Ben Stiller has split from his wife Christine Taylor after seventeen years

The couple are going their separate ways

Words by Jadie Troy-Pryde

Last year we saw several high profile Hollywood couples call time on their long-term relationships - from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's shock divorce, to Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck's sudden split.

However, in another sad blow for celebrity couples, Ben Stiller has confirmed that he and his wife Christine Taylor are parting ways after seventeen years of marriage.

The pair met while filming a one-off pilot called Heat Vision and Jack back in 1999, and they married shortly afterwards in a lavish ceremony in Hawaii just one year later. They then went on to start a family, and share two children together, 15 year old Ella Olivia and 12 year old Quinlin Dempsey.

Ben and Christine have also appeared alongside each other in various movies, from Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Tropic Thunder and the Zoolander films.

In a statement to Entertainment Tonight, they said: 'With tremendous love and respect for each other, and the 18 years we spent together as a couple, we have made the decision to separate.

'Our priority will continue to be raising our children as devoted parents and the closest of friends.

'We kindly ask that the media respect ur privacy at this time.'

Our thoughts are with them at this time.