Celebrity Divorce

Self-confessed sex addict actor David Duchovny, who played FBI agent Fox Mulder in The X Files, has separated from his actress wife Tea Leoni.

The couple have been married for 11 years and have a nine-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son.

Mr Duchovny recently left rehab after completing a course for sex addiction. He now plays womanising writer Hank Moody on the TV show Californication, for which he won a Golden Globe award.

Ms Leoni is currently starring in the big screen comedy Ghost Town, with The Office star Ricky Gervais.

A statement on behalf of the couple confirming the split, which says they have been separated for several months, is published in People magazine.

It says: "In light of continuous speculation over the lives and marriage of Tea Leoni and David Duchovny, the couple has confirmed that they have in fact been separated for several months.

"The couple had hoped to keep this separation private for the sake of their children."

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Alison Fernandes from law firm Irwin Mitchell said: "No matter what the cause of relationship breakdown, David and Tea's attitude should be applauded. They attempted to keep their separation private for the sake of their children. They are clearly very focused on what is best for their children and hopefully they will be able to maintain this attitude throughout their divorce. All too often adults take out their emotional grief and anger following a separation, on their children. This is often done unintentionally, for example by preventing the children seeing the other parent or destroying family photos. However this can cause long term emotional harm to the children who need reassurance when their parents separate, rather than being placed in the middle of a tug of war.

"The practice of collaborative law is becoming increasingly popular for separating couples who recognise the importance of working together to sort out the finer details of separation, whether it is dividing assets or arrangements for children. The collaborative process involves both parties and their collaborative lawyers agreeing at the outset that they will work together and no go to court. This removes hostility and the threat of court proceedings. Perhaps David and Tea will consider using this process in their divorce?"