Love on set doesn’t always translate to forever. Off Campus star Mika Abdalla and her fiancé Jake Short have ended their engagement, marking an unexpected turn for the couple who seemed to have found their real-life happy ending after playing love interests on screen.
The pair first connected in 2021 while filming the Hulu teen comedy Sex Appeal, where they played romantic leads. Their on-screen chemistry clearly extended beyond the cameras—they eventually got together and announced their engagement in 2025, sending fans into celebration mode. But just over a year later, the relationship has come to an end.
According to her representative, the split was handled with maturity and mutual respect. They continue to support each other and remain on friendly terms, and kindly ask for privacy and respect. It’s the kind of statement that typically signals things ended on good footing, even if the dream of a wedding isn’t happening.
The timing adds an interesting wrinkle: Abdalla is currently filming Season 2 of the hit Amazon series Off Campus, where she plays Allie opposite Stephen Kalyn’s Dean. Based on Elle Kennedy’s bestselling hockey-themed romance novels, the show certainly revolves around relationship drama—which means she’s diving into scenes about love and connection while navigating her own relationship ending in real life. It’s the kind of professional irony that comes with the territory of working in entertainment.
While neither Abdalla nor Short has publicly commented beyond their representatives’statement, the split serves as a reminder that even relationships that spark on set can fizzle once the cameras stop rolling. Sometimes the script works out better than reality does.
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.
