According to PEOPLE Deion Sanders and Tracey Edmonds have ended their engagement, the couple announced on Instagram Sunday night.
“To EVERYONE who has been there for us, supported us, and shown us love…We have mutually decided that it is best for us to move forward in life AS FRIENDS and have made this decision with love in our hearts, respect for each other, and appreciation for the time we’ve shared together,” Edmonds and Sanders wrote in a joint statement on her Instagram page.
“Please keep us in your prayers as we go through this transition. Thank you for being there for us ALL THESE YEARS! We love you and appreciate you SO MUCH!” she concluded, adding praying hands and a red heart emoji.
Sanders responded in the comments section, adding:
“Love u Tracey and You’ve been a true blessing to me. I appreciate the times we’ve shared and they laughs we’ve had. You are an amazing woman and a tremendous mother. God bless u with every endeavor and every step u take. You are HER. Tracey-Mack !!!”
Sanders and Edmonds, both 56, met at a movie premiere party in 2012 for a film Edmonds had produced.
They only chatted briefly during their initial meeting, but Sanders was so taken with the producer that he asked a friend to get her business card that night.
A few months later, the football coach reached out to Edmonds to set up a meeting where they discussed his vision for a reality series.
“I started off thinking I was just going to produce [Deion’s Family Playbook],” Edmonds explained, “But as I started working with Deion on the show, we grew quite fond of each other and ended up dating.”
The couple navigated being long-distance throughout their relationship. During a joint interview with PEOPLE, Sanders, who has been married twice before, reasoned that he and Edmonds are “at the age and stage where I don’t think neither of us needs a lot.”
The retired athlete shared that he and Edmonds don’t regularly call or text throughout the day in order to give each other the space to build their respective careers.
“Tracey is a go-getter; she is that. I get up early, and she knows I’m up working out and I’m ready to go get it,” Sanders added. “It’s a blessing, but we understand each other because we’re busy in our own right.”
We wish them the best.
