It looks like there's another celebrity breakup to add to the list for 2024. As People magazine reported, on Thursday, Love Actually star Martine McCutcheon took to her Instagram Stories to share a rather sad update with her fans. She and husband Jack McManus are separating after 18 years of marriage, and judging by the statement Martine shared online, it seems like she may not have been a part of this decision.
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Martine first shared the news on Instagram.
Though Martine's Instagram Stories post has since expired, People captured it before it was gone, and in the lengthy statement, she revealed that "Jack has decided it's best for us to separate after 18 years together and I accept his decision."
She also emphasized that their 9-year-old son, Rafferty, would come first. "We both of course still cherish and look forward to being parents together to our wonderful boy for the rest of our lives," she wrote.
The estranged couple is asking for privacy for the sake of their son.
"Our love for Rafferty is something that will never waver or change and we obviously want to protect him and help him feel as safe and secure as possible," she wrote, later adding a personal message directed at Jack: "I continue to send Jack all the love, luck and happiness for the next chapter of his life. Rafferty and I (as always) are rooting for you!"
It's not clear what the cause of their separation might be.
Though Martine mentioned in her statement that the discussion around her separation from Jack had "evolved over a period of time," it seems like it may be just a little unexpected, given her recent Instagram posts about her husband. The couple also renewed their vows in 2021.
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Jack and Martine first met nearly 18 years ago.
In December 2023, Martine marked the milestone with a post on Instagram that featured a photo of the couple kissing while holding a bouquet of flowers.
"As we keep growing and evolving and living this thing called life, may it continue to be with eachother, filled with unconditional love, faith and belief in eachother … Lots of adventures and dreams realised, mixed with lovely cosy nights in just loving eachother … And may we keep falling about laughing even when we get really pissed off with each other!!" she wrote at the time.
Recently, she shared a quote about loving someone 'from a distance.'
Martine shared this quote on Instagram one month before announcing that she and Jack are going their separate ways.
In her caption, she wrote, "It’s been an intense week for many reasons and today is about decompressing, refuelling, contemplating all I feel I need to look at and making healthy choices in areas of my life to keep myself aligned, feeling happy whilst evolving but also feeling safe and grounded."
