Sophie Monk confirms breakup with Stu Laundy

IT’S all over for Sophie and Stu, with the Bachelorette star confirming the breakup in a late-night Instagram post.

REALITY TV star Sophie Monk has revealed that she has split up with her on-screen love from The Bachelorette, Stu Laundy.

Monk confirmed the news in a late-night Instagram post.

“I don’t know how to explain this because it’s an unusual circumstance to be in,” she wrote.

“But because I entered this relationship so publicly, I know I owe an answer to Australia about my personal life.

“I went into this experience looking to settle down and start a family.

“I gave it the best shot I could and my intentions were everything I said I was looking for, but unfortunately it just didn’t work out.

“As much as I respect him [Laundy], we are just very different people.

“There were no contracts or pressure to stay together whatsoever from anyone and we remain friends.

“The positive in this whole experience is it taught me to jump out of my comfort zone in order to find real love and made me much stronger.

“I sincerely want to apologise to anyone who invested so much love and support and I hope I haven’t disappointed anyone.”

Network Ten has also released a statement about the break up.

“We are very sorry to hear that Sophie Monk and Stu Laundy have separated and wish them both the very best for the future,” a spokesperson told news.com.au.

“Across eight seasons of The Bachelor Australia and The Bachelorette Australia, four couples have found love and have remained together after the cameras have stopped rolling. Our thanks to Sophie and Stu, who genuinely committed to finding love on The Bachelorette Australia, but sadly in life, some relationships are not always lasting.”

Monk and Laundy’s relationship has been dogged by rumours that they had broken up ever since The Bachelorette finale aired in October.

Sophie Monk chose Stu Laundy in The Bachelorette finale.

Many fans were unconvinced by the match - and they weren’t the only ones.

Even during the post-finale publicity round, the validity of the relationship was heavily scrutinised by the media.

At the time, Laundy came out swinging against Meshel Laurie and Kate Langbroek, who he claimed “had their knives out” for him during separate media appearances.

During an awkward appearance on The Project, the couple was peppered with questions from co-host Laurie.

“I think you’ve done the classic woman thing where you say that you want one thing but what you actually go for is something else,” Laurie said to Monk on the program.

“You said in the beginning: I just want a down-to-earth, normal guy who wants to get married and have kids. What you’ve chosen is a millionaire, who’s already married and had a vasectomy.”

It made for uncomfortable viewing.

Later, speaking to Kyle and Jackie O about the interview, Laundy said Laurie seemed “vengeful”.

“A lady I’d never met just started shooting me, it was pretty rude actually,” he said.

“But it was on live TV so I just tried to make a joke of it. I was on Have You Been Paying Attention? with Soph and those comedians shut us down but it was really funny stuff, as funny as I’ve ever really heard. But it just seemed a bit vengeful from the other lady.”

Laundy also wasn’t impressed with the treatment he received from radio host Kate Langbroek.

He and Monk appeared on Hughesy and Kate but Laundy claimed things got off to an awkward start before the radio interview had even begun.

“I walked into the studio with Kate, Soph and I both saw it, she just went straight at me,” he told Kyle and Jackie O.

“This was off air. This was before the radio with Kate. She said: ‘This is a scam and it will take a lot of convincing for me to believe it.’”

After the interview, Langbroek posted a photo of Monk and Laundy on Instagram with the caption: “She hates him”.

Late last year, Monk was again forced to address claims that their public appearances were staged for the cameras.

She told Nova radio in December that the rumours surrounding her relationship were “mental”.

“Every day is something different and because I travel and work all the time you can’t always be together. There will be another story that we’ve broken up as soon as I go and do another job, to be honest,” she said.

“You’ve just got to roll with it. I guess at least people are interested.”

Monk and Laundy at the Arias in 2017.

While Monk has been unlucky in love, her career is more successful than ever after winning hearts — and big ratings — on Channel 10’s love contest last year.

She will be back on our screens in 2018 as the host of Channel 9’s new reality show Love Island.

Monk first came to prominence in 2000 as a contestant on the seminal reality TV singing contest Popstars, which saw her enjoy chart success as a member of the girl group Bardot.