Demi Moore is ending her marriage to fellow actor Ashton Kutcher, she told The Associated Press Thursday.
Moore, 49, and Kutcher, 33, were married in September 2005.
The couple’s relationship became tabloid fodder in recent months as rumors circulated about Kutcher’s alleged infidelity.
“It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I have decided to end my six-year marriage to Ashton. As a woman, a mother and a wife there are certain values and vows that I hold sacred, and it is in this spirit that I have chosen to move forward with my life. This is a trying time for me and my family, and so I would ask for the same compassion and privacy that you would give to anyone going through a similar situation,” according to her statement to the Associated Press.
Rumors that Kutcher cheated on Moore surfaced online and in tabloid magazine reports in late September. In mid-October, a 22-year-old woman named Sara Leal told Us Weekly that she and Kutcher had a one night stand. She said he told her at the time that he was “separated”. She added that her life “has been a mess” since the incident.
Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore never commented about the alleged incident, but posted cryptic messages online. The day before their 6th wedding anniversary, Moore ominously quoted philosopher Epictetus: “When we are offended at any man’s fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger.”
Moore and Kutcher weathered a previous cheating scandal one year earlier, when Brittney Jones, 22, claimed she had sex with Ashton in July 2010. At the time, they took a trip to Israel for what Kutcher described as a spiritual journey.
Those who know them say their marriage has been under strain for some time, and they have spending more time apart.
“Demi loves Ashton as much as she hates public humiliation,” a source close to the couple said the allegations of infidelity first surfaced. “The marriage isn’t good right now.”
Fourteen minutes after Moore announced plans to divorce Kutcher, Ashton tweeted: “I will forever cherish the time I spent with Demi. Marriage is one of the most difficult things in the world and unfortunately sometimes they fail. Love and Light. AK”
Moore and Kutcher created the DNA Foundation, also known as the Demi and Ashton Foundation, in 2010 to combat the organized sexual exploitation of girls around the globe. They later lent their support to the United Nations’ efforts to fight human trafficking, a scourge the international organization estimates affects about 2.5 million people worldwide.
Demi Moore was previously married to actor Bruce Willis for 13 years. They had 3 daughters together — Rumer, Scout and Tallulah Belle — before divorcing in 2000. Willis later married model/actress Emma Heming in an intimate 2009 ceremony at his home in the Turks and Caicos Islands. His children attended the ceremony, as well as Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher.
