Chelsea Handler and Jo Koy's romance is over, but their friendship carries on.
Koy recently confirmed that he and the Chelsea Lately host are "taking a break" but made it clear that she still has a place in his heart.
"We're great friends. We've always been great friends," he told TMZ at Los Angeles International Airport on July 21. "The love is still there."
As for whether he's ready to get back into the dating game, Koy told the outlet he's "just going to concentrate on this movie thing right now," referencing his new film Easter Sunday which hits theaters Aug. 5. However, he didn't divulge who ended the relationship, noting "that's private."
After news of their split, Koy wrote on Instagram that he and Handler "will always remain great friends and will always have love for one another."
"I'm her biggest fan and I can't wait for you all to see what she has in store for the future," he shared. "Keep killing it Chelsea! Mahal kita!"
Handler announced on July 18 that she and Koy "have decided together that it is best for us to take a break from our relationship right now." The update came ahead of the former couple's one-year anniversary, with Handler sharing a video they had prepared for the major milestone. And while the two didn't celebrate as planned, they still appreciated the love and support they'd received from fans throughout the course of their relationship.
"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," Handler wrote. "How much it still means. And how much I now believe in love for each one of us."
She then went on to sing Koy's praises. "This man blew my heart open with love and because of him, my life experience has changed forever," the comedian added. "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. Jo- 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."
Handler and Koy's love story started out with a friendship, with him frequently appearing as a panelist on Chelsea Lately throughout its 2007 to 2014 run. As the My Horizontal Life author told E! News for her cover story earlier this year, she was perfectly happy being "an emblem of a single woman with no children, to show other women that they don't have to have children or a husband to have it all."
During the pandemic, Handler and Koy started hanging out again, with things later turning romantic. The pair made their relationship Instagram official in September 2021.
And while they're no longer together, they still want the best for each other. "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," Handler wrote on Instagram. "YOUR PERSON IS COMING. 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!"