Singer Natalie Imbruglia splits from husband after four years of marriage

The 32-year-old said she and Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns had grown apart due to the pressures of work.

The couple met at an awards show party in 1999 and married four years later on New Year's Eve in a beachside ceremony in Queensland.

Guests included Kylie Minogue, actor Guy Pearce and Virgin boss Richard Branson.

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With former Neighbours star Imbruglia based in the UK and Johns living for much of the time 10,500 miles away in Australia it made for an unconventional marriage. In a joint statement, the pair said: "While we are very sad that our marriage has ended, we want to make it clear that our parting is amicable and we remain friends.

"This mutual decision has not been taken lightly or quickly.

"However, our career demands and our lives in different parts of the world have brought us to the point where unfortunately this difficult decision was necessary for both of us.

"We have simply grown apart through not being able to spend enough time together."

They went on: "We have issued this statement to set the record straight and to eliminate any need for speculation.

"We will not be making any further public statements whatsoever in regard to this very private matter and politely ask that people respect our sincere wishes in this regard."

Imbruglia returned to London on Wednesday, while Johns remains in Sydney.

The couple have been the subject of break-up rumours for some time, partly due to the length of time they spend apart.

Imbruglia wrote her 2005 hit Counting Down the Days about their long-distance relationship.

Speculation increased after Johns neglected to thank his wife when collecting Silverchair's five awards at the ARIA Awards in October.

Despite being in Adelaide to film a movie, Imbruglia was a surprise no-show at the awards, blaming work commitments.

Imbruglia recently insisted that their long-distance relationship worked for them.

"If it stops working and it gets too difficult I have no qualms in taking time off or quitting my job for a while.

"No qualms at all. I'd never let the distance or work get in the way of my marriage", she added.

The singer was wearing her wedding ring on Boxing Day when she opened the David Jones' sale in Australia.

Before her marriage Natalie was linked to the American singer Lenny Kravitz and "Friends" actor David Schwimmer.

More recently, she has been linked to comic David Walliams, but insists he is just a friend.

Imbruglia shot to fame after she swapped a TV career as Beth Brennan in Australian soap Neighbours for pop and released best-selling single "Torn" which became her biggest hit.

The song reached number two in Britain in November 1997 and her debut album, Left Of Middle, sold six million copies worldwide.

Johns co-wrote and produced several tracks for Imbruglia's Counting Down the Days album and new songs on recent compilation Glorious.

She has released two albums since then and appeared in the film Johnny English opposite Rowan Atkinson.