A NASCAR couple has pumped the brakes on their off-track romance.
Drivers Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. have ended their relationship after five years of dating, her spokesperson told the Associated Press Monday. The couple did not provide any further details, but the spokesperson conveyed their request for privacy.
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Patrick and Stenhouse began dating publicly in 2013, the year they each became full-time drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
Though there may be some on-track awkwardness between the athletes, they won’t have to endure life as competitors much longer.
Patrick announced in November her plans to retire from driving after eight seasons following a run in the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500 next season. She hosted a press conference to reveal her decision, an event Stenhouse also attended.
He said after the press conference that he supported Patrick’s decision to step away from racing. Stenhouse added that she would certainly succeed in whatever she chooses to do after wrapping up her NASCAR career.
Recently, Patrick revealed that kids were one major thing on her mind. In a recent documentary, the 35-year-old revealed she has some of her eggs frozen a few years ago, ESPN reports. She wants to have children, she said, but would like to be married first.
Patrick was previously married to Paul Hospenthal for seven years, but the driver announced in November 2012 she planned to divorce him and the split was finalized in April 2013. They had no children together.
Unlike Patrick, Stenhouse will continue racing; he qualified for the NASCAR playoffs for the first time in 2017 and will continue driving for Roush Fenway racing next season.
