While we’re well on our way to the beginning of cuffing season, it looks as though some of our favorite influencers didn’t get the memo. ICYMI, Too Hot To Handle stars Kayla Richart and Seb Melrose broke up, as revealed by Richart in a Sept. 12 TikTok. And while you might be hoping that this split was a clean break, it seems to be anything but.
Melrose and Richart met on Season 4 of Too Hot To Handle. They had a bit of a rocky road on the show, but eventually grew to form a true connection, and were even named the runners-up behind Nick Kici and Jawahir Khalifa. The two remained together after the show (save for a quick break), which makes this breakup news all the more devastating for fans.
In her TikTok video, Richart stated that she never wanted to bring any of the drama surrounding her breakup online, but it was her ex (Melrose) who drove her to clear the air on social media. “My now ex-boyfriend decided to humiliate, disrespect, and cross boundaries online publicly for three days straight,” Richart said. “So he started this, and I’m going to finish it.”
Richart doesn’t dive into what exactly happened in her breakup with Melrose, but fans can assume their decision to split was a pretty messy one. “I know you guys really want me to spill the tea and drop the receipts and, trust me, a large part of me wants to do that,” she said. “But I’m not going to be sharing details because, mainly, we watched everything unfold together.”
Richart said that she tried her best to handle the unmentioned situation offline, but was “gaslit” and “called ‘insecure,'” and said that she felt as if her boundaries were crossed by the people involved in whatever sparked the breakup.
At the end of the video, Richart shared that the drama surrounding her breakup has taken a toll on her mental health. However, she wanted to set a good example for fans who looked up to her and Melrose’s relationship. “Everyone has their breaking point, and this is mine,” she concluded.
OK… if you’re anything like me, you’re probably also wondering, “WTF happened between Kayla and Seb?” And while Richart didn’t provide receipts, social media did.
Why did Seb Melrose and Kayla Richart break up?
Fans have some theories as to why Melrose and Richart broke up — and the most popular might involve Love Is Blind alum Micah Lussier. According to a Reddit post on the forum r/TooHotToHandle, fans theorize that Melrose’s recent posts with Lussier may have contributed to the couple’s breakup. Her Campus reached out to Lussier’s and Melrose’s teams for comment, but did not hear back at the time of publication. During the September 2024 New York Fashion Week (NYFW), Lussier and Melrose posted together several times across platforms — but Lussier stated in a Sept. 15 TikTok that her collaboration with Melrose was for work only. “I, at this point, was just trying to fulfill my professional obligations,” Lussier said. “I was trying to help a new friend, and I was working with my agency on what I thought my agency wanted me to do.”
Melrose also commented on the breakup in a Sept. 14 TikTok. “First of all, I wanted to address that the allegations that I’ve been cheating with Micah are 100% false,” Melrose said. “This did not happen.”
Melrose claimed that his “drama” with Richart has been going on in their relationship for quite some time, and that when he told her about his upcoming collaboration with Lussier at NYFW, Richart was initially supportive. However, as the week went on, Richart got “a bit less supportive” even though Melrose claimed to be “up-front and honest with her from the start.”
“I tried to speak with Kayla before any of this blew up, but she refused to communicate over the phone and, like I said, went straight to the internet,” Melrose claimed. “I am absolutely committed to the truth here, and I hope this clarifies a lot for all of you.”
At the time of publication, Richart has not responded to Melrose’s video — but I’ll be sure to update you if she does.