In October, 2009, Ryan Conklin and Baya Voce ended their relationship, according to a video that Ryan put on YouTube at that time (and subsequently took down). The following is based on putting together info from several sources.
After Ryan Conklin broke up with his previous girlfriend, Michelle (Belle) Bert, Ryan and Baya Voce got closer, spending time together before Ryan went back to active duty in the Army. Baya was apparently important to Ryan in helping out during the difficult period of adjustment when he was going back into uniform. About Baya, Ryan said that he loved her and thought she was a beautiful person.
The two continued to have some kind of relationship after Ryan deployed to Iraq, being in close communication with each other. Then, as absence makes the heart grow fonder, Ryan looked forward to when he would be able to return briefly to the U.S for his R&R "vacation" and spend some time with her.
His two week leave was in September, 2009. Ryan left Iraq and flew to New York City, where Baya was living at the time. After arriving in the city, Ryan went straight to Baya's apartment. He actually hadn't told her he was coming because he wanted it to be a surprise. When she saw him she was indeed surprised, and overjoyed. It was the start of a very happy two weeks for both of them. Ryan said they were never more than 10 feet, or at least 10 minutes, apart from one another.
It was during this time in the middle of September that they made it official to each other: they were a couple.
However, the warmth and happiness of September gave way to the cooling temperatures of October. After Ryan returned to Iraq, their relationship continued for only about a month. In the latter part of October, Ryan got the news that any serviceman dreads to hear while away from home. According to Ryan, Baya dumped him.
Ryan explained that there were no specific instances of anything that caused the break-up. He said that from her point of view the timing wasn't right for their relationship. He said he understood that they were on different paths in life, which only seemed to cross occasionally.
The turn of events was very unhappy for Ryan. He called it a "kick in the face" and said, "being dumped by someone you love is not the best thing in the world." However, trying to be positive, he felt that when he left the Army and returned to the U.S. for good he would meet other women and be happy once again.
So, Ryan and Baya not dating.
In the show Return to Duty, Baya spoke of her uncertainty as to whether Ryan was in love with her for who she is, or for her just being someone who he could hang on to while he was away. If a girl has to wonder that, the answer is generally the latter. She also said she felt like she had walked into a duty, which she tried to make the best of.
Given that Baya always appeared to be a very good person, it can be conjectured that perhaps it would have to have been a severe situation for someone like that to end that duty and break up with a deployed soldier who had such little time left before returning home. There were several times during RWB that Ryan blew up at Baya, shouting at her, maybe even bullying her, and perhaps Baya eventually couldn't take someone with that kind of boiling-over temper. Ryan had admitted to Scott once that he had a short fuse over small things. In Return to Duty there was a scene where it could be seen that Baya was unhappy as Ryan was crabby at her just because she said she felt bad talking about food with him. She didn't appear phased when he ordered her not to buy a dog until he returned home, but that kind of telling what to do could be another source of contention. Just a thought.
