Tyrese and Samantha Gibson are divorcing after four years of marriage.
The pair – who married in February 2017 and share two-year-old daughter Soraya – have confirmed the tough decision to go their separate ways after "much thought, consideration, and prayer", but both have "so much love and respect for each other".
The Fast and the Furious actor – who also has a 13-year-old daughter from a previous relationship – and the social worker wanted to reveal the news at the end of 2020 so they did not “take this energy into 2021”.
In a joint statement released on their individual Instagram accounts, they said: “We have decided to make a statement of a painful and significant development in our lives.
“After much thought, consideration, and prayer, we unfortunately have made the difficult decision to officially separate & divorce.
“Our intention is to remain the best of friends & strong co-parents.
“We feel incredibly blessed to have found each other and deeply grateful for the 4 years we have been married to each other.
“Our journey together has been a ride of both ups & downs, but it’s a journey that neither of us would have chosen to take with anyone else.
“We truly have so much love & respect for each other. We both have grown tremendously within this relationship; we have shared so many beautiful memories and moments, and we also look forward to see the amazing futures we have ahead of us individually (sic).”
undefined"As if 2020 hasn’t already been extremely gruelling and challenging to us all we wanted to mutually speak on this now to keep this energy in 2020 and not take this energy into 2021.”
dailyvoice@inl.co.za