Jeff Lewis Confirms He and Gage Edward Are Separated: “This Has Been a Long Time Coming"

Jeff Lewis confirmed that he and Gage Edward, his partner of a decade, have separated.

The Flipping Out designer shared the news during his Radio Andy show Jeff Lewis Live on Thursday, January 31, revealing that Gage moved out of the home they shared with their 2-year-old daughter, Monroe, on Wednesday and into a hotel. “This has been a long time coming," Jeff said during his radio show, as reported by PEOPLE. "We were in separate rooms a significant portion of last year, so it was kind of like a roommate situation."

Jeff added about Monroe, who the couple welcomed in October 2016: “I’m now a single dad ’cause the baby is with me.”

Jeff said he felt like he and Gage had been living more like "friends with benefits" than romantic partners since they would still get intimate, even though they weren't sleeping in the same room. "We would still hook up, inconsistently,” Jeff explained. “I was still encouraged, like, ‘There’s still something here… he’s still interested in me… But there was a real lack of intimacy because he wasn’t in my room. So I actually felt very lonely and sad and disappointed.”

The two ultimately decided to live in separate residences after Gage expressed that their physical relationship was "confusing," according to Jeff. “That arrangement doesn’t work for me. I already feel tortured by this — for months, and months, and months,” Jeff said, adding that he asked Gage to move out of their home. ”I said to him, ‘I want to be very clear, I’m not throwing you out. I’m not breaking up with you. I’m here. You need time and space to get perspective.’“

Jeff said that he's hopeful that this time apart will ultimately help get their relationship back on track. “I hope he gets the clarity and perspective he needs,” he shared. “There’s so much anger that he has lost sight of the good things. Every time we have one of these discussions, it’s so overwhelmingly negative. I have a very different perspective. Last year was hell, but I remember nine pretty solid years. We had some fun. So I said to him, ‘I encourage you to work through that resentment and focus on the positive things because there could be more to come.’"

But Jeff also admitted that he could have fought and worked harder for the relationship over the past several months. He also noted during his radio show that his therapist recommended that if the couple were to get back together, they should basically start their relationship over from scratch. “If this happens, I’m kind of excited about this courting process,” Jeff said.

He also attributed the problems in their relationship to communication issues and their age gap. “There’s a lot of negatives with dating Jeff Lewis, but you always know where you stand with me. I dated someone who is not a good communicator. Has never been to therapy and has held things in for 33 years. It breeds a lot of resentment,” Jeff explained. “[When we met] I was in my 30s, he was in his 20s. I feel like I went out, I had 10 years of partying and dating and sex and all that. I don’t feel like I was missing anything.”

As for what will happen with the custody of Monroe, Jeff told a caller, “I don’t even want to go there.”