American Heartbreak Story: Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard Split Up

Longtime couple have two children together

By Natalie Finn Dec 19, 2011 10:00 PMTags
Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard M. Von Holden/FilmMagic

Another bummer of a gut check right before the holidays.

Acting heavyweights Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard—who never married but had been a couple since 1982—have separated, a rep for Lange confirms to E! News.

But it sounds as if their fans are going to have a harder time dealing with the breakup than they are, because...

They split up two years ago!

People, which first reported the news, quotes a source saying that the exes have been "pursuing independent lives" for some time now.

See, celebs really can keep secrets if they put their minds to it.

Lange and Shepard, who made their home in upstate New York, have two kids together, almost-26-year-old Hanna Jane Shepard and 24-year-old Samuel Walker Shepard.

The actress and the actor-playwright each have a child from previous relationships, as well.

Most recently, Lange has been stealing scenes in American Horror Story, her role as creepy neighbor Constance earning her shots at both a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe in 2012.

Shepard has movies with Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington, Diane Keaton, Reese Witherspoon and Matthew McConaughey in the pipeline, so his face will be popping up on the big screen throughout the coming year.