Recently let down, having left Delaware for love (2,4)

I believe the answer is:

of late

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'recently' is the definition.
(synonyms)

I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.

(Other definitions for of late that I've seen before include "In the recent past" , "In the past few days" , "Recently, not long agor" , "Alternative to 21 down" , "recently, not long ago" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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