Too Hot To Handle star Brianna Balram has confirmed her split from ex Love-Islander Lochan Nowacki after around 10 months together, telling fans she has chosen herself and is protecting her peace.

Fans first noticed the reality stars may have gone their separate ways after a year of romance after Brianna appeared to unfollow Lochan on Instagram, despite him still following her. The influencer and model also removed several loved-up snaps of the pair from her social media. And, sharing a post celebrating her new home, the Too Hotto Handle star wrote: “This chapter is for me and me ONLY.”

Brianna later addressed the split in a series of social media posts, confirming the break-up and making it clear that it was not a messy situation. She opened up about the breakdown of the relationship,explaining that she had reached a point where she had to put herself first.

“I value and respect myself enough to be able to recognisethe lack of capacity in us both and make a logical decision for the long haul,”she wrote.

“Sometimes love is just not enough and that’s okay. I’m alsoallowed to protect my peace.”

Brianna insisted that the split was not dramatic, saying it ultimately came down to compatibility.

“I chose myself, I don’t feel bad for choosing myself,” she said.

The reality star admitted that, despite being confident in her decision, she was still disappointed.

“I think every woman feels disappointment for a relationship she thought would be her last.”

Brianna also appeared frustrated by people telling her they had predicted the relationship would end.

“I don’t know why people feel the need to tell me ‘I told you so’,” she said.

Her comments came after Lochan’s Love Island ex, Whitney Adebayo, reacted to a TSB post on the breakup. Whitney simply commented “damn” beneath our Instagram post reporting the split.

Brianna subsequently appeared to address the reaction in a now-deleted video:

“Women who use their platform to bully other women time andtime over again are losers,” she said. “I can never stoop that low to their levels. I am nevergoing to laugh at another woman’s heartbreak or pain.” She added: “Especially where I am at in my place of life, Ichoose to protect my peace.”

Brianna and Lochan first sparked romance rumours towards the end of last year, before going public with their relationship. The pair were seen travelling together and sharing a string of romantic snaps, including a trip to Paris to celebrate Brianna’s birthday.

Brianna, a model from Georgia, shot to fame on the sixth season of Netflix’s Too Hot To Handle.

Lochan, meanwhile, became known to Love Island viewers during his time on the show's 10th season and had previously been involved in a bitter feud with his ex, Whitney Adebayo. The pair began their romance when Lochan entered the Casa Amor villa on day 26 and the pair finished the series as runner-ups. However, after dating for nearly two years after the show ended, the relationship ended in a messy public row. Whitney called her ex Lochan out on social media for making derogatory and colourist remarks towards her, allegations that he strongly denies.

After moving on from that relationship, Lochan began dating Brianna and the pair appeared to be going from strength to strength. But after months of loved-up posts and romantic trips, the couple now appear to have quietly gone their separate ways.

While Brianna has made it clear she is focusing on herself, fans will no doubt be watching closely to see whether either star has more to say about the split.