Chelsea Handler Announces Breakup with Jo Koy: ‘Continue to Root for Us’

The Chelsea Lately alum made the pair’s relationship Instagram official in September 2021

Chelsea Handler and Jo Koy are going their separate ways.

The former Chelsea host, 47, shared via Instagram on Monday that she and Koy have split.

Posting a video that the two planned to share on their one-year anniversary, Handler wrote in the caption, “It is with a heavy heart to announce that we have decided together that it is best for us to take a break from our relationship right now.”

A source tells PEOPLE that those close to the pair do hope this is a temporary situation.

“Their friends are hoping they can still work it out. But if anything, it’s clear their relationship has changed them both for the better,” the source says.

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In her touching Instagram post, Handler told fans, “I know many of you were invested in our love, and I wanted to express to you how much that meant to both of us. How much it still means. And how much I now believe in love for each one of us.”

She saluted Koy and said he “blew my heart open with love and because of him, my life experience has changed forever.”

Added Handler: “To be loved and adored by @jokoy has been one of the greatest gifts of my life. He renewed my faith in men, in love, in being 100% who I am, and I’ve never been more optimistic for the future.”

In an open message to Koy, Handler told him, “You blew my creativity open, my lust for working hard again, being on the road again, and you reminded me who I was and always have been, and my feet have never been more firmly planted in the ground.”

“This is not an ending. It’s another beginning, and it’s a comfort to know that I am still loved and love this man the way the sun loves the moon and the moon loves the sun. YOUR PERSON IS COMING,” Handler wrote, ending with, “So, please continue to root for both of us, because you never know what life will bring and let’s first start by all going to the theater on August 5th to buy tickets to Jo’s new movie EASTER SUNDAY and Filipino PRIDE! Let’s go!”

Handler and Koy, 51, were introduced by a mutual friend almost 20 years ago. Koy then went on to make regular appearances on Handler’s former E! show, Chelsea Lately, which ran from 2007 to 2014. Handler recently served as a guest host for Jimmy Kimmel Live, making fans excited about her potential return to late-night television.

Handler and Koy first sparked dating rumors in September when they were spotted looking cozy at a Los Angeles Dodgers game. She then posted about being in love, but she concealed Koy’s identity at the time.

“Just sitting here in Mallorca thinking about how grateful I am to have so many people that I love in my life, to live the life I do and to be going on tour doing what I love,” she captioned an Instagram post, which featured a photo of herself appearing content.

The comedian continued, “And that I’m finally in love, with the best kind of guy there is. There is hope for everyone! That kind of stuff.”

Handler made the pair’s relationship Instagram official days later as she shared two pics, one of which featured the twosome kissing.

“He’s on tour, I’m on tour, sometimes we tour together,” she captioned her post, adding, “#VaccinatedAndHorny #FunnyIsFunny. All coming to a city near you!”

On her Dear Chelsea podcast in October, Koy — who is also a comedian — joined Handler to have a candid conversation about their relationship. While they agreed their chemistry was “amazing” from the start, Handler didn’t initially think of Koy romantically because he had “brother energy.”

“You have a lot of similar qualities that my brother had,” she told Koy, referencing her older brother, Chet, who died in 1984. “So, in many ways, like I just feel so completely safe. And I feel like, ‘oh, this is family,’ like I’ve always felt that way about you, that you’re family. I just didn’t want to f— you before.”

Handler said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in October that she “fell in love at the age of 46.” As a result, she now has “hope for every person in this world.”

“One day I just looked at [Jo] and I thought, ‘Oh that’s my guy!’ ” she recalled. “So he’s like my best buddy and then I also, you know, get to have sex with him. … Fun time!”