Lee Jong Suk and IU first met when they co-hosted the weekly music program "Inkigayo" of SBS in 2012.
Throughout 10 years as friends, the couple has always followed and supported each other's artistic activities. On the 2019 Section TV program, Lee Jong Suk revealed that IU was one of his close friends.
At the end of 2022, in a speech at the MBC Drama Awards ceremony, Lee Jong Suk suddenly thanked a special person and declared: "I have liked that person a lot and for a long time now.
On December 31, 2022, Dispatch media caused a shock when announcing that the special person mentioned by Lee Jong Suk in the speech was singer and actress IU.
The media released evidence that both enjoyed Christmas vacation in Japan. The couple spent about 4 months developing from friends into lovers.
Immediately after that, Lee Jong Suk and IU's management company also spoke out to confirm that the two were dating.
In a letter to fans, Lee Jong Suk said about his girlfriend: "She shares my worries in life, I can rely on her as a friend. She is sometimes like my older sister even though she is younger. She is a wonderful, mature person but also makes me want to protect her".
In response, IU praised her boyfriend: "He is the one who always supports me and tells me that I am the best. He is also very lovely and is someone I can trust, he always sends me sincere words of encouragement".
During nearly 4 years of dating, the couple has been quite secretive. Except for the first public relationship post, the two have not shared any other sweet moments on social networks, and paparazzi have not caught the two artists dating privately.
The two are said to still secretly support each other. Lee Jong Suk once went to see some of IU's concerts in 2024, the actress also comfortably talked about her boyfriend when asked in an interview.
In a program in April, IU suddenly shared her views on love, she said: "Real love will not need to be talked about or expressed too much. Love is something simple that exists deep in the heart".
This view makes many people believe that IU and Lee Jong Suk do not want to show off their feelings like many other famous couples.
However, because the two artists do not have public interaction like normal dating couples, they have been involved in breakup rumors many times.
On July 10, representatives of Lee Jong Suk and IU confirmed to the media that the two artists had broken up not long ago.
The reason for the breakup is said to be due to the schedule of both being too busy, the time to meet is getting less and less, making it difficult for them to maintain the relationship.
The exact time of the breakup has not been announced, but many viewers expressed regret for this beautiful love affair.
Many people look back at the love journey of the two and realize that their schedule has indeed been too busy in the past 2 years.
Throughout 2024, IU is busy releasing the album "The Winning" and taking the biggest tour in her career. In addition, in the past 2 years, she has continuously participated in major film projects such as "When Life gives you a tangerine" and "Perfect crown", then continued her dense promotion schedule.
On Lee Jong Suk's side, in 2025, he filmed the main role for 2 works "Law and the City" and "The remarried empress". In addition, the actor also organized a fan-meeting tour "With: Just like this" in the last months of 2025, the schedule is almost empty.
