X-Men star James McAvoy and wife Anne-Marie Duff to divorce after nearly 10 years of marriage

HOLLYWOOD star James McAvoy and his actress wife Anne-Marie Duff have announced that they’re divorcing after 10 years of marriage.

X-Men star and James McAvoy and his wife Anne-Marie Duff have split. Picture: Grant Pollard/Invision/AP, File

FILM stars James McAvoy and Anne-Marie Duff are divorcing after almost ten years of marriage.

According to The Sun, the couple, who wed in November 2006 and have a young son together, announced their split overnight.

Actors James McAvoy and Anne-Marie Duff are divorcing after almost 10 years of marriage. Picture: Ian Gavan/Getty Images

A joint statement read: “It is with tremendous sadness that we have come to the decision to divorce.

“We enter this next phase with continued friendship, love and respect for one another and the shared focus of caring for our son.

“We ask that you respect our and, most importantly, our child’s privacy during this time.”

Last night a friend told The Sun: “It’s very sad but it has been coming.

“They both have very hectic work schedules and are often at other ends of the world from each other.

“We have been fearing the worst for a while. They have not been together much and both seemed miserable recently.

“They hope they can still be friends for the sake of their family.”

James McAvoy stars as Professor Charles Xavier in the wildly successful X-Men series. Picture: Supplied

X-Men star McAvoy, 37, and Suffragette actress Duff, who at 45 is nine years his senior, met on the set of British TV show Shameless in 2003, in which they played lovers.

They married in a small ceremony on October 18, 2006 and welcomed a son, named Brendan, four years later.

Discussing their decision to wed, McAvoy previously confessed: “The world seemed less scary. And I started to like myself a little bit more.”

However, pair chose to keep their relationship as private as possible and rarely spoke about each other throughout their marriage.

This story originally appeared in The Sun

James McAvoy and Anne-Marie Duff met on the British TV series, Shameless, in 2003. Picture: Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images

In a 2007 interview, McAvoy said: “We don’t talk about each other much and we don’t turn up together at lots of events. We both really rejoice in having a normal life.”

In recent years, McAvoy has shot to Hollywood stardom since appearing alongside his wife in the UK hit Shameless, with lead roles in blockbuster flicks like Atonement, The Last King Of Scotland and X-Men.

London-born Duff has become a respected TV and theatre actress, boasting two Olivier nominations and four Bafta nods.

She recently starred alongside Meryl Streep and Helena Bonham Carter in Suffragette.

Scottish star James is currently on a gruelling promo tour ahead of the release of his new film X-Men: Apocalypse, in which he stars alongside Jennifer Lawrence.