Celebrity Melissa and Tammy Etheridge Separate The couple, parents to 3-year-old twins, split after nearly nine years together By Marisa Laudadio Published on April 15, 2010 01:25 AM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Jill Johnson/JPI Melissa and Tammy Etheridge have ended their nearly nine-year relationship. “Melissa and Tammy Etheridge are saddened to announce that they are now separated,” Melissa’s rep tells PEOPLE exclusively. The former couple add in a statement: “We ask for consideration and respect for our family as we go through this difficult period.” Melissa, 48, and Tammy (formerly Tammy Lynn Michaels) exchanged vows in Malibu in September 2003. PHOTOS: Split! The Year’s Biggest BreakupsTammy, 35, gave birth to their children – son Miller and daughter Johnnie Rose – in 2006, after Etheridge was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. Etheridge is also the mother of two children, Bailey, 13, and Beckett, 11, with former partner Julie Cypher. Get a sneak peek of this week’s issue – Phoebe Price’s world, Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy’s split and Kate Gosselin’s fight for her kids – which is on newsstands Friday