“It is true that Kai and Jennie have recently parted ways,” SM Entertainment confirmed on Jan. 25, just hours after SBS funE reported that the pair had decided to end their romance. The EXO and BLACKPINK singers had just gone public with their relationship at the beginning of January, but less than a month later, they’ve decided to separate to focus on their individual careers. “Kai and Jennie will do their best in their respective fields,” the initial report claims. “They have agreed to support each other.”
Rumors of a romance between Kai and Jennie began at the end of 2018. The pair were reportedly spotted out and about together more than one time throughout the end of November and beginning of December, fueling speculation that they could be an item. On Jan. 1, SM Entertainment confirmed the relationship with a brief statement. “Kai and Jennie have become fond of each other,” the agency said. Dating is generally frowned upon in the K-Pop community, as artists are expected to focus on their careers, rather than relationships.
In fact, back in Sept. 2018, two other singers, HyunA and E’Dawn, were dropped from their label less than one month after confirming they were seeing each other. “After much discussion the judgement was made that it is not possible to recover the faith with the two artists HyunA and E’Dawn, so their removal has been decided,” Cube Entertainment explained at the time. HyunA and E’Dawn were both part of the same group, Tripe H, and had denied their relationship for months before coming clean.