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'Today' Contributor Jill Martin Splits from Fiancé Erik Brooks Amid COVID-19 Crisis

By Kagweni Micheni

May 19, 2020

04:30 P.M.

"Today" lifestyle contributor Jill Martin has ended her engagement to fiancé Erik Brooks amid the COVID-19 crisis.

As couples are kept apart during the coronavirus pandemic, the long-distance relationship has taken a toll on the relationship between Jill Martin and Erik Brooks.

The "Today" lifestyle contributor has announced that their year-long engagement has come to an end after meeting in the fall of 2017.

MIAMI BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 21: Erik Brooks, Jill Martin at Burger Bash at the 19th Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival on February 21, 2020 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Manny Hernandez/Getty Images)

In a statement released on Sunday to "Today," the 44-year-old announced that the couple was going their separate ways,

In it, she explained that they would be separating and that the pandemic had taken a toll on many aspects of life, including their relationship adding,

"With him living in Boston with his children, and me living in New York, the distance just became too difficult."

The television personality described her former fiancé as an "amazing man" wishing him nothing but the best.

Erik, who is a managing partner at a private equity firm, had been dating Jill for two years before proposing on Memorial Day weekend last year.

When they arrived on the beach that Erik’s plan was revealed.

The beach proposal was arranged by Erik, who had tricked Jill by telling her they had been invited to a friend's summer party in the Hamptons.

It was when they arrived on the beach that Erik's plan was revealed, in the form of a tent full of sentimental moments of their relationship. She said,

"There were pics of us from last year and eight months framed everywhere…..candles….flowers…all our favorite songs on a playlist.”

And there were even more surprises instore after Erik surprised his partner by bringing both their parents to share in the touching moment.

In July, she had also opened up about the struggle of becoming a step-mother to Brook's three children from a previous marriage.

She revealed that his daughter Bella, who was 11 at the time, was unhappy that Jill was accompanying them on a family vacation.

However, she did add that her relationship with Bella had improved after they talked through everything, calling them "the best of friends."

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