Colin Firth has announced he has separated from his wife Livia after 22-years of marriage.
The Love Actually actor confirmed the sad news in a statement, but said they remain 'united in their love for their children'.
Colin and Livia share two sons, Luca and Matteo.
A spokesperson for Colin confirmed: ‘Colin and Livia Firth have separated. They maintain a close friendship and remain united in their love for their children.
'They kindly ask for privacy. There will be no further comment'.
The news of their break-up comes almost two years after it was alleged that Livia had a year-long affair with childhood friend and Italian journalist Marco Brancaccia.
However, the situation took a strange turn in 2018 when Colin and his wife filed a complaint against Marco, who had allegedly begun stalking Livia.
The journalist is said to have sent her a 'frightening' barrage of messages, and even emailed Colin a ‘heartbreaking and malicious' email in March 2018.
Marco denied all claims that he ‘stalked’ the couple, telling The Times: ‘We were romantically involved, she wanted to leave Colin for me.
‘My “stalking” consisted of two messages via WhatsApp after she ended our relationship in June 2016, and an e-mail.
‘I wrote an e-mail to Colin about my relationship with Livia, which I now regret sending, and she filed a complaint against me for stalking out of fear that I could go public with what she had revealed to me about her marriage and work.
‘In a year she sent me hundreds of messages of love, photos, and videos, even a diary.’
However, a spokesman for the couple at the time said that Livia and Colin were actually separated during her involvement with Marco.
'A few years ago Colin and Livia privately made the decision to separate. During that time Livia briefly became involved with former friend Mr Brancaccia. The Firths have since reunited.
'Subsequently, Mr Brancaccia carried out a frightening campaign of harassment over several months, much of which is documented. For obvious reasons, the Firths have never had any desire to make this matter public.'
