Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin have split after nearly 11 years of marriage, they have announced.

In a statement posted on Ms Paltrow’s website under the headline “Conscious uncoupling”, Paltrow, 41, and Martin, 37, said they made the decision “with hearts full of sadness”.

The couple, who married in December 2003 and have a house in Belsize Park, have two children together, daughter Apple, nine, and son Moses, seven.

In a statement signed “Gwyneth and Chris”, they said: “We have been working hard for well over a year, some of it together, some of it separated, to see what might have been possible between us, and we have come to the conclusion that while we love each other very much, we will remain separate.

“We are, however, and always will be a family, and in many ways we are closer than we have ever been.

“We are parents first and foremost, to two incredibly wonderful children and we ask for their and our space and privacy to be respected at this difficult time.

“We have always conducted our relationship privately, and we hope that as we consciously uncouple and coparent, we will be able to continue in the same manner.”

The news of their split comes after it was reported last month that the couple plan to sell their Belsize Park mansion.