As the Covid-19 quarantine continues to wreak devastation on relationship and marriages — a new high-profile couple has split. Popular “Today” contributor Jill Martin and her fiance Erik Brooks have called things off, Page Six has exclusively confirmed.
After dating for nearly two years, Martin and Brooks, who works in private equity, were engaged in the Hamptons in May 2019.
During the lockdown, they had spent a number of weeks together at her house in the Hamptons, but he more recently went to Boston to be with his children.
After Martin – who hosts the NBC show’s regular ‘Deals and Steals’ feature sparked buzz on social media after she was spotted without her engagement ring, she confirmed to Page Six, “This pandemic has taken a toll on so many aspects of life — it’s such a difficult time for everyone. Erik is the most magnificent person, but with him living in Boston with his children, and me living in New York, the distance just became too difficult for us to maintain the kind of relationship that’s important to us both. He is an amazing man, and I wish him nothing but the best.”
Martin, who met Brooks on a dating app, had appeared together with him on “Today” in late March to talk about the extra stress on couples during lockdown. She told viewers, “Erik and I have never spent so much concentrated time together, we’ve been here basically alone for three weeks 24/7…and like many couples we’ve had a couple of blow ups….I’d would say they were kind of major blow ups, it was kind of tough…These are unprecedented times.” She said they were working on
Page Six also revealed this week that Mary-Kate Olsen and Olivier Sarkozy were divorcing after five years of marriage. She filed divorce papers saying he had ended the lease on their Gramercy Park pad without her knowledge, forcing her to move out in the middle of a pandemic. Other prominent divorce firms report they have been deluged with inquiries from stressed-out couples.