Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik‘s ex-girlfriend Tess McCracken denied that a “difference of political beliefs” led to their shocking split after 10 years of dating.
McCracken, 28, shared a TikTok video on Saturday, April 4, that confirmed the couple’s decision to part ways. In the comments section, some social media users speculated that varying political views caused them to call it quits.
“I can assure you it was not,” McCracken replied. “We are both very blue.”
In the emotional video, McCracken addressed the decision to end the relationship.
“There’s not really a good way to make this video, so I’m just gonna say it, I guess. Stephen and I are no longer together,” McCracken explained. “We haven’t been since the beginning of January.”
McCracken and Nedoroscik, 27, started dating in 2016 during their freshman year at Penn State. While reflecting on their split, McCracken denied that there was a major reason that led to the shocking separation.
“It’s been long enough and people have figured it out,” she said. “[My] social media has been cleaned out. I can’t post anything without getting a few comments, and I know there have been multiple Reddit threads. I feel like it’s just easier to have it out in the open and not really have to hide it anymore.”
She continued: “I wasn’t really trying to hide it in the first place, but it’s weird to have to announce your breakup. There wasn’t any drama, there wasn’t some big, blowup fight where one of us stormed out, there wasn’t any cheating [and] neither of us came out as gay.”
In the video, McCracken denied rumors she gave Nedoroscik “an ultimatum” about getting engaged. (Nedoroscik, for his part, has yet to address the split news.)
“Absolutely none of that. There was no drama,” she explained. “It was really just time, and that sucks a lot. There’s really no other way to put it. We were together for almost 10 years. We met and got together when we were 17 and 18, and we’re now 27 and 28. As it turns out, there are things that didn’t matter at 18 that matter when you’re in your later 20s.”
McCracken acknowledged that the pair are now better off as friends, adding, “Our [apartment] lease was up anyways in the middle of January, and so, it was just the time to make that call.”
Despite the breakup, McCracken wished Nedoroscik “all the best.”
“All this to say, [my cat] and I are doing well. It’s been a few months now in a new apartment,” she shared. “I’m really just getting back into things that I want to do when just rediscovering what those things are, exploring the city a bit more [and] really just trying to come to terms with who I am and what I enjoy doing when there’s not someone else to consider.”
She concluded: “There’s no bad blood. I want to see him succeed in everything, but the way that support is coming has to be different now.”
