After more than a year of dating, Paula Abdul and her restaurateur boyfriend JT Torregiani have split due to their hectic work schedules, his rep tells PEOPLE exclusively.

“It became too hard to maintain the relationship,” says Torregiani’s rep, who adds: “They remain best of friends.”

The couple began dating in 2006 and were spotted last June celebrating her 45th birthday together at Torregiani’s West Hollywood eatery, Ketchup, where he spent the entire night by her side.

Last summer, Abdul described her romantic life to Today show host Matt Lauer as “a horror movie” but noted that “things are looking good right now.”

It’s been reported that Tony Romo had hard weekend of partying in Chicago, but Jessica Simpson was nowhere to be found! As it turns out, Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo have broken up! We don’t know what caused the split between the couple, but it looks like this break up is the real deal – and less than 6 months after their first date.

In Chicago, a friend said of Tony and Jessica’s relationship:

“They’re broken up. He told us they broke up and that was that. We’re guys so we didn’t talk about it much.”

After leaving the bar, the guys hit the Manor nightclub. While there, Tony and the crew were in the VIP section and coaxed girls to hang out with them. He was surrounded by girls, including one blonde in particular he spent a lot of time talking to. A source said, “He zeroed in on one blonde all night. That blonde wasn’t Jessica Simpson.” Jessica was spotted (below) in Los Angeles over the weekend — and by her facial expressions you can tell she doesn’t look the same.

Jessica Simpson in LA Post-Breakup: