Roberto Martinez

After meeting fiance Roberto Martinez on The Bachelorette, then experiencing an epic courtship, Ali Fedotowsky said she was ready to marry him, and quickly.

Fast forward a year and a half, and it's over.

The pair had a nice run by Bachelorette standards (18 months qualifies as a long-term relationship by any measure), but she broke up with Roberto last week.

Now, in People's new cover story, Ali explains why.

"I wouldn't be being truthful if I said this came out of nowhere," a tearful Fedotowsky said, reflecting on the rocky times she and Roberto endured of late.

"We definitely were having problems. But I always believed we could work it out."

Despite putting the brakes on their fast-tracked wedding plans last year, and then twice more postponing plans to walk down the aisle with Roberto, Ali says they did make a concerted effort to stay together and to weather the tough times.

In spite of that, their arguments continued, and worsened at that.

"We both realized we were unhappy more than we were happy," says Ali, in a candid take of a romance born on a show so often phony. "And we both deserved more"

[Photo: WENN.com]

After a year and a half of dating and three postponed wedding dates, Ali Fedotowsky and Roberto Martinez broke up this month, a rep for the reality star said.

The 27-year-old former Facebook employee and accepted insurance agent Martinez's proposal on the finale of The Bachelorette's sixth season in 2010.

She and Martinez, 28, moved in together in his hometown of San Diego, and things appeared to be going well. That is, of course, until they weren't.

In the wake of of the split, however, Ali has already moved out of the home they shared, because "she's actually really upset right now," a pal says.

"She's devastated, and she's just going to be laying low for a while." Adds another source of the couple: "They haven't been well for a long time."

"Their relationship has been tumultuous since day one," another insider said, despite the outwardly happy appearance the couple was known for.

"They're either extremely happy or they can't stand each other."

Our hopes are now with you, Ashley Hebert and JP Rosenbaum.

Sad news from The Bachelorette world today, as 2010's engaged pair ... no longer is.

"Ali Fedotowsky and Roberto Martinez have ended their relationship," their rep said. "As they go through this difficult time, we ask that you respect the couple's privacy."

The duo's romance unfolded in 2010 on the sixth season of the reality show, when she sent home Chris Lambton and accepted Roberto's proposal on the season finale.

In October, Ali Fedotowsky downplayed rumors that their relationship was on the rocks, saying there were other reasons for putting their wedding plans on hold.

"We didn't meet in the most traditional way. We had a very short courtship and we only knew each other nine weeks before we got engaged," Fedotowsky said.

"We are still figuring out our lives as individuals."

The 27-year-old maintained she had still planned to tie the knot with her former fiancé. "We're still engaged, we're still living together," she said at the time.

No more. Are you surprised their relationship unraveled? In the grand scheme, dating for a year and a half is pretty successful by Bachelor standards ...

Ali Fedotowsky of The Bachelorette fame is still together with her season's winner, Roberto Martinez, but says they are not planning a wedding as of right now.

The 27-year-old is aware of fact that it's been more than a year since viewers witnessed their engagement, but says they are quite content taking it slow.

"We're still engaged and living together," Ali said, deflecting rumors that they're on the rocks. "We just don't feel the need to walk down the aisle right now."

Ali Fedotowsky says the pair is doing just fine, but that pressure to set a date following their televised courtship and engagement overwhelmed them.

Another complication: difficulty in scheduling a TV wedding.

"When we actually did have a date that worked for us [last August], I had to have knee surgery ... No wedding is simple but this is even more complicated."

"We didn't meet in the most traditional way," she adds. "We had a very short courtship and we only knew each other nine weeks before we got engaged."

"We are still figuring out our lives as individuals."

Ali Fedotowsky and Roberto Martinez got engaged on The Bachelorette season finale in the summer of 2010, with the actual proposal taking place months earlier.

They've been together the whole time since, living in San Diego and going about their lives. But with no wedding on the horizon, is there trouble afoot?

According to Us Weekly, more than you even KNOW.

While Ali Fedotowsky has blamed the postponements on scheduling conflicts and a bad kickboxing injury, "pals" say their issues run way deeper than that.

"Their relationship has been tumultuous since day one," a mutual friend says of the pair, whose nuptials were supposed to be an ABC Bachelorette special.

Due to both of them working long hours and other stresses taking their toll on the couple, "They're either extremely happy or can't stand each other."

"They bring out the worst in each other," the source adds, noting that after one spat, "Ali was in tears ... she's miserable in the relationship and he is too."

For what it's worth, Ali seemed very happy in her interview with THG this summer, and this is the first we've heard of any strife between them. Time will tell.

[Photo: Pacific Coast News]

Ali Fedotowsky and Roberto Martinez are still planning on walking down the aisle. Walking being the operative term - it's out of the question right now.

Since her knee surgery in July, she has not been able to work out, she told THG in an exclusive interview last week. Once she heals, she'll reassess!

"I don't want to limp down the aisle!" she told Us Weekly.

Another reasons for postponing her nuptials? She doesn't want to overshadow [recent Bachelorette couple] Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum.

"She really wants her wedding next summer," says a source.

Not that there's a rush. As Ali Fedotowsky said last week, "I want to be married, but when the time is right. In my mind, we are already married."

ABC will reportedly film the affair when it happens.

Ali and Roberto: Will they make it?

Ali Fedotowsky and Roberto Martinez are serious about getting married.

So much so, the engaged Bachelorette couple almost did it quickie-style in Vegas! They decided against it, but only because they want a real wedding.

After the twosome watched Jason and Molly Mesnick renew their vows, "I was like, 'Maybe we should just go with them and get married," Ali revealed.

Will Ali and Roberto make it to the altar?

But "that probably would have upset a lot of people" so the pair, who plan to spend Christmas in Tampa with his family, are focusing on plans for a 2011 affair.

Said Ali Fedotowsky, "I've been looking at wedding things and I'm always like, 'That looks tacky. Maybe it's just the ones I've seen are really matchy, matchy."

"I want to make it a little different. Very light and air, I guess, is my theme."

Ali Fedotowsky and Roberto Martinez are enjoying their engagement, planning their wedding and just living life together since The Bachelorette season ended.

Their life is going to be a family-friendly one, too.

Not only has the San Diego-based cutie turned down the offer to get nude for Playboy, she's even turned down offers of free gifts from the men's magazine.

When Ali and Roberto stopped by the Playboy Jeans table at the gifting suite at a recent event, they eschewed any offerings made available by Hugh's rag.

Probably for the best. Aside from that alleged old topless pic her ex is supposedly trying to sell, only Roberto Martinez will be seeing Fedotowsky full-frontal.

Roberto recently revealed to Radar that their relationship is still going strong. “I’m not letting her go,” he said of his bride-to-be. Who can blame him, right?

Will Ali Fedotowsky and Roberto Martinez last?

Whether Ali Fedotowsky and Roberto Martinez actually get married is anyone's guess, if only given the track record of The Bachelor and Bachelorette.

The numbers don't lie, and the numbers are 2-for-20.

Still, assuming their spring wedding takes place as scheduled, the engaged twosome plans to keep it basic, from the ceremony to the music played.

“I want it to be simple: one person, one instrument and that’s it,” Ali Fedotowsky says. “I think absolutely a violinist for that. My favorite music is like Jack Johnson, Schuyler Fisk … people who sit down with a guitar and sing."

"That’s what I want at our wedding - that rawness.”

“Our wedding will be a lot of dancing and celebrating,” she continues. “A live band, and absolutely salsa dancing. Every kind of dancing! I’m actually envisioning Roberto and I making up a dance — a funny, quirky dance that people laugh at.”

Hopefully it won't involve any of this stuff. Wowza.

When asked if they’ve chosen a first-dance song yet, Fedotowsky hints that “Bendita tu luz,” a song Martinez introduced to her, may be the one.

“It’s beautiful,” the future bride says. “It was our first weekend together in our hideaway house and he put it on, and we laid in bed and we were holding each other, and he said, ‘This song makes me think of you.’ It’s our own organic song.”

However, if it were up to Roberto Martinez, they might choose a different melody ... “Roberto loves the Lion King song,” she shares. “It’s so cute.”

Will Ali Fedotowsky and Roberto Martinez last?

They just got engaged on The Bachelorette finale, bringing in big ratings for ABC. So ... will Ali Fedotowsky and Roberto Martinez tie the knot on TV next?

On Live with Regis and Kelly today, they say they haven't ruled it out. "We've talked about it a little bit," Ali said of a TV special. "Definitely a possibility."

"[But] not because we want to be on TV again."

So for the money then. Hey, it's honest! Ali said a TV wedding could "be practical for our marriage, our life, our relationship. Weddings are expensive and [Roberto] has a huge family. When I met his mom, she said 700 people will be at it!"

Kelly Ripa concurred: "Let ABC pay for it!"

Should Alberto marry on a Bachelorette special?

"We figure we are in love," Ali Fedotowsky said, further explaining her reasoning. "We can invest that [wedding fund] money and invest our whole lives."

Jason Mesnick and Molly Malaney were the most recent (and only the second ever) couple from the franchise to get hitched on TV, marrying in March.

As for Bachelorette runner-up Chris Lambton, who she sent packing before their final date," Ali said, "I'm sort of glad I went through the motions, but at the end with Chris, I had to let him go ... I just had to be with Roberto ... I think he'll be okay."

Roberto Martinez isn't sure: "I don't think so. He took it really bad."

TV wedding or not, will Ali and Roberto last?