Billy Joel and Katie Lee Joel have split.
“After nearly five years of marriage Billy Joel & Katie Lee Joel have decided to separate,” a rep for the couple tells Usmagazine.com. “This decision is a result of much thoughtful consideration. Billy & Katie remain caring friends with admiration and respect for each other.”
Rumors of a rocky marriage have been surfacing lately.
New York’s Daily News reports that Lee, 27, was spotted dirty dancing with 36-year-old Israeli-born fashion designer Yigal Azrouel, who has frequently escorted her to events.
The paper reports he has even referred to her as his “girlfriend.”
But a source tells Us affair rumors “had nothing to do” with the split.
“Everything is very amicable and it was just a growing apart,” the source adds.
Joel was 55 years old when he wed Katie Lee, then 23, at his 15-acre waterfront Center Island estate in Long Island, N.Y., in 2004.
Joel was previously wed to Christie Brinkley (1985-94) and business manager Elizabeth Weber (1973-82).