Simone Holtznagel breaks silence on split from partner weeks after birth

Aussie reality star Simone Holtznagel has addressed her sudden break-up, which happened just weeks after the birth of their baby girl.

Australian reality star and influencer Simone Holtznagel has broken her silence on her abrupt split from partner Jono Castano.

The couple, who began dating in 2022, quietly went their separate ways shortly after the birth of their child, Gia, in April.

News of their split first emerged in July, with Castano saying they privately separated in May, just weeks after Gia’s birth.

Simone Holtznagel and Jono Castano split in May. Picture: Supplied

“We just decided it was best for her to spend time with her family in Wollongong. Who knows what the future holds, our idea is just to be the best parents for Gia at this stage,” the personal trainer said at the time.

Now, Holtznagel, 31, has addressed the shock break-up in an interview with Stellar magazine, in which she suggested she was solo parenting for the most part.

The former couple began dating in 2022. Picture: Supplied

“I’ve never felt more sure of anything. And I know I can do it by myself,” the I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! star said.

“It’s unfortunate that I’m mostly having to do it by myself, but I couldn’t think of it any other way, really. What I’m doing just feels very right for me.

“The most important thing to me is that Gia is happy and healthy, and that I’m happy, too. Because I firmly believe that if the mother is unhappy, it’s hard to have a happy child.”

Simone Holtznagel and her baby girl Gia. Picture: Instagram

Holtznagel went on to say she had an epiphany the relationship wasn’t going to work long-term.

“One day I was like, ‘What am I doing? This isn’t right.’ And I would hate if she [Gia] was ever in this situation,” she said.

“You have to do what is right for you at the end of the day. No matter the number of promises or anything else that people make, when they show you who they are, believe them. Because you can’t change people.”

Read the full interview in Stellar, available in News Corp’s The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland), and Sunday Mail (SA)

Originally published as Simone Holtznagel breaks silence on split from partner weeks after birth