News of Bachelor Jake Pavelka and ex-fiance Vienna Girardi’s breakup went public earlier this week with both parties claiming the split happened over the weekend, but RadarOnline.com has learned that they have been secretly broken up for the past month.

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A source told RadarOnline.com that Jake made Vienna promise to keep the news quiet.

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“Jake told Vienna ‘you can’t tell anyone we’re broken up,’” the source revealed.

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Despite secretly parting ways, the couple continued to publicly maintain their relationship, even taking a romantic-seeming trip to Hawaii in early June. A main reason for the ruse was to ensure Jake’s business plans stayed on track.

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“He held onto the relationship until a TV deal was signed,” the sourced added. “He did it for his acting career.”

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In fact, about a week before the split hit the press, Lifetime Network announced that Jake would guest star on Drop Dead Diva. Interesting timing!