Zac Brown, wife Shelly split after 12 years of marriage

Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Zac Brown and his wife are calling it quits after 12 years of marriage.

The 40-year-old singer and musician announced his separation from Shelly Brown in a joint statement Friday to People.

"We feel blessed to be on such an incredible journey in life and sometimes the journey begins to lead in different directions. It is with deep love and respect that we announce we are separating as a couple," Brown and Shelly told fans.

"We have led a whirlwind life together growing into a beautiful family with five amazing children and while life will be rearranging a bit, our love and commitment to our family will always be there," the pair added

"This was a difficult decision, but we've done plenty of tough things together and this is our next venture -- love, mutual respect, and care for each other are what we are moving forward with," they said. "Family comes in all different forms."

Brown and Shelly married in 2006, and are parents to four daughters, Justice, Georgia, Lucy and Joni, and son Alexander. Brown recalled his first kiss with Shelly in a 2015 interview with Big Machine Label Group.

"We ended up New Year's Eve playin' a show. My date had stood me up and I remember walkin' back to my friends with, like two minutes before midnight and thinkin', 'I'm not gonna have anyone to kiss on New Year's," the star recounted.

"And there she was, standin' right there and I remember kissin' her and then that was game over," he said of Shelly.

Brown is the frontman of the country group Zac Brown Band. The group last released the album Welcome Home in May 2017.