‘Bachelor in Paradise’s Carly Waddell and Evan Bass Split After 3 Years of Marriage

One of Bachelor Nation’s most beloved couples has called it quits. Carly Waddell and Evan Bass, who met on Bachelor in Paradise in 2016, announced Wednesday that they have chosen to separate after three years of marriage. The former couple, who share son Charles “Charlie” Wolf, 1, and daughter Isabella “Bella” Evelyn, shared news of the “difficult decision” with PEOPLE in a joint statement.

“We have made the difficult decision to separate,” the two told the publication. “We will always cherish our time together and continue to have the utmost respect for one another as we focus on what’s best for the future of our family. We greatly appreciate everyone’s love and support and kindly ask that you please respect our family’s privacy as we navigate through this.”

Bass, who is also a father to three older sons from a previous relationship, first competed for JoJo Fletcher’s heart on The Bachelorette before meeting Waddell, who had made her Bachelor Nation debut on Chris Soules’ season of The Bachelor, on Season 3 of Bachelor in Paradise, the franchise’s summer show. While the two had some serious ups and downs during their season, with Waddell turning down Bass’ romantic pursuits a number of times, the couple did eventually fall in love, and Bass proposed on the season finale of the show.

While the two have been held up as a pillar of Bachelor Nation, having one of the few longterm relationships produced by the show, there was evidence earlier this year that there were tensions in their relationship during a June episode of the Mommies Tell All podcast, when the two joked that bringing a third baby into their home could be the “downfall” of their relationship.

“The other day when I was talking to this card reader, she read my cards, like, five times and she said twice that we were gonna have another baby,” Waddell said during the podcast. “I don’t think that we should because I’m tired.” Bass chimed in, “I don’t think we’d make it if we had another. … We would make it for a little while longer, but … they would probably lead to different paths.”

After welcoming baby number two into their home, Waddell shared that Bass would be getting a vasectomy, saying on an Instagram Story just months after Charlie’s birth, “The reason Evan is getting the procedure is because we did pull out and pray twice ever, and now we have two kids.” On the June podcast, however, Waddell revealed the vasectomy “never actually happened.”