He was heartbroken, but he kept quiet about it because he didn't want it to become a public affair.

But the longer he kept silent, the more the speculation grew - to the point where he was hounded repeatedly to give his side of the story.

Bobby Tonelli has now decided to break his silence on his break-up with Joanne Peh to gain closure and move on.

The 37-year-old DJ-actor released a statement on his Facebook page on Tuesday.

He hopes his statement would be sufficient to explain everything as he just wants to move forward.

All Tonelli would say when contacted Monday was: "I've never meant to hurt anyone. I haven't done it before and I'm not going to do it now. I'll be happy if Joanne finds happiness."

But his good friend, local actor Andie Chen, shed light on the ordeal that Tonelli had been going through since the break-up.

Tonelli never cheated on Peh. In fact, he was heartbroken when she chose to call off their four-year-relationship in January, Chen, 27, told The New Paper.

'Very much in love'

"Bobby is the most stand-up person I know. He's also the one whom I go to for relationship advice. He was the one who taught me to treat my girlfriends with respect," he said.

"I know that he was very much in love with Joanne and he still is. When they first broke up, he called me and I was shocked to hear him crying.

"I can tell you that he's such a good and loving person that even though he's suffering now, he just wants Joanne to be happy."

He added that there was no third party in their relationship as he has "been there from the start".

He recounted how he had thought Tonelli and Peh were a great match when they got together after co-starring in Channel 8 blockbuster drama The Little Nyonya in 2008.

Chen, who is back in Singapore on a visit from Taiwan where he is based, said they clicked and, as a friend of Peh, he saw her blossom into "a kind person with a good heart".

He felt that Tonelli made her want to be a better person, apart from introducing her to the world of Western literature and movies. So where did it all go wrong?

Chen said when he returned to Singapore a few months ago, he met up with Tonelli.

"I was shocked, I have never seen Bobby this emotional and we talked for hours.

"He turned to me and said that at 37, he was a failure because he still wasn't married with kids," Chen said.

"He said that the reason for the break-up was communication breakdown. It's heartbreaking seeing him go through something as tough as this. My wish is for him to get through this in one piece."

Read the full story here.

Other public break-ups

Joanne Peh and Bobby Tonelli join other local celebrity couples who suffered through a public break-up.

Click on the thumbnails for more.