Los Angeles, May 27 (IANS): Actor Ben Stiller and his wife Christine Taylor, whom he married in 2000, have announced that they are splitting.

They announced the separation in a joint statement to Entertainment Tonight on Friday, but did not state the reason for their decision, reported etonline.com.

"With tremendous love and respect for each other, and the 18 years we spent together as a couple, we have made the decision to separate," Stiller and Taylor said.

"Our priority will continue to be raising our children as devoted parents and the closest of friends. We kindly ask that the media respect our privacy at this time," the statement read further.

The couple had met while filming a never-broadcast TV pilot called "Heat Vision and Jack". They got married in May 2000 at an oceanfront ceremony in Kauai, Hawaii.

The two welcomed daughter Ella Olivia in April 2002 and son Quinlin Dempsey in July 2005.

A much-loved couple, they continued to share the screen in projects like "Zoolander", "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story", "Tropic Thunder", "Arrested Development" and "Zoolander 2".