From a Public Love Confession to a Quiet Split: IU and Lee Jong-suk End Four-Year Romance

Singer IU and actor Lee Jong-suk have ended their four-year relationship. Both sides confirmed the breakup on July 10.

The two first crossed paths in 2012 as co-hosts of the SBS music program "Inkigayo." They spent nearly a decade as colleagues and friends before becoming a couple, and confirmed their relationship on December 31, 2022. At the time, their representatives said the two had started dating about four months earlier.

The news drew even more attention because of what happened just before the couple went public. Days earlier, Lee took home the top prize at the MBC Drama Awards. In his acceptance speech, he thanked someone in the audience without naming them, saying he wanted to tell that person he had liked and respected them for a long time. Fans wondered who he was talking about. The next day, when the two confirmed they were dating, it became clear the message had been for IU.

After going public, IU and Lee kept their relationship out of the spotlight. They rarely mentioned each other in interviews or at official events, and focused on their own projects. Breakup rumors surfaced several times over the years, but both sides denied them and stayed together. In public appearances, the two kept the focus on their work rather than their romance.

Four years after that public confession, IU and Lee have chosen to go their separate ways. A relationship that began with a televised message has ended quietly.