James McAvoy and Anne-Marie Duff to split after a decade of marriage

James McAvoy and his wife Anne-Marie Duff announced earlier this month that they plan to divorce after nearly ten years of marriage.

They issued a joint statement, reading:

“It is with tremendous sadness that we have come to the decision to divorce. We enter this next phase with continued friendship, love and respect for one another and the shared focus of caring for our son. We ask that you respect our and, most importantly, our child’s privacy during this time.”

As a couple, McAvoy and Duff were keen to keep their marriage out of the limelight. In an interview with the Washington Post, McAvoy said “We don’t talk about each other much and we don’t turn up together at lots of events. We both really rejoice in having a normal life.”

Last year on the chat show Lorraine last year Duff agreed “It’s dead easy to get on with your life… We’re very lucky – we are aware of our blessings. That helps to remind us to be good people.”

The pair married in October 2006 after they met while both appearing on British TV show Shameless. In 2010 Duff gave birth to their son Brendan, for whose sake they have decided to continue living together for the foreseeable future.

While a source told the Daily Mail that McAvoy and Duff have had “the perfect break up”, there are rumours that McAvoy may be romantically engaged with his X-Men: Apocalypse co-star Alexandra Shipp. However, if this is true, it is not yet clear whether it is a cause or effect of his divorce from Duff.