It's been reported before that Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson's marriage was all over but the dividing of possessions, but this time it's different. This time there's an official statement.

"After three years of marriage, and careful thought and consideration, we have decided to part ways," the couple said late Wednesday, taking advantage of the pre-holiday newsdump. "This is the mutual decision of two people with an enormous amount of respect and admiration for each other. We hope that you respect our privacy during this difficult time."

Thus concludes a year of infidelity and estrangement rumors.

Simpson and Lachey met in Hollywood in 1998 and married in Texas in 2002.

The MTV series "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica" offered viewers a video scrapbook of their new marriage and made both of them stars to a wider audience. ABC variety show specials featuring them both followed, but it was Simpson's ditzy comments, comedic timing and ability to fill out denim short shorts as Daisy Duke in the "Dukes of Hazzard" movie remake that cause her career to quicky eclipse his.