After 16 years together and six years of marriage, singer Jewel and her husband rodeo star Ty Murray have decided to call it quits.
The "I Do" singer made the "personal announcement" on her website Wednesday, in which she called her separation from Murray a "thoughtful and tender undoing."
"My husband, friend and partner of 16 years and I have decided to get a divorce," Jewel wrote in her blog post. "Ty and I have always tried to live the most authentic life possible, and we wanted our separation as husband and wife to be nothing less loving than the way we came together. For some time we have been engaged in private and difficult, but thoughtful and tender undoing of ourselves. Allowing ourselves the time and space to redefine what we are to each other with love rather than with malice."
The 40-year-old singer added: "We did not want anger to burn the ties that bound us. Instead we have chosen the much more difficult task of undoing ourselves stitch by stitch, and releasing each other with love so that we may take on our new form: dear friends and devoted co-parents of our beloved son Kase."
The "Foolish Games" singer said that the two "both value growth" and assured fans the breakup is completely amicable.
Jewel wrote, "Growth became tragically and undeniably stifled as a couple, and we believe we can find it again in setting each other free. We truly believe we can find greater happiness apart than together, and this is why we are taking the enormous and heartbreaking step of divorce."
The couple reportedly met at a rodeo in Denver, Colorado and after nearly a decade of dating, Jewel and Murray married in a quiet ceremony in the Bahamas in 2008. Jewel wore a traditional wedding gown and Murray wore his favorite blue jeans, white shirt and cowboy hat.
The couple are parents to son, Kase, who will turn three this month. They released a joint statement regarding their son's upbringing and agreed to work together for his well-being.
"Our dedication to our son is unwavering and we are both committed to being the best partners in raising our son," the statement read. "Due to the spirit in which we have gone about this separation, we trust we can remain dear friends who hold each other in high esteem, which is so important to us as parents - we wish only what is best for our son."
Us Weekly reported that the couple were last seen together in December 2012 at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas
