Stu Laundy spills on split with Sophie Monk: ‘I found out via Instagram’

SOPHIE Monk’s ex Stu Laundy has broken his silence on their split, revealing the surprising way he discovered it was all over.

STU Laundy has broken his silence on his high-profile split from Sophie Monk, revealing he found out about it at the same time as the rest of Australia.

The couple, who met on The Bachelorette, had constantly been forced to deny rumours they had broken up since the show ended in October.

In an emotional Instagram post last week, Monk said she gave the relationship her “best shot” but it “just didn’t work out” because the two were “very different people”.

“I went into this experience looking to settle down and start a family,” she wrote.

“I gave it the best shot I could and my intentions were everything, but unfortunately it just didn’t work out. As much as I respect him we are just very different people.”

Speaking to Nova’s Fitzy and Wippa on Monday, Laundy admitted that the Instagram post had alerted him to their split.

“It was Soph’s [decision] — and apart from being so publicly brushed, I have no hard feelings whatsoever,” he told the radio hosts.

“I sort of found out via Instagram, but we both knew in our hearts it was pushing toward a friendship ... I think it was a decision we’d both been coming to.”

Sophie Monk and Stu Laundy at the Arias. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett

Describing how it had all gone wrong, the publican, 44, claimed they both realised they were better off as friends.

“We couldn’t work it out on the show because you get a bit influenced, but as we came out over the next few months, we just became better mates ... but you’d have to ask Soph.”

Laundy also described the strain the constant media scrutiny had had on their relationship.

“I’ve never experienced anything like it and I hopefully I never will again — I’ll just fade away into obscurity,” he said.

“The attention did create some stress. We certainly had a few tiffs about things that were said, because some of it is hurtful.”

Despite the way it ended, Laundy insisted the constant rumours about a fake romance weren’t true — and that they had been very much in love.

“There was definitely love there, there still is. We basically came out of that show and as soon it finished on air we were living together,” he said.

“It was full-on — I don’t usually go at that speed, but we had about three to four months of a whirlwind romance. It was very real.”

Meanwhile, over at KIIS FM, Monk’s close friend Kyle Sandilands was providing a different perspective on the relationship, claiming Laundy’s strange behaviour may have contributed to the split.

“I was talking to [Monk] before Christmas and I knew it was tough… they weren’t getting on that great,” he explained.

“She told me she’s given it a red hot crack, he’s a nice guy. But she was telling me, ‘look I like him, but he vanishes for a couple of days at a time.’

“I know what [men] are doing when they vanish for a couple of days at a time – getting away from you.”

Later, both Laundy and Monk appeared on the Kyle and Jackie O show for their first post-split conversation.

“At the end of the day, you make me laugh probably more than any girl ever and there’s no way in the world I want to lose that,” Laundy told his ex-girlfriend.