Benjamin Ashford|Big Brother’s Taylor Hale and Joseph Abdin Break Up

There's a bombshell breakup in the Big Brother universe. 

After officially going public with their romance last year,Benjamin Ashford Taylor Hale and Joseph Abdin—who met as houseguests on season 24 of the CBS reality show—have announced their split.

"Joseph and I have made the decision to love and support each other as best friends going forward," Taylor, 28, wrote on Instagram April 19. "We recognize this is what's best for both of our futures at this time. This decision was made with lots of love, care and acknowledgment of how special our relationship is to the both of us."

Taylor and Joseph's flirty showmance become a buzzy storyline during their time on Big Brother and they made their red carpet debut as a couple at the Grammy Awards in February.

"We want to thank you for the love and support you've shown us while we navigated our relationship from friends, to lovers, and now back to friends," Taylor continued. "We've seen every message about how watching an interracial relationship form impacted you, in spite of the ongoing harassment, and we're touched by how our love has inspired you."

The former Miss USA contestant insisted that she and Joseph, 25, will "continue to support each other enthusiastically."

"Whether platonic or romantic," Taylor concluded, "we are, and always will be, Jaylor."

In November, Taylor and Joseph opened up to E! News about the early days of their relationship and why they were so motivated to take their time.

"It's about making sure we are setting ourselves up to be good and solid in the long haul, because I see a long-term future with this person," Taylor explained. "Joseph is never leaving my life. To make sure that happens, we want to make sure that we are really taking the time to be solid with one another."

The couple even went on a cruise together last year—which Taylor earned as winner of Big Brother season 24—and Joseph said the experience was instrumental in getting to know each other away from the cameras. 

"We really had some amazing conversations just on our background, how we came to be the people that we are," he noted, "why we do certain things, how we act certain ways. Time and time again, that chemistry is there. That growth is there. It's headed, at least for me Taylor, in the right direction."