Demi Moore announces split from Ashton Kutcher

The confirmation comes after months of media reports that the 33-year-old Kutcher had been unfaithful to 49-year-old Moore, who was previously married for 13 years to actor Bruce Willis.

"It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I have decided to end my six-year marriage to Ashton," she said in a statement issued by her publicist.

"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."

Kutcher, who recently took over from troubled star Charlie Sheen in the hit TV series "Two and a Half Men," tweeted a poignant message minutes after Moore\'s announcement.

"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," he wrote.

As well as being a famous acting couple, Moore and Kutcher have both been pioneers of the use of social media, notably Twitter.

Moore, whose movies include "Ghost" in 1990, "A Few Good Men" (1992), 1993\'s "Indecent Proposal" and "G.I. Jane" in 1997, may have to get a new Twitter name: her current one is @mrskutcher.

She is also famous for the 1991 Vogue magazine front cover photo of her heavily pregnant with her daughter Scout LaRue, her second child with Willis after the pair married in 1987.

Kutcher\'s big-screen roles have included "What Happens in Vegas" in 2008 and this year\'s sex comedy "No Strings Attached" with Natalie Portman.

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