IOAN Gruffudd and wife Alice Evans have said they're going through "an incredibly difficult time" a day after she accused him of "gaslighting" and "mental torture".
The former couple, whose shock split was revealed yesterday, released a statement in which they told fans they're committed to their two daughters.
It reads: "As you can imagine, this is an incredibly difficult time for our family and we remain committed to our children. Thank you for respecting our privacy."
Alice, 49, shocked her followers yesterday when she wrote that Ioan, 47, had fallen out of love with her and would be leaving the family home next week after 13 years of marriage.
The post was later deleted, with Alice claiming Ioan removed the message using her account.
She sent another tweet that read: "Hi there. I didn't delete the tweet from a few hours ago about him leaving. He did. From my account…"
"And hell yes when I am being gaslit and mentally tortured then hell yes I will wash my linen in public."
Again the upload was deleted, but not before she was criticised by a follower, who replied: "Seems like a weird thing to be posting on Twitter."
Alice replied: "Why? I have lost my mind."
Another follower agreed with her and wrote: "I did the same when this happened to me. I think it’s how one acknowledges there’s no returning to what existed before. Accepting it by stating it publicly helps you to recognise the impossibility [of] reconciliation."
The actress replied: "This is exactly why. And thank you. Six months of harassment: yes/no/maybe. I cannot live like this anymore."
In her original Twitter post, Alice wrote: "Sad news. My beloved husband/soulmate of 20 years, Ioan Gruffudd, has announced he is to leave his family, starting next week.
"Me and our young daughters girls are very confused and sad. We haven’t been given a reason except that he ‘no longer loves me.’ I’m so sorry."
However, Ioan previously revealed the pair's busy work schedules had kept them apart for much of the last four years.
He told the Guardian last February: “I think we’ve struggled the past four years, making time for each other because physically we’re apart.”
The Liar star went on to say the couple were "practical" about it, before admitting most of the parenting at home was left to Alice.
Speaking of his brief spell as a stay-at-home dad, he said: “Alice had come back, she had been away for a week. I was showing off – ‘the kids are in bed’ – and she was ‘Yeah, you’ve done one week Ioan, try six months’.”
The couple met while starring together in the film 102 Dalmatians.
They married in 2007 and are parents to daughters Ella, 11, and Elsie, seven.
Their children were both conceived through IVF, with Alice writing candidly about her fertility struggles in the hope it would help others.
At age 38 she was told she had an antral follicle count of eight – two less than her doctor felt was needed for a good shot at IVF success.
However, she fell pregnant with daughter Ella after her first round of IVF, while second daughter Elsie took eight rounds of treatment.
It was an emotional and financially costly process, with each round costing around £7,000 and with only a 20 per cent chance of success.
Alice wrote in the Mail in 2016: "I know how lucky I am. I won the lottery. I get to kiss goodnight to the two most precious human beings I’ve ever met."
As well as starring as Mister Fantastic in the Fantastic Four movies, Ioan has appeared in films such as W. and Ava, as well as in TV shows such as Forever and Ringer.
His career really took off in the late 90s when he was cast in the lead role of ITV drama Hornblower.
In between his high-profile roles there have been times when work was hard to come by.
Reflecting on lean times in his 30s, Ioan previously said: “When you’re not working, in Hollywood, you get presented every week with a new poster going up and you know where you are in the pecking order."
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