Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux announce separation

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Image copyrightAFP

Image captionThe couple were married in August 2015 at a secret ceremony in Los Angeles

Hollywood couple Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux are separating after two years of marriage.

The pair, who reportedly met on the set of comedy film Wanderlust, said the mutual decision was "lovingly made" at the end of last year.

They gave no reason for the split and said they intended to continue their "cherished friendship".

Aniston, 49, and Theroux, 46, were married in a secret ceremony in Los Angeles in August 2015.

They had been together for four years before the wedding, which took place at their Bel Air mansion.

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In a joint statement, the couple said they intended to remain friends.

"We are two best friends who have decided to part ways as a couple, but look forward to continuing our cherished friendship," they said.

"Normally we would do this privately, but given that the gossip industry cannot resist an opportunity to speculate and invent, we wanted to convey the truth directly."

"Above all, we are determined to maintain the deep respect and love that we have for one another," the statement added.

The magazine Architectural Digest had just published a feature about the couple's home in Bel Air, Los Angeles.

In it, Aniston is quoted as saying: "I look around at my husband and my dogs and our home, and there's nowhere else I want to be."

Theroux was not interviewed for the piece.

Aniston starred in the hit TV series Friends, and has appeared in numerous films such as Marley & Me and Horrible Bosses.

This was her second marriage. She was married to fellow actor Brad Pitt for five years, but they divorced in 2005.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionPitt, who has since married and split from Angelina Jolie, was married to Aniston for five years

Justin Theroux, a cousin of British documentary maker Louis Theroux, is an American actor, writer and director.

He has collaborated with Ben Stiller on the script for Zoolander 2, and starred in the television series The Leftovers. 

On TV, he guest-starred in several episodes of Parks and Recreation, and on Broadway he appeared in Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme.