Jess & Norm's sad split 'WE'RE STILL BEST FRIENDS'

THE FORMER COUPLE AND BLOCKHEADS REMAIN A HAPPY FAMILY

- Melissa Field

Several years ago, Gwyneth Paltrow infamously brought the phrase ‘conscious uncoupling’ into the public vernacular when she used it to describe her surprise divorce from Chris Martin. And while the actress faced a lot of ridicule for her choice of words, they still resonated with former The Block star Jess Eva - who likes to joke that she and ex-partner Norm Hogan are “the less attractive, suburban version of that”.

“Norm and I split three years ago now,” Jess tells New Idea exclusively. “But we still love one another, we're still the best of friends and we are still family.”

Jess and Norm haven't hidden the end of their long-term engagement (they never married), but they haven't broadcast it from the rooftops either.

“There’s no drama, but we both thought it was a bit ‘up ourselves’ to publicly announce we'd separated at the time’,” Jess, 40, says.

She adds that she and Norm, 47, are ready to talk about their relationship status now, as a way of clarifying things – and putting it out there that the end of a relationship doesn’t have to be nasty.

Jess and Norm met outside a nightclub 12 years ago, when she asked him for a bite of his pizza.