Usher and Wife Grace Miguel Separate After 2 Years of Marriage

"After much thought and consideration we have mutually decided to separate as a couple," Usher and Miguel confirm in a statement

By
Melody Chiu
Melody Chiu

Melody Chiu is an Executive Editor at PEOPLE overseeing music, events and emerging content. She has been with the brand since 2009, editing, writing and reporting across all entertainment verticals. She has written cover stories on Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Melissa McCarthy, Blake Shelton, Jordan Turpin and Sandra Oh. The Los Angeles native graduated from the University of Southern California and has appeared on Extra!, The Talk, Access Hollywood and Good Morning America.

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Published on March 6, 2018 05:35PM EST

Usher and his wife Grace Miguel are calling it quits after two years of marriage.

“After much thought and consideration, we have mutually decided to separate as a couple. We remain deeply connected, loving friends who will continue supporting each other through the next phases of our lives,” the couple confirm in a joint statement obtained by PEOPLE. “The enormous amount of love and respect that we have for each other will only increase as we move forward.”

Though the singer, 39, and Miguel — who is also Usher’s manager — have kept their relationship largely out of the spotlight, buzz they had secretly wed spread in late 2015 when he was spotted wearing a gold band on his wedding finger while out and about in L.A.

Multiple sources confirmed in January of the same year that the star, who was previously married to Tameka Foster for two years, had proposed to Miguel, 48.

usher-grace-miguel
Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty

Grace Miguel and Usher

“I have an incredible partner and manager. She has helped me through some of the hardest times in my life and my career,” he previously said about her.

The star has two sons, Naviyd Ely Raymond, 9, and Usher Raymond V, 10, with Foster. Two years ago, he opened up to PEOPLE about spending quality time with his family.

“I went on an air balloon trip with about 15 people … both my boys were up there with me, my wife was up there with me,” he recalled about a recent trip to Italy. “The whole family was up there. It was cool to just have that little moment away.”

Us Weekly was first to report the news.

  • With reporting by SARAH MICHAUD