Jeffree Star has confirmed that he and his boyfriend, Nathan Schwandt, have split up. Star announced the split in an emotional 17-minute video posted to his YouTube Channel today. He said that he and Schwandt broke up a few weeks ago after dating for five years.
Star, 34, shared with his more than 17 million YouTube subscribers that he never thought he would have to talk about splitting from Schwandt.
Star said he could find no easy way to say that he and Schwandt had broken up and that he was struggling to heal after the incident.
But he revealed that he and Schwandt and parted amicably and that they remained friends.
“There is no easy to say this but we did break up. I’ve used a lot of this time of silence to… just try to heal,” he said. “You know we are both in a state of shock. I am devastated, I’m so sad and the love of my life is no longer… I don’t wake up to him anymore.”
“He’s no longer here every morning and my routines have changed and I am just… in a state of shock right now… we both are,” Star continued. “I really wanted to take some time for myself. I was really emotional there were so many things happening in my head and you know this isn’t like an internet fight… this isn’t drama.”
He stressed that the message was not for the sake of drama and social media attention and that he was talking about their real-life experiences.
He said he and Schwandt have been through so much lately and he knew that many of his fans were shocked to learn that they had split. He admitted he was also shocked. He said he felt he owes his fans an explanation because the relationship has unfolded in front of his fans over the years.
The hardest part has been waking up and he's not laying next to me anymore.. But I'm a tough bitch and 2020 is going to be my year.
— Jeffree Star (@JeffreeStar) January 11, 2020
Star revealed that part of what led to the split was that he did not enjoy being in the spotlight and he’d been uncomfortable about some of the rumors that swirled around their relationship —such as claims that the relationship was fake. Star said that unlike Schwandt, he can take a lot.
He said he was grateful for his relationship with Schwandt because he was the only man that was ever confident enough to love him publicly — despite all his flaws. He also said that he would always love Schwandt.
He ended the video by thanking fans who have sent him well wishes during the period of his silence on social media.
Star’s YouTube message comes after days of rumors circulating online about his relationship with Schwandt. The rumors gained traction after Star removed the reference to himself as Nathan’s wife from his Instagram bio.