He may be known for his stories about unending love, but author Nicholas Sparks won't be seeing quite as happy of an ending in his own life.

The famous author of tear-jerker romance novels including The Notebook, Message in a Bottle The Best of Me has announced that he and his wife of 25 years, Cathy Sparks, are splitting.

"Cathy and I have separated," Sparks, 49, told People Magazine. "This is of course, not a decision we've made lightly. We remain close friends with deep respect for each other and love for our children. For our children's sake, we regard this as a private matter."

Sparks has previously credited his wife with being his muse for his best-selling novels, several of which have been turned into blockbuster films. The couple married in 1989 and have three sons and twin daughters together, ranging in age from 23 to 12.

But though he has become a literary star with his novels, Sparks never spoke out much about his own marriage. However, he did open up to People in the past, telling the magazine just two years ago that he and his wife did have ways to keep their marriage thriving after so many years together.

"The marriage relationship has to be primary-it's one of the best things you can teach your children," he said at the time. "So we don't feel guilty if we go for a walk, just the two of us."

"We try to go on vacations alone," Cathy added at the time. "You need to leave alone. You have to make the effort to leave, take the time. Just go and have fun alone. We do it a few times a year."

Sparks' novels have been the basis of several popular movies over the last 16 years, with his novels Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John, The Last Song, The Lucky One, Safe Haven, The Best of Me, and The Longest Ride all adapted into big-screen format.

The Longest Ride is set to open in theaters April 10.

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