Bledel, Ventimiglia end off-screen relationship

Following the end of their on-screen romance, "Gilmore Girls" star Alexis Bledel and former co-star Milo Ventimiglia have split up.

If your first response to the above news was, "They were dating?," don't feel too bad. Although they were a couple for three-plus years, Bledel and Ventimiglia managed to avoid having a harsh spotlight cast on their relationship.

Their parting was apparently similarly low-key. A spokesman for Ventimiglia tells People that the actor "is currently single," but that's about it as details of the breakup go. Both are preparing to work on TV series in the fall, Bledel continuing her role as Rory on "Gilmore Girls" and Ventimiglia in the new NBC show "Heroes."

The two met when Ventimiglia joined the cast of "Gilmore Girls" early in the show's second season as Jess, the not-all-that-bad-boy nephew of Luke Danes (Scott Patterson). Jess became a love interest for Rory fairly quickly, but the two didn't start dating in real life until the end of Ventimiglia's stint as a regular on the series.

He made a couple of guest appearances on the show last season, the last of which signaled an end to the characters' relationship. Ventimiglia also starred in another WB series, "The Bedford Diaries," last season before moving on to "Heroes."

In addition to "Gilmore Girls," Bledel's credits include "Sin City" and "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants."