‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ Star Nia Vardalos and Ian Gomez Divorcing After 25 Years

Actors Nia Vardalos and Ian Gomez are divorcing after over 23 years of marriage, with Vardalos filing for divorce on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

“We’ve been respectfully separated for a lengthy period of time,” the couple said in a joint statement to PEOPLE. “Our relationship became a friendship so the decision to end the marriage is completely mutual and amicable. It is our hope that decency will prevail on the reporting of this story which will soon be yesterday’s news. Thank you for respecting our privacy.”

Vardalos and Gomez married in September 1995 and share an 11-year-old daughter, Ilaria, who they adopted in 2008.

Court documents obtained by The Blast show that Vardalos cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split and listed the date of separation as June 29, 2017. She also requested joint legal and physical custody of the couple’s daughter.

Vardalos was partially inspired to write her hit film, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, by her relationship with Gomez, who appeared in the movie as John Corbett’s best man. The couple also co-hosted the first two seasons of reality cooking competition series The Great American Baking Show from 2015 to 2017.

While the actors stayed fairly private throughout their relationship, Vardalos opened up to PEOPLE in 2013 about her long journey to becoming a mom.

After years of trying to get pregnant and 13 failed IVF treatments, the couple welcomed Ilaria 10 years ago.

“Like most women, I thought it would be easy once I decided to start a family,” Vardalos said. “I was surprised that Mother Nature kept poking me in the eye, saying, ‘Nope, nope, nope.’”

“Afterwards, the healthiest thing I did was take time off to grieve over what had happened,” she added. “That brought a sense of clarity and I realized that no matter how I became a mother, I was going to be a mother.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Jason LaVeris