Chaz Bono, the GLBT activist and recent Dancing With The Stars contestant, is officially a single man after calling off his engagement to JENNIFER ELIAS, according to their representative Howard Bragman.
Bono, the son of singer Cher who underwent a gender reassignment in June 2009, proposed to Elias on top of the Space Needle in Seattle earlier this year in a moment captured on camera for his reality show Being Chaz. They had reportedly been engaged for two years, but Bono had wanted to finally present his wife-to-be with a diamond ring. Announcing the split to US Weekly magazine, Bragman said, "They leave this relationship with great love, respect and affection towards one another", while Bono tweeted on Monday afternoon (December 19, 2011) "Thanks for your concern about our separation. I'm doing fine, and we remain on good terms with nothing but respect and affection for each other". The couple first embarked on a relationship when Chaz was still a woman - then going by the name of Chastity Bono. Rumors of unrest began to surface earlier this year, when Elias admitted to talk show host Oprah Winfrey that it was "really hard" seeing Chaz made the transition from male to female, adding "We had to really almost re-learn how to communicate and how to be around each other".
The exact reason for the split is yet to be revealed, though the couple's representative has appealed for privacy.