Crooner Miguel and his longtime partner, model and actress Nazanin Mandi, have announced that they’re separating after nearly three years of marriage and 17 years altogether.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE, the couple’s rep revealed that not only were the couple going their separate ways, but they have been living apart for a while.
“After 17 years together, Miguel and Nazanin Mandi have decided to separate and have been for some time now,” their statement reads. “The couple both wish each other well.”
For as long as fans have seen Miguel they’ve seen him with Nazanin. They reportedly dated for a decade before they became engaged in 2016. In November 2018, they made their relationship official, tying the knot.
While they reportedly have been living separate lives for “some time,” just a few months ago, both parties opened up about the key to making things work.
Nazanin told PEOPLE in March that they had to work to keep the fire in their relationship going during quarantine, but were successful.
“We were used to being around each other a lot, but then we were also used to traveling a lot,” she said. “So keeping the spark alive was definitely something we had to stay on — because when you’re in different cities, it’s automatic to feel excitement [when you see each other again]. But being home [together] all the time, it’s like, ‘Okay, we have to find new things to watch, and to do and to read. It was a lot, but overall, we did great. I have no complaints, [and] am grateful for everything.”
And Miguel spoke to Men’s Health in May, saying they were a successful partnership because of a few different factors. The factors included that they had similar goals, they were fulfilled as individuals so they could be stronger as a unit, they knew how to communicate even when it wasn’t easy, and he said he affirmed her, which was of benefit to them both.
“Making sure my wife feels safe and protected does more for our relationship than anything,” he said. “The more I reinforce and reassure her in my actions in my being, the more I do that, the peace and happiness in my life is leaps and bounds what I thought was possible.”
As you grapple with the news that these two longtime lovebirds are calling it quits, take a look at the couple through images from over the years.
