Country star Jason Aldean and wife Jessica Ussery are calling it quits on their 12-year-long marriage. The musician filed the divorce papers last week, on April 26th, citing the infamous “irreconcilable differences” as the cause for the divorce. The pair had been rumoured to be having problems for a while. A day before the news was made official, a rep for Aldean commented: "I can confirm that Jason and his wife are having problems, but there is nothing more to share with the press at this time," his rep told PEOPLE at the time. "It's a private family matter, and we hope everyone will respect that he would like to keep it that way."

The couple, who have two daughters together – Keely, 10, and Kendyl, 5 – are determined to keep things civil and remain in touch for their kids’ sake, according to Aldean himself: "She will always be important to me because she is the mother of my children, and I know that we will both always make our daughters our number one priority."

Like many of his fellow celebrities, Aldean was also quick to pan any unconfirmed rumors that may have been circulating and ask for privacy during the difficult moment: "I've learned that everyone always rushes to judgment when they hear news like this. That's really hard because no one knows anything about our relationship but us," he continued. "I understand that because of my job, I have to go through a lot of this in the public eye, but for my girls' sake I really wish people would give us some level of privacy and at the very least be respectful of them."

Jason Aldean, ACM Awards
The ACM award winner was rumored to be having an affair with Idol contestant Brittany Kerr last year.