Vanderpump Rules star Kristen Doute admitted in an emotional Instagram post on Saturday, September 21, that she and on-off boyfriend Brian Carter have ended their relationship once and for all.
The pair, who split earlier this year, sparked speculation that they were back together in June after they both attended Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright’s wedding in Kentucky.
Doute, 36, confirmed their breakup, after four years together, at the season 7 reunion in May but later admitted that Carter was still living with her. An insider told Us Weekly at the time that they hadn’t “ruled out getting back together” and were “working through things.”
“Relationships are messy, and it’s not fair to anyone to hide from the truth for the sake of criticism. Let’s start there,” she wrote in a long caption on a photo that showed her looking contemplative as she sat in her backyard with her dog.
“I haven’t come to terms with everyone wanting a black and white answer of where Carter and I stand,” she continued. “I want to scream, what about the gray parts of this, the undefinable aspects of loving and caring for someone, while knowing that they aren’t your person anymore? After the therapy, the meditation, all the steps you take to pursue actual self love, how do you define the realization that you have to move on in order to truly grow?”
“I’ve been called a hypocrite, a villain, for not communicating what has been going on between us because it has been just that… between us,” she added, in what appeared to be a dig at costars Stassi Schroeder and Katie Maloney, who criticized her for continuing to live with Carter after their split. “But we both deserve this weight to be lifted, so this is our version of a conscious uncoupling.”
“Carter and I both know and have come to terms that our new label is friends – full of the utmost love and respect,” Doute concluded. “He’s one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever known. As we unravel what has been for so long such an intertwined life, it hasn’t been easy. But it’s a step in the right direction. It may not be the black and white answer everyone is looking for, but it’s our answer and that will just have to do.”
