Alan Ritchsonand his wife, Catherine Ritchson, are ending their marriage after two decades together.
The couple announced their separation Saturday in a joint message on social media, saying that their children “will always be at the center of our world.”
“After twenty years together, Cat and I have decided to end our marriage and continue alongside one another in a different way,” reads the Instagram post. “We grew up together. We built a life and a family together. And we are raising three incredible boys who will always be the center of our world.”
The Reacher star and Catherine share three sons.
“Nothing can diminish what these years have meant to us — or the love and respect we will always share,” the statement continued. “The best gift we can give one another —and our boys — right now is friendship, grace and a commitment to becoming the strongest co-parents we can be.”
The pair also noted that they “want to give each other room to grow into the people we are becoming,” and asked for privacy while they navigate co-parenting.
Ritchson’s rep declined further comment when reached by The Hollywood Reporter.
In a 2024 interview with THR, Ritchson opened up about how he first met Catherine while they were both in high school taking classes at a state college.
“I thought she was a college student, so I was afraid to talk to her. I figured there was no point because she’s going to be older than me, but I found out she was doing the exact same thing that I was. We finally spoke and then did a play together that summer,” he said. “We ended up dating and I was madly in love, but she also lived far enough away that when the play was over, I figured we were never going to see each other again.”
The remained friends after their initial split and reconnected years later before tying the knot in 2006.
Read the full statement, below.