Just two years ago, Ali Oetjen and her Bachelorette beau Taite Radley confessed their love for one another. But alas, the fitness fanatics couldn’t make it work.
The couple were separated for 88 days due to COVID-19 with Taite, 30, isolating in Ballarat, Victoria whilst Ali, 34, stayed on her parents’ property in Queensland.
Their reunion ended up being a short but sweet one as the couple announced their break up in July 2020.
“It is with the heaviest heart that we want to let everyone know that we have decided to take time apart in order to give each other space and time to fully focus on our own paths. We both love each other deeply & only want the best for each other & both want the ultimate happiness for each other and hopefully our paths will reconnect again soon,” Ali captioned her post.
Taite shared the same post (with the names switched) with a different photo.
Fans suspected that both the coronavirus restrictions and the stress of starting their own fitness venture Sweaty AF together were the reasons behind the break up.
Ali and Taite planned to open their own fitness and wellness studio in Ballarat this year but were forced to turn it into a virtual programme when COVID-19 restrictions came into place.
“I wonder if this is because of the talks of Vic being closed off to the rest of Aus for years, Ali might want to be with her family. Speculation obviously,” someone mused on Ali’s post.
“Maybe the time apart during the lockdown gave them both time to realise it,” another suggested on Taite’s upload.
“COVID would’ve taken a huge toll on the both of you and the stress of Sweaty AF,” another said.
When one fan commented on Ali’s post asking about their new business, another replied: “Hope it wasn’t because of differences in this regard. Running a business with a partner is sometimes risky…”
Even Ali’s Bachelorette runner-up Todd King weighed in on the break up and shared his theories as to why she and Taite ended things.
“We talked so much about our timelines, what she was expecting, on the show so I thought it was a little bit strange that after a couple of years they weren’t engaged,” Todd told the So Dramatic podcast.
“It seems to me that she sacrificed a lot of what she wanted to fit into his life. From what she told me two years ago, she had a pattern of doing that. A pattern she was trying to get out of. Maybe that was it, or they fell out of love quickly.”
Todd added: “Taite was just so iffy about whether he wanted to commit. It might sound like I’m bitter, but even at the end what he said to her, it seemed half-a***d.”
Rumours that the couple were part of a “showmance” circulated shortly after the Bachelorette finale where runner-up Todd King became a fan favourite.
However, both Ali and Taite slammed claims that their relationship started in a bid to increase their profiles.
“I actually don’t know how people would think that,” Taite told Who.
“We were over the moon to be with each other [after the show finished], so it really didn’t faze us,” Ali added.
“But it was like, ‘It’s interesting that they think that.’ We knew what was going on and we didn’t feel like we had to prove anything to anyone.”
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