Melissa and Tammy Etheridge: Split up after nine years together

Melissa and Tammy Etheridge: Split up after nine years together

Grammy-winner Melissa Etheridge and her partner Tammy Etheridge are now done, after nearly nine years together.

"Melissa and Tammy Etheridge are saddened to announce that they are now separated," a rep for the singer tells UsMagazine.

"We ask for consideration and respect for our family as we go through this difficult period," the duo note in a statement.

48-year old singer Melissa Etheridge and actress Tammy (whose former name was Tammy Lynn Michaels), 35, exchanged marital vows in Malibu, Calif. in September 2003.

Tammy gave birth to their twins -- son Miller and daughter Rose -- in October 2006, using an anonymous sperm donor. Melissa survived a bout with breast cancer that began in 2004.

Etheridge has two older children (Bailey, 13, and Beckett, 11) with former partner Julie Cypher. Their father is longtime friend David Crosby of Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Tammy gushed about her girlfriend's surprise proposal, in an interview with About.com:

"I was like life-stoppingly shocked. We cried! We sobbed...she had the ring made and everything. She picked out the diamond. She's like one of those romantics that you watch on TV."