In a post to her fans beginning with “Dear Ones,” the best-selling author of Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert, announced that her 12 year marriage to José Nunes had come to an end. He was the Love section.
On Facebook, Gilbert shared a picture of two pelicans breaking up in the dusky sunset along with the following statement:
Because I have shared details of my private life with you all so intimately over the years, I feel the need to share with you this recent change in my personal life.
I am separating from the man whom many of you know as “Felipe” — the man whom I fell in love with at the end of the EAT PRAY LOVE journey. He has been my dear companion for over 12 years, and they have been wonderful years. Our split is very amicable. Our reasons are very personal.
At this time of transition, I hope you will respect our privacy. In my heart, I know that you will do so, because I trust that you understand how this is a story that I am living — not a story that I am telling.
I thank you for your love, and for your kindness, and for your continued blessings. Hold us in your thoughts. And I hope you will understand and forgive me if I am a bit absent from social media during this sensitive moment.
She also shared a poem by Jack Gilbert (no relation) titled Failing and Flying. While this is obviously a difficult time for Elizabeth Gilbert, it’s also disillusioning news for her many fans who were inspired to travel the world by Gilbert’s memoir, looking for true love on every continent if they could afford it.
The end of her relationship with Nunes—played with smoldering approachability by Javier Bardem in the Julia Roberts-helmed adaptation—is disappointing to say the least. But let’s remember happier times, because Love is a journey, not a destination:
