Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — The Notebook, The Best of Me and A Walk to Remember are just a few of the touching books by writer Nicholas Sparks, some of which were turned into hit movies. All of them are about enduring love.
Even so, Sparks has announced that he and wife of 25 years Cathy have decided to separate.
“Cathy and I have separated,” he told ABC News via a statement. “This is of course not a decision we’ve made lightly. We remain close friends with deep respect for each other and love for our children. For our children’s sake, we regard this as a private matter.”
The author and Nebraska native, 49, married his wife in 1989 and the two have three sons — Miles, Ryan, and Landon — and two daughters — Lexie and Savannah.
Sparks recently appeared on Good Morning America to talk about his first dual love story The Longest Ride, which is currently being made into a movie starring Scott Eastwood.
The character Ira was actually based on someone in his own life.
“When my grandma got divorced, moved to San Diego and met a man,” he said on the show. “They were companions for 20, 25 years. He was like my grandfather growing up. When writing Ira, I really modeled him on Leo.”
Aside from his professional life, Sparks is an avid philanthropist with the Nicholas Sparks Foundation. He also donates to his alma mater Notre Dame and helped to start The Epiphany School of Global Studies in the late 2000’s.
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