Just last October, Marc Anthony was painting an idyllic picture of the romantic gestures that kept his marriage to former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres alive: the daily gifts, the backyard love seat he built for her, their quiet candlelit time together. "My wife is first," he said. "No matter what."
No more. Though no legal action has been taken, the couple—who have a 17-month-old son, Cristian—have separated. "They're still friends," says Anthony's publicist Jennifer Nieman. "They love each other very much, and they're both being very mature and strong. It was a mutual decision."
The move came a week after news that Anthony was in talks with Jennifer Lopez, whom he once dated, to star in a film based on the life of salsa singer Hector Lavoe. A source close to the couple dismissed any suggestion that Lopez, newly single herself, had any connection to the split. "There's nothing bad or ugly," she said. "It's just hard when you are in this business to keep things together."
Still, the split shocked those closest to Anthony, 33, and Torres, 27, who met through friends at a Puerto Rican nightclub in 1998. They wed in May 2000, when Anthony surprised Torres by chartering two private jets and whisking her to Las Vegas for an impromptu midnight ceremony in front of 15 guests. "We're all heartbroken," says the source. "They're soulmates, and I hope they realize it before it's too late."
For now, full-time mom Torres is staying at their Long Island home with Cristian while Anthony is on an 11-week tour that started July 6. "I don't know what will happen," says Anthony's longtime pal, actress Patricia Velasquez (The Mummy). "I just want them both to be happy."
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