Renee Zellweger and country music star Kenny Chesney will have their four-month-old marriage annulled.
Chesney’s publicist, Holly Gleason, confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday that the couple have split.
Zellweger says they “hope to experience this transition as privately as possible.”
In court papers filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the Oscar-winning actress listed “fraud” as the reason for the breakup with the country music star.
The term was “simply legal language and not a refection of Kenny’s character,” Zellweger said in a statement Friday.
“I would personally be very grateful for your support in refraining from drawing derogatory, hurtful, sensationalized or untrue conclusions,” she said. “We hope to experience this transition as privately as possible.”
Chesney also released a statment Friday: “This is an incredibly sad time. ... I just hope everyone can respect the privacy that I know Renee has already asked for.”
Later Friday, “Entertainment Tonight” said a joint statement from the couple said “the miscommunication of the objective of their marriage at the start is the only reason for this annulment.
People magazine first reported the breakup, which brings to an end a whirlwind romance that began shortly before a surprise wedding in May. The 36-year-old actress and Chesney, 37, wed in a small ceremony on the Caribbean island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Photos of the couple barefoot on the beach were widely distributed. They first met at the Concert of Hope tsunami relief benefit Jan. 15, where Chesney was singing and Zellweger was answering telephones, the syndicated television news magazine “The Insider” had reported.
Zellweger won a best supporting actress Oscar for “Cold Mountain.” She was nominated for Oscars for her work in “Chicago” and “Bridget Jones’s Diary.”
Chesney was named Country Music Association entertainer of the year in November, while his “When the Sun Goes Down” was named album of the year. His hits include “Me and You” and “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.”