Ellie Simmonds ‘splits from boyfriend Matt Dean after two years of dating as they agree to remain friends’

Paralympian Ellie Simmonds has split from her boyfriend Matt Dean after two years of dating.

The Strictly Come Dancing star, 28, has parted ways with Matt, with the Team GB athlete keeping their romance largely out of the public eye. 

A source told The Sun newspaper: ‘Ellie and Matt have sadly split but it was amicable on both sides and there remains a lot of love there.

‘They preferred to keep their relationship out of the public eye and it was the same with the break up, but both are doing OK.’

The former couple first met when they were toddlers and started dating two years ago.

Relationship: The Strictly Come Dancing star, 28, has parted ways with Matt (pictured), with the Team GB athlete keeping their romance largely out of the public eye

Matt was spotted in the audience supporting Ellie as she competed on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ last year.

When she signed up for Strictly, she credited Matt, who like Ellie, has dwarfism, for encouraging her.

She told The Sun: ‘I was like shall I, shall I not. Then I spoke to my other half Matt, and he was like ‘go for it Ellie, take that leap of faith, you don’t know unless you try.’

‘Now I’m so happy I said yes. As soon as I did we were bouncing around the kitchen like yay! Like little buzzing bees.’

Meanwhile, Ellie – who has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia – recently made a documentary exploring her search for her birth mother after discovering she was put up for adoption.

In the ITV programme, the Paralympian was heartbroken to find out medical professionals had told her mother that Ellie could be bullied and viewed as ‘evil’ and ‘stupid’.

However, Ellie – who has won five gold medals competing at Paralympic Games held in Beijing, London and Rio – did not let this discovery stop her from embarking on a successful journey to track down the woman who brought her into the world.

According to the Daily Mirror, she said: ‘Until now, it’s never emotionally affected me.

A source said: ‘Ellie and Matt have sadly split but it was amicable on both sides and there remains a lot of love there’

They added: ‘They preferred to keep their relationship out of the public eye and it was the same with the break up, but both are doing OK’

‘It never made me feel rejected or ask why do my birth parents not want me. I’ve been so focused on the future and never thought about it.’

Ellie has often gushed about how her adoptive parents Steve and Val – who have four other kids – are some of her biggest supporters but did not know that she was not their biological daughter.

However, soon ‘questions started to bubble up’ and she went on an adventure to find her birth story.