Why Selena Gomez and The Weeknd split up

Selena Gomez and The Weeknd attend the Met Gala. Photo / Getty

Selena Gomez and The Weeknd split up because they couldn't deal with the "distance" between them.

The couple - who had been dating for 10 months - have gone their separate ways and it has now been revealed that the distance between them "played a factor" in their decision to call the romance off.

The Weeknd kisses Selena Gomez at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo / Getty

A source said: "It's been hard for them to come to the realisation that this is the direction things were heading, but it's been hard for months. They have been open and honest about it and where they were going. Distance definitely played a factor."

However, the pair are adamant they want to stay friends.

The insider added to E! News: "They are still talking and will remain friends. They have been very grown-up about it."

Selena recently had a kidney transplant and whilst The Weeknd was "supportive and sweet" throughout, it was really a journey Selena had to have with her friends.

Singers The Weeknd and Selena Gomez attend the 2017 Harper's Bazaar Icons at The Plaza Hotel. Photo / Getty

A source told Entertainment Tonight: "They're done. It wasn't going to last. During the kidney stuff, Selena really relied on her friends as opposed to The Weeknd. He just wasn't really available to drop everything he had going on to be with her full-time. He was supportive and sweet of course, but it was really a journey with her and her friends - especially Francia [Raisa], of course ...

"They really tried to connect in New York, they were spending a lot of time together and were basically living together, but when his schedule picked up, they just started to drift again. She flew out to Vancouver and I think that was basically a last ditch effort to make it work."