Deion Sanders And Tracey Edmonds End Their Engagement: ‘It Is Best For Us To Move Forward In Life As Friends’

Former NFL player Deion Sanders and TV producer Tracey Edmonds have decided not to take their relationship to the next level more than four years after they announced their engagement. The couple shared that they’d be parting ways over the weekend. 

“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, both 56, 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!” Edmonds ended the message with praying hands and a red heart emoji.

Sanders responded to the announcement in the comment section of the post.

“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!!!” the coach wrote. 

The sports and entertainment gurus were in a relationship for quite some time, with their romance dating as far back as 2012. They met at a movie premiere party and the two-time Super Bowl champion reached out a few months later to engage Edmonds in business. She ended up producing his reality show, Deion’s Family Playbook and that’s when their connection deepened. By 2019, the couple were engaged. 

According to Edmonds, their connection was an unexpected one. She told PEOPLE, “I would’ve never imagined in a million years that our paths would cross and that we’d end up in a relationship together.” 

“I started off thinking I was just going to produce [Deion’s Family Playbook],” Edmonds said at the time. “But as I started working with Deion on the show, we grew quite fond of each other and ended up dating.”

The former power couple had a long distance relationship but tried their best to stay connected to one another. Edmonds runs her own production company called Edmonds Entertainment Group and Sanders is currently the coach of the Buffaloes at the University of Colorado. 

During a joint interview with PEOPLE, the coach touched on how they manage to keep things going when their relationship is long distance, saying he loves “what both of us contribute to society and to this world,” while they’re apart.

“It’s not just a separation because you want to be separated, it’s a separation because you are active and you are really influencing lives,” he added.

Edmonds was previously married to Babyface, with whom she shares two children, Brandon and Dylan. Sanders has been married twice before to Carolyn Chambers and Pilar Biggers-Sanders. He has five children in total from both marriages.