Controversial Te Waihou influencer Cleo Cohen announces emotional break up

The Aussie influncer got into trouble for her antics in New Zealand. Photo / Instagram

An Australian travel blogger who was involved in a controversy over a photo shoot in New Zealand last year has left her thousands of Instagram followers heartbroken after announcing she has split up with her long-term partner.

Cleo Codrington has more than 159,000 followers on Instagram thanks to her stunning photos around Australia and the world, often featuring her partner Mitch as they travelled in their van.

But in a post today, Codrington revealed the couple had parted ways.

"Just over a month ago now, Mitch and I decided we both needed to focus more on ourselves – to regain our independence from both one another and our relationship," she posted along with a photograph of herself at a beach.

"I won't try and go into the how's and why's … but after 6 incredible and life-changing years together as a couple, as best friends and as a team – we realised that ever since we met at uni, we hadn't spent any proper time apart from each other or had any space to work on ourselves as individuals.

"We were quite literally living on top of each other in small spaces (mainly vans) for the entirety of our amazing relationship and we never once got sick of each other!!"

Codrington continued by explaining it was important to find time to "figure out who you are, completely and utterly by yourself".

View this post on Instagram

Last nights dinner date... IN OUR NEW VAN! 🚐🛠 We honestly can’t get over how much room there is in this Sprinter 😂 and beyond excited to start building our next home from this blank dull canvas! *At 11:30pm the night before last I sent a link to Mitch of a van that looked IDEAL on Gumtree, telling him to give the ad a look over when he woke up because “I think this is the one!” 7:00am the next morning Mitch calls telling me we are checking it out later in the day! Fast forward 7 hours and we are here... celebrating the only way we know how with a bottle of red and Captain Fantastic 🙌🏽 We should have invited more people around, I mean look at all this room 😂 // Also, shoutout to my girl @amandatua_hair for keeping my hair fresh and easy to maintain 😻 you’re one in a million💕

A post shared by Cleo Codrington (@cleocohen) on Jul 11, 2019 at 3:27pm PDT

"It has been by far the best 6 years of my life – growing and learning with you @mitch.cox .. I could have never survived van life for as long as we did with any other, and I look forward to seeing where this time takes us."

Fans expressed their heartache at the couple's sad news.

"That's a shame, been following u guys enviously for some time," someone wrote.

"I think it's so beautiful for two people to love and care for each other and but still want to become the best version of themselves," another person commented.

"I've enjoyed your travels for years. Best of luck to you both."

The photos of Cleo in the Blue Springs near Putāruru. Photo / Instagram

"Proud of you both. Enjoy the growth, it will be worth it in the end," another wrote.

Codrington made headlines in 2019 with a controversial post that appeared to feature the bikini-clad traveller swimming in a sacred site in New Zealand.

While the April 1 post was not tagged, Instagram users thought it showed Te Waihou Blue Springs, which banned swimmers since 2016 due to their "negative impact" on vegetation.

A claim Mitch Cox - Codrington's then partner- denied. Cox told the Herald the photos showed Tarawera Falls, a site 120km away not covered by any rāhui or restrictions.

"We don't want to ruin the places," he said. "We want to protect them."

Kiwi social media users were sceptical and wrote in the comments discouraging other influencers from swimming at Te Waihou.

"You're always welcome in Aotearoa," someone commented. "But PLEASE learn the meaning of Kaitiakitanga and show our islands the respect they deserve."

"There is a reason (it's) this clean. (It's) sacred and a sign of disrespect to Papatūānuku to swim here," commented another.