Los Angeles ? Hollywood glamour couple Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston have split, his publicist confirmed Friday.

“We would like to announce that after seven years together we have decided to formally separate,” the couple said in a statement.

Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt

“For those who follow these sorts of things, we would like to explain that our separation is not the result of any speculation reported by the tabloid media,” the actors said.

The couple didn’t indicate whether they planned to divorce, and publicist Cindy Guagenti declined to comment beyond the statement, which also said, “We happily remain committed and caring friends with great love and admiration for one another.”

The separation, first reported on People magazine’s Web site, comes 4 1/2 years after the pair’s wedding and after months of speculation that their marriage was in trouble.

Aniston has recently been photographed in public without her diamond-studded wedding ring, according to People, although the magazine said the couple had spent New Year’s together on the Caribbean island of Anguilla with Aniston’s former “Friends” co-star Courteney Cox and her husband, actor David Arquette.

Pitt, 41, and Aniston, 35, have been together since being set up on a blind date in 1998. They were married in a lavish wedding on July 29, 2000. It was the first marriage for both.

Until rumors began swirling that they were about to split, there were near-constant tabloid rumors that Aniston was pregnant. The actress had told People in 2002 that she and Pitt eventually wanted to start a family.

“Absolutely it will happen but probably not for a while,” she said at the time.