Story highlights
The couple released a statement on Gwyneth Paltrow's website
They have been married more than a decade
Paltrow and Chris Martin of Coldplay asked for privacy for their family
Gwyneth Paltrow and husband, singer Chris Martin, have split, the couple announced in a joint statement on Tuesday via her website, Goop.
While there had been speculation of trouble in paradise over the years, the couple seemed to remain united.
“It is with hearts full of sadness that we have decided to separate,” the statement said. “We have been working hard for well over a year, some of it together, some of it separated, to see what might have been possible between us, and we have come to the conclusion that while we love each other very much, we will remain separate.”
The news comes fresh on the heels of an announcement that Martin, front man for the Grammy-winning band Coldplay, will be joining the hit NBC singing reality show “The Voice.” It also comes days after a report in the Los Angeles Times that the pair had purchased a $14 million John Lautner-designed home in Malibu, California.
The couple have been married for more than a decade and are the parents of two children, Apple and Moses. Paltrow and Martin asked for privacy for their family in their statement.
“We are, however, and always will be a family, and in many ways, we are closer than we have ever been,” they said. “We are parents first and foremost, to two incredibly wonderful children and we ask for their and our space and privacy to be respected at this difficult time.
“We have always conducted our relationship privately, and we hope that as we consciously uncouple and co-parent, we will be able to continue in the same manner.”
The statement was signed, “Love, Gwyneth & Chris.”
The Goop site crashed from too many people trying to read the statement almost as soon as the news hit the Web. On social media the reaction was shock and snideness. Paltrow, who most recently guest-starred on “Glee,” has long riled up feelings of love/hate among fans with her Goop site, which some have viewed as aspirational.
“Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin are getting divorced, citing “insufferable similarities,” wrote one Twitter user. Another wrote, “Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow have split up. Guess he’s finally sick of talking to her and her referring to herself in the 3rd person.”
The couple divided their time between Europe and the United States and could often be found in paparazzi shots hobnobbing with famous friends including singer Beyonce and her rapper husband, Jay Z.