Ioan Gruffudd has broken his silence on his split from wife Alice Evans.
The former couple, who met on the set of 102 Dalmatians in 2000, was spotted still wearing his wedding ring despite their marriage coming to an end.
The Welsh actor, 47, addressed the split as he spoke to photographers outside a grocery shop in Los Angeles.
Daily Mail reports that he said: "Look, as I said before, it's an extremely difficult time for the family, our thoughts are with our children obviously right now and I'd really respect a little bit of privacy right now, thank you."
Ioan had said 12 months before his split from Alice, 49, that they had been struggling to make things work for a while.
The actor, best known for starring in the Fantastic Four movies and ITV drama Liar, admitted it was hard for them to make time for each other.
He told the Guardian last February: "I think we’ve struggled the past four years, making time for each other because physically we’re apart."
He said they were "practical" about it and admitted that most of the parenting of their daughters Ella, 11, and Elsie, seven, was left to Alice.
Speaking about his brief time as a stay-at-home-dad, Ioan said: "Alice had come back, she had been away for a week. I was showing off – 'the kids are in bed' – and she was 'Yeah, you’ve done one week Ioan, try six months'."
Ioan and Alice married in 2007 and welcomed both of their children after going through IVF treatment.
His mum Margaret Griffiths, 73, has since spoken out to make it clear that no one else was involved in the break up.
She told The Sun : "It is very sad and we are all very sorry it has happened, of course.
"But the children will come first whatever happens, that’s for sure."
When asked if there was "anyone else", she replied: "No, no, no."
There is no evidence to suggest that Ioan has ever been unfaithful.
Alice announced their split in a tweet that she's since deleted.
It read: "Sad news. My beloved husband/soulmate of 20 years, Ioan Gruffudd, has announced he is to leave his family, starting next week.
"Me and our young daughters girls are very confused and sad [sic]. We haven’t been given a reason except that he ‘no longer loves me.’ I’m so sorry."
The pair said in a joint statement, saying: "As you can imagine, this is an incredibly difficult time for our family and we remain committed to our children. Thank you for respecting our privacy."
