NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 14: Television personalities Josh Murray (L) and Andi Dorfman attend front row at The Mark Zunino For Kleinfeld 2015 Runway Show at Kleinfeld on October 14, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Kleinfeld Bridal) NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 14: Television personalities Josh Murray (L) and Andi Dorfman attend front row at The Mark Zunino For Kleinfeld 2015 Runway Show at Kleinfeld on October 14, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Kleinfeld Bridal)

Credit: Rodney Ho

icon to expand image

Credit: Rodney Ho

By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, filed Thursday, January 8, 2015

Now that a new "Bachelor" season has begun, it's time for the previous "Bachelorette" couple to do what comes naturally: break up.

Atlanta couple Andi Dorfman and Josh Murray, today sent out this anodyne statement:

"After several months of being engaged and working on our relationship, we have decided that it's best for both of us to go our separate ways. We are very sad that it has come to this point, but this is what's best for both of us individually.  We will continue to be good friends and have nothing but great things to say about each other and wish each other the best."

As we all know, the track record of couples on these shows are pretty poor. A couple of marriages have resulted (Trista and Ryan are still together!) but most end in separation well before bouquets are thrown and cakes eaten.

Andi and Josh did seem to have genuine chemistry on the ABC show this past summer. And they showed up to all sorts of public events together in Atlanta and elsewhere over the past five months. But we the public have no idea what life was like for them behind the scenes. As anyone who has been in a long-term relationship knows, immediate chemistry alone does not necessarily suffice for long-term compatibility.

Who knows if they'll ever reveal what really happened. And maybe they'll get back together.

They showed up a few days ago for a "Bachelor" red carpet event and, as TMZ noted, cheerfully fended off questions about a wedding from host Chris Harrison.

Back in July when interviewed, Andi imagined her wedding with Josh would be "fun and lighthearted with plenty of good food. Josh loves to eat!"

During the competition, she said she knew Josh was the one "when we shared our first kiss, I knew we had something special in the future. When we had our hometown dates, that’s when I truly fell in love.”