Jul 26, 2011 09:20 GMT  ·  By

They were engaged and making plans to tie the knot later this year, but they will never walk down the aisle together now. Kat Von D and Jesse James have announced their separation, citing distance as the reason.

Though rumors that they were having problems in their relationship have been around for months, both stars have repeatedly denied them, saying they were stronger than ever.

In fact, less than a month ago, Jesse, who started dating Kat shortly after his much publicized divorce from Sandra Bullock, shut down reports of canceling the wedding, saying they were still together, still very much in love.

Going by their separate statements, they may still be in love, but making a long-distance relationship work has proved too much for them, so they broke up.

“I am no longer w Jesse, and out of respect for him, his family and myself, that’s all the info I’d like to share. Thanks for respecting that,” the celebrity tattoo artist writes on her Twitter page.

It is Jesse who reveals that the real reason behind the split was the distance between them. Kat did not want to leave LA and he didn’t want to move there to be with her, so that has been a problem ever since the beginning.

“I’m so sad because I really love her. The distance between us was just too much,” James tells People magazine about the cause of the split.

Jesse and Kat got engaged in January this year and were believed to be planning a summer wedding. If one is to believe tabloid reports, they’ve already canceled the wedding once by pushing the date back because they were having issues.

Interestingly enough, a few days ago, a brand new trailer for the upcoming season of Kat’s reality show was released and it also included footage of her with Jesse, which meant the series would also show her engagement and the preparations up to the wedding.

Word is that the show will also include footage of the breakup up, but that’s still to be confirmed.