Influencer Jen Hamilton Confirms Split from Husband Brian After ’15 Years of Shared History, Love and Friendship’

Jen Hamilton and her husband, Brian, confirmed that they are separating in a statement shared with her millions of social media followers.

The New York Times bestselling author, 35, shared the news of their split in a TikTok post on Monday, June 15. The announcement came days after Jen posted a video of herself crying with a caption alluding to dealing with heartbreak, which prompted viewers to speculate about the state of her relationship. The post was removed from her TikTok platform but remains public on her X account.

Neither Jen nor Brian immediately responded to PEOPLE’s requests for comment following her initial post on Saturday.

In her latest video — which she captioned “The statement” — the social media star explained that her team advised her to make a statement when she felt ready. “There is no being ready,” she admitted. “But there’s already a bunch of articles about it, so I might as well just rip the Band-Aid off and put it out there in the wind.”

She continued to say she didn’t want to share “a publicist statement” or “a ChatGPT statement,” so instead she and Brian came up with some words together. She then inserted a screenshot of their joint announcement, which led with a confirmation of their separation.

“This comes with enormous pain for the both of us but also gratitude for the 15 years of shared history, love and friendship. What we are committed to is loving each other well through this transition and placing the wellbeing of the family we created at the center,” wrote the pair, who share sons Ellis and Luke.

“We are hoping our paths diverging in physical location will make space and room for mental healing for the other. We still are committed to being a team. We even wrote this together (and without chatgpt),” the statement continued. “We both want to be very clear. This wasn’t about falling out of love. That’s why this is so devastating. It was about recognizing that sometimes the most loving thing you can do is give someone space to figure out complex things. And that’s exactly what we are doing.”

After showing her viewers their co-written note, Jen returned to addressing her personal feelings after sharing the video of herself crying over the weekend.

“I never should have done it. It was a moment of searing pain. And I just wanted somebody to tell me that I was gonna be alright,” she said. She also admitted she didn’t believe she was “famous enough” for her posts to make mainstream headlines, but “that is exactly what happened,” said Jen. “Now in the midst of the real time pain that I feel, I’m having to deal with that part of it all.”

The influencer — who has over 4.8 million followers on TikTok and 2 million on Instagram — went on to reassure her fans that she will “be alright,” and she reiterated that she and Brian remain friends, with “no yelling” and “no animosity” between them.

“I want him to win. I want him to be the very, very best version of himself. One that he’s never even seen before. And I feel like sometimes we can hold each other back from truly healing from the stuff we need to heal from,” said Jen.

She also asked for general respect as her family navigates the change. “I understand that this is the life that I’ve chosen to be in front of millions of you guys. I understand that. This is the life that I picked. So again, none of y’all owe me a damn thing,” she said. “But we do have kids. You know what I’m saying? And although neither one of them are on social media, they have friends. I take full accountability or responsibility for how this came out. But if you see either one of us in the wild — especially him — just love, kindness.”

She concluded her video by reiterating her hope that she and Brian will continue to be “the best versions of ourselves,” something that, in turn, “only helps our family.” As for her own healing process, Jen teared up as she said, “I can’t wait to meet the version of myself that figured out how to do that. I think she’s gonna be really cool and the kind of person that I would wanna know.”

Earlier on Monday, Jen posted a briefer response to the widespread media coverage and fan speculation following her emotional post over the weekend. In text written over a brief clip of her lying down, she expressed her regret about sharing that in the first place.

“I am just hurting and every attempt to distract myself just ends up making it worse because it’s everywhere,” Jen wrote in her first follow-up. “No one owes me privacy. This is the life I live. But if you ever loved me. Please stop. Talking about him. Talking about our family. Our relationship. I still love him so much and want the best for him. It’s my own fault. I’m sorry. I regret it so much.”

Later in the day, she shared a selfie holding her book, Birth Vibes: Stories and Strategies for an Empowered Birth, and said she decided to sign a few copies at a local bookstore. The post accompanied by Taylor Swift‘s “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” though Jen clarified in the comment section that her followers shouldn’t “read into all the lyrics of the song,” adding, “Just the I can do it with a broken heart part ❤️.”

Jen didn’t specify that she and Brian were separating in her original, since-removed video posted on June 13. However, her caption hinted at turmoil as she wrote, “My heart is absolutely shattered.”

“Day 1: absolutely devastated. Please don’t try to reach out to anybody on my behalf. That would make everything so much worse for me,” Jen said in her caption. “Please just let me grieve. My heart is absolutely shattered. ‘He broke my heart, but I still love him with all the pieces.'”

Jen previously opened up about a past separation from Brian in a video shared on TikTok in 2022. “He and I were separated, and it was not a fun time,” she said. “But also, the best thing that ever happened to us.”

Ahead of speculation surrounding their split, Hamilton had previously opened up on social media about briefly separating from her husband. “[Brian] and I were separated and it was not a fun time — bad news — but also the best thing that ever happened to us,” she said in a 2022 TikTok post.

Weeks before their rumored split, Hamilton spoke to PEOPLE about her debut book, sharing that she was inspired to write Birth Vibes after realizing how much people focus on mapping out their ideal delivery, compared to how little emphasis they place on other crucial factors that can impact the birth experience.

“It’s easy to think of the things that you would like [to happen], but then as your birth unfolds, things can go differently. The vibes can stay the same though, even if things go different than you thought,” Hamilton explained. “Taking the plan out of birth plan can allow you more freedom to be able to personalize your experience.”