LOS ANGELES •Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie and actor Josh Duhamel are separating, months after they celebrated their eighth wedding anniversary.

On Thursday, the couple said in a statement to People magazine: "With absolute love and respect we decided to separate as a couple earlier this year. To give our family the best opportunity to adjust, we wanted to keep this a private matter before sharing it with the public. We are and will always be united in our support of each other and our family."

They have a four-year-old boy, Axl.

Duhamel famously had a crush on Fergie even before they met on the set of his television show Las Vegas, when she and her band appeared on it.

He told InStyle magazine so in an interview, saying he had a "recurring dream" involving her.

She later said she had sought him out because "I had read in a magazine that he had a naughty dream about me".

Fergie, 42, rose to prominence when her addition to the Black Eyed Peas line-up coincided with a string of breakout hits for the group from their 2003 album Elephunk.

Duhamel, 44, is best known for his roles in the Transformers film franchise.