The Kid Mero of popular comedy duo Desus & Mero is sharing more insight into his decision to end his partnership with his longtime collaborator. The duo recently announced their split, which includes the end of their popular eponymous Showtime series.

“Desus and I had discussed pursuing separate interests over a year prior to the show coming to an end and that conversation solidified us in signing overall agreements that recognized our intent to operate independent of one another," Mero said in a new interview on SiriusXM’s “Basic!” podcast.

Admitting it was a difficult decision to end their successful collaboration, Mero reiterated that he and Desus intend to go their separate ways in a "supportive" way. He says the two will forge separate creative paths and work on independent projects. As for Mero, real name Joel Martinez, he says: “I started writing so [I want to] dig a lot more into that, features, series, books, I want to get into all of that.”

The duo first gained popularity in 2015 with their Bodega Boys podcast, as well as their Complex TV web series Desus vs. Mero which launched in 2014. Desus & Mero aired for two seasons on Viceland before moving to Showtime in 2019.