They seemed like one of showbiz’s happiest couples but apparently appearances can be deceiving because today, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony have announced their split.

The American Idol judge and her Latin Grammy winning husband have confirmed that they will now ‘end’ their marriage and released a statement to People, which read:

“We have decided to end our marriage.”

“This was a very difficult decision. We have come to an amicable conclusion on all matters. It is a painful time for all involved and we appreciate the respect of our privacy at this time.”

The pair are parents to three year old twins Emme Maribel Muñiz, and Maximilian “Max” David.

It seems like strange timing and many fans are scratching their heads at the news. After all, didn’t the pair just renew their vows a few months ago? And they looked pretty happy while she gyrated with him on stage, as he performed on the American Idol finale…

We have to wonder if the split came about because J-Lo wanted to return to Idol for 2012. It has been reported that while she was keen to rejoin the hit Fox show, Marc wanted her to drop out and spend more time with her family.

What we really want to know though, is what this all means for their new joint TV show “Q’ Viva: The Chosen”?

The show will feature J-Lo with her now estranged husband Marc Anthony and their tour director Jamie King ingoing in the search of undiscovered talent in Latin America.

Describing the show, Fox that the trio will travel to various regions of the Americas, from remote villages to major cities. Their mission is to assemble a cast of incredible performers of all nationality and create a spectacular live show which will become one of the greatest celebrations of Latin culture that the world has ever seen.

You can watch a teaser clip here but we have to wonder whether it will ever go ahead now and if it does, will they be able to sit on a stage together?

Of course the more cynical among us could speculate that this could be one big PR stunt designed to push the show into the headlines even more, but we hope that they wouldn’t be that conniving!