(Son Yeon-jae and Choi Jong-hoon's Instagram)

Former gymnast Son Yeon-jae and Choi Jong-hoon of F.T. Island have broken up.

During a fan meeting event in Japan on Tuesday, Choi revealed the news. “I wanted to tell the fans first with my sincere heart. She felt much burden (from the relationship),” he said.

“It is natural to meet and separate in a relationship. I will become a more mature Choi Jong-hoon,” the singer added. “Thank you for trusting and supporting me. I don’t feel sad anymore and I am calm now.”

Choi’s agency FNC Entertainment later confirmed the breakup, saying, “It seems it’s been about two weeks since they broke up. They seemed to have felt burdened as their relationship went public when it had not been so long that they’d been together.”

In June, Son and Choi confirmed they had been in a relationship for three months, with Choi’s agency saying they were “carefully starting to get to know each other.”

By Kim So-yeon (syk19372@heraldcorp.com)