Rent stars Taye Diggs, Idina Menzel split

AFTER a decade of marriage the musical theatre world has been shocked by the separation of original Rent stars Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel.

Opening Night Hair NY Arrivals

AFTER a decade of marriage the musical theatre world has been shocked by the separation of original Rent stars Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel.

Menzel, who has been starring in Glee, and Diggs, who is currently seen in The Best Man Holiday, have a son, Walker, together,

The pair met in 1996 when she played Maureen and he played Benny in the original production of Rent. They reunited to star in the 2005 film version of the hit musical.

The 42-year-olds got married in 2003 and had their son in 2009.

The pair put out a statement to People confirming their split.

"Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs have jointly decided to separate at this time," the statement said. "Their primary focus and concern is for their son. We ask that you respect their privacy during this time."

Menzel, who won a Tony Award for her role in Wicked, said earlier this year that while everyone thinks the pair has the ideal marriage they both had to work at it.

"I'm not going to glamorise it or glorify it – we go through tough times like everybody else," she said. "But we love each other very much. We try not to be away from each other for more than two weeks at a time, and we try to find new ways to communicate."