117 days later, Criss Angel and Holly Madison call it quits

By Melissa Arseniuk

Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009 | 10:23 p.m.

It’s official: The magic between Criss Angel and Holly Madison has fizzled out.

“Criss and Holly are no longer a couple,” the spokesman for both sides of the former couple, Steve Flynn, said in a statement.

“They remain very close friends and wish eachother (sic) the very best,” he concluded.

Flynn’s remarks were released via e-mail Wednesday evening.

The couple ended their courtship less than four months after it officially began.

The pair went public with their romance at the Oct. 31 premiere of Angel’s Cirque du Soleil show, “Believe.”

The public coupling came after weeks of insisting that they were “just friends” – and on the heels of Madison’s break-up with Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner, as well.

Days later, on Nov. 7, Madison told reporters that she was “in love” with the magician.

Wednesday, however, it was a done deal. After 117 days, the couple called it quits.

While the pairing lasted less than four months, it was longer than most of Angel’s previous liaisons, both official (former Miss Nevada Veronica Grabowski) and unofficial (Britney Spears and Cameron Diaz, among many others) since he and wife JoAnn filed for divorce in 2007.

Madison and the magician’s whirlwind romance appears to have stopped as suddenly as it started.

Though their romance was short-lived, the two managed to make the most of their time together: They shared a Disneyland getaway (a first for the then-40-year-old Angel); celebrated their 41st and 29th birthdays at a joint birthday bash at LAX; toasted the new year with their parents; enjoyed a mid-January vacation to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; and canoodeled at night clubs across Las Vegas on a regular basis.

They were last publicly photographed together at Studio 54 during the early morning hours of Feb. 15.

Madison had been commuting between Los Angeles and Las Vegas while she was dating Angel, balancing her relationship with Angel with her commitments with Playboy (she was an actual employee of her ex-boyfriend’s company and had an actual job with the pin-up magazine until earlier this month).

Many anticipated the Alaska native to move to Las Vegas permanently in the coming months – and not just because of the bad-boy magician.

There was talk that the former Playboy model was being offered roles in as many as three different Vegas-based shows. However, those negotiations, like her relationship with Angel, appear to have also fizzled out.

In addition to Angel’s standing date to red carpet events and photo ops, Madison soon assumed the role of No. 1 fan. She quickly became a regular audience installation at much-beleaguered “Believe.” The blonde bombshell faithfully sang the show’s praises and repeatedly insisted that the show is “amazing.”

Most critics, however, have disagreed.

During the tumultuous time following the show’s premiere, when “Believe” was being dragged through the critical mud, Madison was a source of calm and support for the besieged Angel.

Outside of performances and rehearsals, the two were virtually inseparable. They often walked hand-in-hand and sat side-by-side with their arms around one another. Their embraces were often soft and appeared both genuine and in abundance.

In addition, the pair were often heard espousing what was then said to be a “true” and “real” undying love for each other.

“She’s the one,” Angel once said.

Apparently the “Mindfreak” magician was wrong: Madison has packed her bags and left the Luxor for the last time.