Mentalist actor Simon Baker and his wife Rebecca Rigg have separated

Mentalist actor Simon Baker and his wife Rebecca Rigg have announced that they split after 29 years of marriage, quietly parting last year.

“We remain close friends and our three children will always be the most important center of our lives. the couple said in a joint statement obtained by People Magazine.

Australian actor Baker, 51, met Rigg, 53, in the early 1990s and the former couple share three children together, Stella, 27, Claude, 22, and Harry, 19.

Split: mentalist actor Simon Baker and wife Rebecca Rigg announce their separation after 29 years of marriage: ‘We remain close friends’

Meanwhile, Rigg, also an Australian actress, is best known for her roles in the Fatty Finn and Ellie Parker movements, as well as having a minor role alongside Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire.

The couple married in 1998 after five years together.

The actor was just 24 when he and Rebecca had their first child, daughter Stella, who is now in her 20s.

In happier times: the couple are seen attending the Prix De Diane 2019 at Chantilly Racecourse on June 16, 2019 in Paris, France

“We started young,” he once said in an interview with Mornings. “I don’t know if it was that young, I had just turned 24.

And it was his daughter who encouraged Simon to accept his famous role in The Devil Wears Prada.

“ She’s a major force in who I am as a person, ” the actor said of Stella.

Speaking to People Magazine in 2018 about their marriage and why they never celebrated their wedding anniversary, he said: “ We were never really that strong. Birthdays are a strange thing, right?

Red carpet duo: The actor previously gave an interview in which he revealed the couple did not celebrate wedding anniversaries

“I think we put too much pressure on it. It’s not like that with us. We are a team. Most of the time, 99% of the time, we’re really good friends. So I don’t need to tag it with big things.

He continued, “ When we put too much pressure on something, everything gets a little bit clipped and we don’t feel like we are ourselves. ”

And I think the most important thing in our relationship is that we are both able to be ourselves. I think that’s probably the most important thing in most relationships, isn’t it?