Chelsea Handler announced her separation from partner Jo Koy on her social media handle

Chelsea Handler and Jo Koy are splitting up soon before their first anniversary. Handler announced the couple’s surprise breakup on Instagram on Monday. Handler disclosed that she and Koy were taking a “break” from their romance for the time being by sharing a reel they prepared to celebrate one year of dating.

“In anticipation of celebrating our first year together, Jo and I recorded this video early, but as many of you have noticed, 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,” Handler wrote alongside the clip which showed off their playful 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. How much it still means. And how much I now believe in love for each one of us.”

Though they are no longer together, Handler says her experience with Koy has transformed her life “forever,” and that being loved by the fellow comedian is “one of the greatest gifts” she has ever received.

“This man blew my heart open with love and because of him, my life experience has changed forever. 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,” she continued.

The 47-year-old humorous woman then addressed Koy personally, congratulating him and promoting his next project while encouraging her fans to support the couple.

“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 shared. “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.”

Adding, “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 theatre on August 5th to buy tickets to Jo’s new movie EASTER SUNDAY and Filipino PRIDE! Let’s go!”

The couple split a little more than a month after Handler wrote a lovely birthday tribute to 51-year-old Koy, telling her fans that the actor and comedian checked all the boxes she was looking for in a partner.
Handler revealed her connection with Koy in September when she posted on Instagram that she had “fallen in love.”

“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 her post. “And that I’m finally in love, with the best kind of guy there is,” she wrote. “There is hope for everyone! That kind of stuff.”

Handler revealed on her show a few weeks later how her 18-year relationship with Koy evolved into something more. When the two met just before the COVID-19 outbreak, Koy requested Handler to write a blurb for his book, Mixed Plate. They began texting, hanging together, and even FaceTiming regularly. They agreed to go out to supper after four months apart.

“The minute we were both back in L.A., we were like, ‘Let’s go to dinner,'” Koy recalled. From there, the pair started spending lots of time together and things progressed “organically,” Handler explained.

But it wasn’t until Handler returned to the stage during a gig in Las Vegas that she realised something was up between her and her old pal. After returning to Los Angeles, the pair spent a lot of time together, with Koy accompanying the Dear Chelsea podcast host on her comedy tour and accompanying her to the award functions.