Jonathan Scott and his identical twin brother, Drew Scott, have been melting hearts since
their HGTV series Property Brothers premiered in 2011.
But adoring fans who favored Jonathan, the perpetually single bachelor, were ultimately
crushed when he took his relationship with Jacinta Kuznetsov public.
To fans, their relationship appeared to be flourishing, and after Drew proposed to his
long-time girlfriend, viewers assumed it was only a matter of time before Jonathan followed
suit and put some bling on Kuznetsov's ring finger.
But on April 6, 2018, he dropped a bombshell when he announced via an Instagram post that
their relationship was over.
So where did things go wrong?
A bumpy start
After meeting at a 2015 charity event and losing touch, the famous contractor was able
to relocate Kuznetsov through social media and proceeded to stalk her Instagram profile
for a few months before officially asking her out on a date.
"And he said something along the lines of, 'Oh, is this where they stick the troublemakers?"
"I just sort of shrugged him off said, 'Yeah, I guess.'"
Jonathan told People magazine,
"I felt this overwhelming urge to learn everything about Jacinta, but I didn't want to delve
too deep on a first date and come across as pushy.
So I asked about her career and fished for any similarities."
But there were no fireworks during that first outing.
Jonathan's tactic to bum rush Kuznetsov and dig for information caused her to blurt out,
"Ugh!
You ask the worst questions.
Ask something interesting."
Ouch.
Jonathan cut the night short and apologized.
He suggested they have a first date do-over the following night, and surprisingly, Kuznetsov
took him up on his offer.
"I promised to drop the drama and she pledged to set aside the sass.
It turned out to be the beginning of something truly special."
Opposite directions
The home improvement guru blindsided his Instagram followers when he shared the news of his relationship's
demise.
The post included a photo of the then-couple on their trip to Kenya, and the caption read,
in part:
"When I met Jacinta in the fall of 2015, I met somebody kind and courageous and a champion
for human/animal rights.
We grew to respect each other fiercely and know that will remain unchanged for the rest
of our lives."
So what the heck went wrong?
Well, within that same Instagram caption, Jonathan also wrote,
"Sometimes life takes you on unexpected paths and those paths aren't always in the same
direction."
He ended his caption by ensuring his fans that there wasn't any, quote, "drama or negativity;
no jealousy or hate.
Not even sadness or sorrow," surrounding their separation.
And it looked like Kuznetsov agreed with him, because she replied to his announcement via
her Twitter account with praying hands and hearts emojis.
Full house
After things went belly up, twin brother Drew told Us Weekly:
"The main thing for [Jonathan] and Jacinta, they knew that they weren't right together.
They're good people, but they're not right together."
And Drew would know.
The brothers purchased a home together in Las Vegas, and after Drew met his fiancée,
Linda Phan, she moved into the home with the twins.
When Jonathan began dating Kuznetsov, she moved into the home, as well.
Yes, two couples under one roof.
"We're Scottish."
"Yeah, we're Scottish, so it's all about the medieval weapons ..."
That didn't last long.
Drew and Phan eventually bought a house in Los Angeles, leaving Scott and Kuznetsov in
the Las Vegas home all alone before they decided to relocate to Toronto.
Now that Scott's relationship has crashed and burned, it makes us wonder if being in
a separate country away from his twin caused additional stress that ultimately strained
his love life.
Work stress
Kuznetsov left her job as the producer of a Canadian music radio talk show, according
to AOL, to work at the twins' production company, Scott Brothers Entertainment.
She assumed the title of development producer and worked alongside Linda, the company's
creative director.
Did working and living together cause a rift in this romance?
It's worked for Drew and Linda so far, but maybe the dynamic just wasn't right for Jonathan
and Jacinta.
Still healing?
Even though he's been portrayed on TV as a lifelong bachelor, Jonathan Scott is actually
a divorcé.
He met his ex-wife, a waitress and model named Kelsey, in 2007, and the young lovers got
hitched right away.
Things went downhill after they moved from Canada to Las Vegas in 2008, and the couple
reportedly grew apart.
Jonathan wrote in his memoir, It Takes Two: Our Story:
"The pain ended up outlasting the marriage.
The split isn't something I dwell on anymore, but for one too-long, too-dark period of my
life, that's practically all I did.
It shook me right to the core."
Even though the traumatic experience is in his rear view mirror, we wouldn't be surprised
if his divorce made him hesitate to take his relationship with Kuznetsov to the next level.
Cold feet
Jonathan told People magazine in August 2017,
"We definitely want to get married and have kids, but we're just finding joy in our relationship
and still learning about each other as well."
But he changed his tune just three months later while speaking with USA Today.
When talking about his brother's May 2018 nuptials, Jonathan was asked if he had also
fallen victim to the wedding bug.
He replied,
"Nope.
Jacinta and I have only been dating for a year and a half."
So he went from "definitely" wanting to get married to saying it was too soon for them
to say "I do" just a few months later.
Sounds like someone was suffering from a severe case of cold feet.
Better off friends
Jacinta shared her thoughts on why their relationship imploded via a caption posted to her Instagram
account:
"Life is funny and sometimes chapters change and this one has.
We have deep love and respect for one another but have gone separate ways."
Kuznetsov's caption also implied that they were better off keeping their relationship
platonic.
"We will continue to be [a part] of each others lives as friends, and never stop planning
what greatness we can create in this world."
Drew confirmed to Us Weekly that his brother and Kuznetsov are indeed "still friends" following
their split.
From lovers to friends is a transition that not many people can navigate successfully,
but whatever the reasons for their breakup, we certainly wish these two the best.
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