Today show contributor Jill Martin and her fiancé Erik Brooks have split up, and the couple is citing the coronavirus pandemic as a source of tension.
“This pandemic has taken a toll on so many aspects of life — it’s such a difficult time for everyone. Erik is the most magnificent person, but with him living in Boston with his children, and me living in New York, the distance just became too difficult for us to maintain the kind of relationship that’s important to us both,” Martin, 44, told Yahoo via a representative. “He is an amazing man, and I wish him nothing but the best.”
Less than two months ago, the couple appeared to be quarantining together, even appearing in a Today video alongside each other detailing how they’re navigating their relationship in isolation.
“Everything is OK here, but we’re just trying to help in any way we can,” said Martin, as she appeared alongside Brooks, who works in finance.
“Erik and I have never spent so much concentrated time together. We’ve been here, basically alone for three weeks, 24/7, and to be honest, like many couples, we don’t even have kids here right now because his kids are in Boston, and like many couples, we’ve had a couple of blow-ups. I would say they were kind of major blow-ups,” said Martin, smiling as she looked at Brooks. “But it’s been tough.”
Dr. Jonathan Fader, a performance and clinical psychiatrist who serves as Martin’s performance coach, then appeared in the video while Martin shared that she consults with Fader once a week to help her become a better communicator in all her relationships.
“It’s been difficult,” said Martin. “I know so many of you feel cooped up too. Jonathan’s been helping me. Erik and I.”
Martin shared that the couple was doing their best to navigate the pandemic together, making time every day to work out together, but also to just have some alone time.
“I’m working on the nagging too,” said Martin with a smile, admitting that she had found it hard at times.
“He was singing the same song over and over again, and I had to find a nice way to say it,” said Martin, explaining that Brooks was frequently singing Lizzo’s hit “Good as Hell.” “I love that song, but it was driving me nuts.”
The couple got engaged last Memorial Day Weekend in the Hamptons after two years of dating. Brooks popped the question under a large tent filled with candles, flowers and framed photos of the couple from over the course of their relationship.
“I started hysterically crying and it was a few minutes [before] I understood what was going on,” she told Page Six. “I had never experienced anything like that in 43 years. To say I was happy and overjoyed — they were, of course, tears of happiness, but I could cry telling the story right now.”
“It was almost like a storybook,” she continued. “I love that I was absolutely myself. I was in sneakers and a jean jacket, and I had my makeup done from the Today show.”
