Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin split

Gwyneth Paltrow and British rocker Chris Martin have separated, less than four months after celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary.

The Hollywood couple announced the news on Tuesday (25Mar14) via a message on her lifestyle website Goop.com.

The joint statement reads, "It is with hearts full of sadness that we have decided to separate.

"We have been working hard for well over a year, some of it together, some of it separated, to see what might have been possible between us, and we have come to the conclusion that while we love each other very much we will remain separate.

"We are, however, and always will be a family, and in many ways we are closer than we have ever been. We are parents first and foremost, to two incredibly wonderful children and we ask for their and our space and privacy to be respected at this difficult time.

"We have always conducted our relationship privately, and we hope that as we consciously uncouple and coparent, we will be able to continue in the same manner."

The shock announcement drove thousands of fans to Goop.com, which temporarily crashed on Tuesday.

The famously-private couple, which is rarely photographed together, wed on 5 December, 2003 in Southern California. Paltrow and Martin split their time between homes in London and Paltrow's native California, where reports suggest they recently purchased a Malibu beach house.

They are parents to daughter Apple, nine, and son Moses, seven.