After eight years of marriage, beloved celebrity couple Chris Pratt and Anna Faris announced on Sunday that they are legally separating.
Pratt, who’s become arguably the biggest star in Hollywood via his roles in the blockbuster franchises Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic Park, posted a brief statement signed by both of them on Facebook on Sunday.
“We tried hard for a long time, and we’re really disappointed,” they wrote. “Our son has two parents who love him very much and for his sake we want to keep this situation as private as possible moving forward. We still have love for each other, will always cherish our time together and continue to have the deepest respect for one another.”
Pratt, 38, and Faris, 40, married in 2009, after Faris had already become a national name via a run of successful comedies, including the Scary Movie franchise, but before Pratt had really made a splash. Four years later they had their son.
As Fox News highlights, Pratt discussed his relationship with Faris earlier this year with the Associated Press, but did not signal that they were having any problems. “For the first part of our relationship, we put our careers at the top,” he said. “We were like, ‘Honey, if you get a job and you have to go to Istanbul for six months, you’re going. I’ll help you pack. I’ll Skype with you every day. You’re living your dream, I’m living my dream. That’s what we do.'”
In 2009, Pratt landed the role of Andy Dwyer in the television series Parks and Recreation, but he became a true international celebrity when Guardians of the Galaxy hit theaters in 2014. The film’s box office receipts far surpassed industry expectations, going on to earn $333 million domestically and $773 million worldwide. Pratt then played the lead in Jurassic World which hit theaters the next year and took in a stunning $652 million domestically and nearly $1.7 billion worldwide, making it the fourth biggest moneymaker of all-time both domestically and worldwide. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 has brought in $388 million this year domestically and $861 worldwide.
Pratt has become particularly popular among conservatives, who have found his defense of blue collar America and his openness about his Christian beliefs a breath of fresh air in contrast with elitist, aggressively anti-conservative Hollywood.
