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Aretha Franklin will not be walking down the aisle anytime soon. Just three weeks after announcing that she has gotten engaged to longtime friend William "Willie" Wilkerson, the "Respect" hitmaker revealed on Monday, January 23 that she and her fiance have decided to call off their wedding.

In a joint statement that was signed "Aretha and Will", the Queen of Soul said, "There will be no wedding at this time." On the reason why, she simply explained, "Will and I have decided we were moving a little too fast, and there were a number of things that had not been thought through thoroughly."

The 18-time Grammy winner, however, refused to divulge deeper into the details. In the statement, she stressed, "We will not comment on it any further because of the very personal and sensitive nature of it. We appreciate all of the many well wishes from friends."

Franklin made public her engagement to Willie back on January 3. At the time, the 69-year-old singer told PEOPLE that she and her fiance are looking to tie the knot in June or July. It was further reported that her wedding is likely to take place aboard a private yacht in Miami Beach, Florida with her potentially wearing a dress by Donna Karan, Valentino or Vera Wang.

In a January 9 interview with CNN's Soledad O'Brien, Franklin was asked, "Why get married now?" In her reply, she said, "Well, why not get married now? I need someone to take care of me. Help take care of me." She later added, "It wouldn't hurt you know someone to be there to remind you of certain things, you know, wouldn't hurt."