Ioan Gruffudd releases joint statement after Alice Evans claims he deleted her split tweet

Ioan Gruffudd has released a joint statement on his split from wife Alice Evans, after she claimed he deleted her tweet.

Evans, 49, announced on Twitter on Monday night that the 47-year-old Welsh actor “is to leave his family” because he “no longer loves me”. The post was later deleted.

She later tweeted: "Hi there. I didn't delete the tweet from a few hours ago about him leaving. He did. From my account... And hell yes when I am being gaslit and mentally tortured then hell yes I will wash my linen in public."

This post has also been removed.

A representative for Gruffudd released a joint statement for the couple saying: “As you can imagine, this is an incredibly difficult time for our family and we remain committed to our children. Thank you for respecting our privacy.”

The couple have been married for 13 years after meeting on the set of 102 Dalmatians in 1999 and have two daughters together – Ella, 11, and Elsie, seven.

Evans wrote in the first deleted tweet on Monday night: “Sad news. My beloved husband/soulmate of 20 years, Ioan Gruffudd, has announced he is to leave his family, starting next week.

“Me and our young daughters girls are very confused and sad. We haven't been given a reason except that he 'no longer loves me'. I'm so sorry.”

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Evans replied to one user who claimed the split announcement was a “weird” thing to post on Twitter she said, “Why? I have lost my mind.”

Another Twitter user wrote: “I did the same when this happened to me. I think it’s how one acknowledges there’s no returning to what existed before. Accepting it by stating it publicly helps you to recognise the impossibility if reconciliation.”

Evans replied: “This is exactly why. And thank you. Six months of harrassment: yes/no/maybe. I cannot live anymore like this. [sic]”

The couple live together in Los Angeles with their two daughters, who were conceived through IVF after Evans was diagnosed with a low antral follicle count at the age of 38.

In August last year Evans posted a picture of herself and Gruffudd on her Instagram account captioned: “He’s back and he’s grumpier than ever (sshhh!) Managed to get him to take this pic with me but couldn’t get him to smile. Men, eh? ( And he STILL looks better than me!).”

Gruffudd told The Guardian last February of his relationship with Evans: “I think we’ve struggled the past four years, making time for each other because physically we’re apart.”

The couple met while starring alongside Glenn Close in Disney live action movie 102 Dalmatians and became engaged in 2006. They married in Mexico in 2007.

Gruffudd, 47, rose to fame in ITV’s historical war series Hornblower and is perhaps best known for playing Mister Fantastic in the 2005 Fantastic 4 movie.

Watch: Joanne Froggatt on working with Ioan Gruffudd in ITV’s Liar in 2017