Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton are divorcing. The country music superstars are separating after four years of marriage. The news was broken earlier today (20th July) by an entertainment website which unearthed the preliminary legal documents. Shortly after the news broke the former couple confirmed they were parting ways.

Blake Shelton and Miranda LambertBlake Shelton and Miranda Lambert at the 57th Grammy Awards in February 2015.

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TMZ first reported the news, noting Shelton filed for divorce in Oklahoma some time ago. It is unsure when the pair separated but it is thought their divorce will be finalised by a judge today. 

The division of their assets has reportedly been relatively straightforward, because of the pre-nup they signed before their marriage in 2011. Shelton, according to reports in TMZ, will retain their ranch in Oklahoma and Lambert will stay in their family home in Nashville, Tennessee. 

According to sources close to the former couple, Lambert has been moving her property off the ranch. She also has a number of show animals, including horses, a camel and a llama, which she has been moving from the property over the past few days. 

The former couple released a statement shortly after the news broke. 

"This is not the future we envisioned and it is with heavy heart that we move forward separately,” Lambert and Shelton said in a joint statement. “We are real people, with real lives, with real family, friends and colleagues. Therefore, we kindly ask for privacy and compassion concerning this very personal matter." 

31-year-old Lambert and 39-year-old Shelton began dating in 2006. They had met when they were paired together at CMT's 100 Greatest Duets Concert in 2005. They performed 'You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma' together and the chemistry between them was palpable.  At the time, Shelton was married at the time to his first wife Kaynette Green. Shelton and Green divorced in 2006. 

They announced their engagement five years later and married the following year at a ceremony in Texas. The ceremony was a star-studded event with the likes of Kelly Clarkson and Cee Lo Green attending, along with more than 500 other guests. 

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