends," she said at season's end. "It's everything. I couldn't have done it without you. I would have never even tried to do this without you. Because I believe in you and you can do anything and you took me along with you. Thank you."

"Well, we can do anything together," said Silver, adding in another scene, "You're the hardest working person I know and no one deserves it more than you do."

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Drag Me Home ended with Mattel and Silver trading "I love yous" and teasing their desire to open up another motel, though nothing has been announced yet.

Trixie Motel and Trixie Motel: Drag Me Home are currently streaming on Max.

Read the original article on People